Moju, Pará, Brazil Genealogy

Guide to Municipality of Moju ancestry, family history and genealogy: birth records, marriage records, death records, church records, parish registers, and civil registration.

History
Moju emerged from a village in the lands of Antônio Dornelles de Sousa known as "Sítio de Antônio Dornelles". In 1754, the village gained the status  of a parish. It received village status  by several provincial laws of 1856 (279), 1864 (441) and 1870 (628), having been extinguished in 1887 and recreated in 1889. The popular story tells that one day, in the afternoon, when a gentleman named Antônio Dornelles was on the bridge of his farm, he saw something shining on the bank of the Moju River, which caught his attention and soon, he sent one of his slaves to find out which object produced such a glow. The slave then took out of the mud a golden object in the shape of a dove, which was soon identified as the dove of the Divine Holy Spirit. Antônio Dorneles, in possession of the Pomba do Divino, had a silver crown made to place the Pomba, and erecting a small chapel that soon became the center of animation of the faith of the people of Moju. During the visit of the Bishop of Belém, Dom Frei Miguel de Bulhões, Dornelles proposed to the Bishop that he would give his lands to the Divino Espírito Santo if a parish was erected there, a proposal that greatly pleased the bishop who, then, erected the parish in June 1754. District created with the name of Moju by State Law No. 14, of 09-09-1839, subordinated to the municipality of Igarapé-Miri. Elevated to the category of town with the name of Moju by Provincial Laws n.º 279, of 28-08-1856, n.º 441, of 20-08-1864, and n.º 628, of 06-10-1870. Installed on 05-08-1871. Provincial Law No. 839, of 19-04-1875, separates from the municipality of Moju the district of Acará, elevated to the category of municipality. By Provincial Law n.º 1307, of 11-28-1887, the village is extinct, and its territory is annexed to the municipality of Igarapé Miri. Elevated again to the category of village with the name of Moju by Law n.º 1.399, of 05-10-1889. In administrative division referring to the year 1911, the municipality is made up of the district headquarters. By State Decree No. 6, of 11-04-1930, the municipality of Moju is extinct, and its territory is annexed to the municipality of Belém. By State Decree No. 78, of 12-27-1930, the district of Moju became part of the municipality of Igarapé-Miri. In administrative division referring to the year 1933, the district of Moju remains in the municipality of Igarapé-Miri. Elevated again to the category of municipality with the name of Moju by State Law n.º 8, of 10-31-1935. In territorial divisions dated 31-XII-1936 and 31-XII-1937 the municipality appears constituted of 3 districts: Moju, Baixo and Cairari. By State Decree-law n.º 2.972, of 31-03-1938, the district of Baixo is extinct, and its territory is annexed to the district headquarters of the municipality of Moju. In territorial division dated 1-VII-1960, the municipality is made up of 2 districts: Moju and Cairari. Thus remaining in territorial division dated 2014.

Online Resources

 * 1815-1995 at FamilySearch — How to Use this Collection; index and images

Local Offices
Ofício de registro civil, tabelionato de notas e registros públicos Praça. Jarbas Passarinho, 22 Conjuntos, 101 à 105 Centro Moju Moju 68450-000 Pará Telephone: (0xx91) 3756-1337 E-mail: cartoriosantosmj@bol.com.br

Online Resources

 * 1930-1976 at FamilySearch — How to Use this Collection; index and images

Local Churches
Matriz do Divino Espírito Santo Lauro Sodré, 496-552 Moju PA 68450-000 Telephone: (91) 3756-1130

Capela da Comunidade Sagrada Família Antônio Dorneles de Souza, 450-522 Moju PA 68450-000

Localities
The seat of the municipality of Moju is located on the right bank of the river of the same name, below the outlet of the lgarapé-Miri channel, on land donated by Antônio Dornelas de Sousa to the Irmandade do Divino Espírito Santo, in July 1754. When Bishop Frei Miguel de Bulhões, on a pastoral visit, stayed at this citizen's site, responding to the wishes of the people, he created the parish under the invocation of the patron saint of the existing Brotherhood. After its primitive creation in a parish, the nucleus of the village decayed, to the point of being completely abandoned by the public authorities, with the ecclesiastical category that had been granted to it completely disappearing, entering forgotten for the period of Independence. In 1839, the current municipal seat was given the category of parish again, with all the jurisdiction of the Acará and Moju rivers.

Other Institutions
Prefeitura Municipal de Moju Av. Jarbas Passarinho, 100 Moju PA 68450-000 Telephone: (91) 3756-1214 E-mail: prefeiturademoju@aol.com Website: https://www.moju.pa.gov.br