Gouveia, Guarda, Portugal Genealogy

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

History

 * Founded in 580BC but evidence suggests that people lived there in the 4th Millenian BC
 * Occupied by the Romans.
 * There was also a Germanic and Muslim period.
 * Ferdinand I conquered it to the muslims in 1038.
 * A battle took place in 1277 during a civil war.
 * The castle was destroyed in the Peninsular wars.
 * The population of Gouveia is roughly 4000 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 Guarda Civil Registration.

Contact a Civil Registration Office
There are no known civil registration offices within the municipality of Gouveia. Contact a civil registration office in a nearby municipality to find out if they have the records for Gouveia.

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 Guarda 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