Ponte da Barca, Viana do Castelo, Portugal Genealogy

This is a historical and genealogical guide to the municipality of Ponte da Barca.

History

 * Ponte da Barca is a municipality in the district of Viana do Castelo in Portugal.
 * Ponte da Barca is divided into 17 civil parishes.
 * The population of Ponte da Barca is roughly 12,000 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 Viana do Castelo Civil Registration.

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

Conservatória do Registo Civil e Predial de Ponte da Barca Pç. Dr. António Lacerda Ponte Barca 4980-620 Ponte da Barca PORTUGAL Phone: 258452733 Email: [mailto:crcpcom.ponte-barca@dgrn.mj.pt crcpcom.ponte-barca@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 Viana do Castelo 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.

Cemitério de Ponte da Barca Avenida Fernão de Magalhães, Ponte de Barca, Ponte da Barca Municipality Viana do Castelo, 4980 PORTUGAL Website: FindAGrave

Family History Centers
Braga Portugal Family History Center Rua Luís António Correia 120 BRAGA 4715-310 PORTUGAL Email: [mailto: PT_Braga@ldsmail.net PT_Braga@ldsmail.net] Website: Braga Portugal Family History Center