Serpa, Beja, Portugal Genealogy

This is a historical and genealogical guide to the municipality of Serpa.

History

 * Serpa is a city and a Concelho or Municipality in the central Portuguese region Alentejo.
 * The origins of Serpa precede the Roman occupation of the Iberian peninsula.
 * Proof of the Roman colonists, came through archaeological remains within a Roman Villa.
 * The Moorish settlement followed the Roman period and until the Reconquista of Iberia.
 * In the 13th Century, due to its location on the Guadiana it was occupied by forces loyal to Castile.
 * 1281, King D Alfonso X of Castile delimited the municipality, attributing a Foral to the town, from Seville.
 * In 1295, Serpa received a new foral from Portuguese King D. Dinis.
 * In 1513 a new Foral was issued by King D. Manuel I, the former master of Serpa.
 * During the 17th century, the walls and system of bastions were adapted to serve as a defensive line by Nicolau de Langres (1665).
 * 1954, the walls of Serpa were classified as a Monumento Nacional.
 * 1974 the Portuguese Communist Party gained a strong support in the area.
 * August of 2003, Serpa was elevated from a town to the status of a City.
 * In 2013 the historic centre of Serpa, was re-incorporated into a single civil parish.
 * The population of Serpa is roughly 15,700 people.

Online Records
After 100 years, all civil registration records are sent to the municipality's district office.

To view online civil registration records, visit Beja Civil Registration.

Contact a Civil Registration Office
The following is a list of civil registration offices within the municipality.

Conservatória Registo Civil Serpa R. José M G Afreixo 7830-358 Serpa PORTUGAL Phone: 284544743 Email: [mailto:crpcom.serpa@dgrn.mj.pt crpcom.serpa@dgrn.mj.pt]

Communicate your request in Portuguese whenever possible. For writing a letter or email in Portuguese, use the translated questions and phrases in this Portuguese Letter-writing Guide.

Online Records
In 1910, the Portuguese government transferred all birth, marriage, and death records from all the country's parishes to the district offices. These records are now in either District or National archives. Many of these records have been digitized and can be viewed at the District Archive's website or on FamilySearch.

To view online records, visit Beja Church Records.

Contact a Parish
If you are seeking church records created more recently than 1910, it is possible to obtain them by writing to the parish where the record was created. Writing to a parish is not always a reliable way to obtain information, because officials may or may not respond.

Conferência Episcopal Portuguesa lists websites for the 20 Dioceses of Portugal. Once on the Diocesan website, use the listing of parishes (paróquias) to locate contact information for the parish in question.

Communicate your request in Portuguese whenever possible. For writing a letter or email in Portuguese, use the translated questions and phrases in this Portuguese Letter-writing Guide.

Cemeteries
Cemeteries did not become popular in Portugal until the late nineteenth century. Prior to this, individuals were buried in their parish church cemetery, and their bones were later removed to an unmarked burial place.

FamilySearch Centers
Beja Portugal Family History Center Rua D Manuel I Nº9 BEJA ALGARVE 7800-306 PORTUGAL Email: [mailto:PT_Beja@familyhistorymail.org PT_Beja@familyhistorymail.org] Website: Beja Portugal Family History Center