Benavente, Santarém, Portugal Genealogy

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

History

 * Benavente is a municipality and parish in the District Santarém, in Portugal.
 * In 1218 Benavente recieved it's foral by Sancho I.
 * On the 16 January 1516, King Manuel gave Benavente a new foral.
 * On the 27 April 1909 an earthquake destroyed the town and a new town was built on the east side of the National Road 118, which divides the town's historical centre on the west side.
 * Benavente is divided into 4 civil parishes.
 * The population of Benavente is roughly 29,000 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 Santarém Civil Registration.

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

Conservatória do Registo Civil de Benavente Av. Dr. Francisco J C Lopes 2130-014 Benavente PORTUGAL Phone: 263516061 Fax: 263516063 Email: [mailto:benavente@dgrn.mj.pt benavente@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 Santarém 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
Alverca Portugal Family History Center Rua do Açougue Velho ALVERCA 2615-025 PORTUGAL Phone: 351 -219584919 Email: [mailto:pt_alverca@familyhistorymail.org pt_alverca@familyhistorymail.org] Website: Alverca Portugal Family History Center