Brazil, Bahía, Catholic Church Records - FamilySearch Historical Records

Title in the Language of the Record
Brasil, Bahía, Registros da Igreja Católica

Record Description
This collection will include baptism, marriage, and death records created by various Catholic parishes and diocese in the state of Bahía from 1598-2007.

Additional images will be published as they become available.

The records are in Portuguese; see the section "For Help Reading these Records" for access to translation helps.

For additional details about these records and help using them see the wiki article: Brazil Catholic Church Records (FamilySearch Historical Records)

Record Content
These records were made by Catholic priests or their associates, recorded in Portuguese, and mostly written by hand on pre-lined paper.

The information found in each record varies by year. Baptism Records generally include the following information:
 * Full Name and Gender
 * Date and Place of Baptism/Confirmation
 * Birth Date
 * Names of Parents
 * Names of Godparents

Marriage Records may include the following:
 * Names and Ages of Groom and Bride
 * Date and Place of Marriage
 * Birthplaces of Groom and Bride
 * Estimated Birth Years of Groom and Bride
 * Names of Groom’s Parents
 * Names of Bride’s Parents
 * Who performed the Marriage

Death Records usually include:
 * Deceased’s Name, Gender, and Age (keep in mind that death records for women may be filed under their married name)
 * Date and Place of Death
 * Date and Place of Burial
 * Estimated Birth Year
 * Marital Status/Name of Spouse
 * Names of Parents

How to Use the Record
To begin your search you should know the following:
 * The person’s name.
 * The approximate location of an event.
 * An approximate time frame of an event.
 * Indexes are available on some of these groups of images. Indexes were created at the end of the year, so copy errors could have been made in the index. Therefore, you want to find the actual record to verify the information is correct.
 * If indexes are available, check these for the name first. Indexes are usually located at the beginning or end of a group of images. Find your ancestor’s name and look for the locator information next to the name (such as page, entry, or certificate number). This will help you find the record you are looking for in the collection.

Keep in mind:
 * There may be more than one person in the records with the same name.
 * You may not be sure of your own ancestor’s name.
 * The information in records is usually reliable, but depends upon the knowledge of the informant.
 * Regarding marriage and death records, name changes, shortened names, or nicknames may have been used by your ancestors, so pay attention to other relationships (parents, spouse, siblings, children, etc.) that can confirm whether you have the right person/record.
 * When looking for a person who had a common name, look at all the entries for the name before deciding which is correct.

Search the Collection
To browse the collection image by image select "Browse through images" on the initial collection page ⇒Select the "Municipality" ⇒Select the "Parish" ⇒Select the "Record type and Years" which takes you to the images.

Look at the images and compare the information with what you already know about your ancestor to determine which one is your ancestor. You may need to look at several images and compare the information about the individuals listed in those images to your ancestors to make this determination.

Using the Information

 * Use the marriage date and place as the basis for compiling a new family group or for verifying existing information.
 * Use the birth date or age along with the place of birth of each partner to find a couple's birth records and parents' names.
 * Use the birth date or age along with the place of birth to find the family in census records.
 * Use the residence and names of the parents to locate church and land records.
 * Use the parents' birth places to find former residences and to establish a migration pattern for the family.
 * The name of a marriage officiator is a clue to their religion or area of residence in the county. However, ministers may have reported marriages performed in other counties.
 * Compile the marriage entries for every person who has the same surname as the bride or groom; this is especially helpful in rural areas or if the surname is unusual.
 * Continue to search the marriage records to identify children, siblings, parents, and other relatives of the bride and groom who may have married in the same county or nearby. This can help you identify other generations of your family or even the second marriage of a parent. Repeat this process for each new generation you identify.
 * Use the marital status/marriage number (how many times a person was married) to identify previous marriages.
 * When looking for a person who had a common name, look at all the entries for the name before deciding which is correct.
 * Witnesses often were relatives of the parents.
 * Continue to search the indexes and records to identify children, siblings, parents, and other relatives who may have lived in the same area or a nearby area.

Unable to Find your Ancestor?
A boundary change could have occurred and the record of you ancestor is now in a neighboring. Search the records and indexes of neighboring cities, provinces, and regions.

Civil Registration records are also a good substitute when birth, marriage, and death records can’t be found or are unavailable.
 * Brazil Civil Registration- Vital Records
 * Brazil Civil Registration (FamilySearch Historical Records)

Or your ancestor immigrated to another country. Search the records of nearby areas or immigration/emigration records:

Brazil Emigration and Immigration

For Help Reading These Records
These records are in Portuguese. For help reading the records, see the following wiki articles:


 * Portuguese Genealogical Word List
 * Brazil Language and Languages

Known Issues with This Collection
For a full list of all known issues associated with this collection see the attached Wiki article. If you encounter additional problems, please email them to [mailto:support@familysearch.org support@familysearch.org]. Please include the full path to the link and a description of the problem in your e-mail. Your assistance will help ensure that future reworks will be considered.

Related Websites

 * Brazil Research Outline
 * Brazil Research Help

Related Wiki Articles

 * Brazil Catholic Church Records (FamilySearch Historical Records)
 * Brazil Church Records
 * Brazil Marriages (FamilySearch Historical Records)
 * Brazil Deaths (FamilySearch Historical Records)
 * Brazil

Citing FamilySearch Historical Collections
When you copy information from a record, you should list where you found it. This will help you or others to find the same record again.

Keep track of records where you did not find information about your ancestor so you and others will not waste time looking through these records in the future. A suggested format for keeping track of records that you have searched is found in the wiki article Help:How to Cite FamilySearch Collections.

Citation for This Collection
Citations for individual image records are available for this collection. Browse through images in this collection and click on the "Show Citation" box: Brazil, Bahía, Catholic Church Records, 1598-2007

The following citation refers to the original source of the information published in FamilySearch.org Historical Record collections. Sources include the author, custodian, publisher, and archive for the original records.