Peso da Régua, Vila Real, Portugal Genealogy

This is a historical and genealogical guide to the municipality of Peso da Régua.

History

 * Peso da Régua is also known as Régua, is a municipality in the district of Vila Real in northern Portugal.
 * In the early part of the settled history it was inhabited by Roman and barbarian invasions.
 * In the Middle Ages a foral was recieved from King Sancho I, who conferred on the locality of Godim the municipal charter.
 * 3 February 1837 Peso da Régua was elevated to vila, which included the annexed municipality of Godim, and 4 civil parishes, Godim, Loureiro, Fontelas, Moura Morta and Sedielos..
 * 31 December 1859, due to the extinction of the municipalities of Canelas, the parishes of Covelinhas, Vilarinho de Freires and Galafura were added.
 * 11 December 1933, the parish of Vinhos was created from the de-annexed region of Sedielos, resulting in a municipality of eleven parishes along the Douro. In 1976 Canelas was integrated and the municipality grew to 12 parishes.
 * 14 August 1985 Peso da Régua was elevated to a city.
 * Peso da Régua now has 8 civil parishes.
 * The population of Peso da Régua is roughly 17,200 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 Vila Real Civil Registration.

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

Conservatória do Registo Civil Peso da Régua Pç. Gen Humberto Delgado Pal Justiça – Peso Régua 5050-242 Peso da Régua PORTUGAL Phone: 254312262 Email: [mailto:crc.peso-regua@dgrn.mj.pt crc.peso-regua@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 Vila Real 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
Viseu Portugal Family History Center Rua Cândido dos Reis 81 VISEU 3510-056 PORTUGAL Phone: +351 351-32425559 Email: [mailto:PT_Viseu@familyhistorymail.org PT_Viseu@familyhistorymail.org] Website: Viseu Portugal Family History Center