Guarabira, Paraíba, Brazil Genealogy

Guide to Municipality of Guarabira ancestry, family history and genealogy: birth records, marriage records, death records, church records, parish registers, and civil registration.

History
Guarabira is a municipality in the state of Paraíba, in Brazil. It is one of the most populous cities in the state. It is located 98 kilometers from the state capital João Pessoa; 100 kilometers from Campina Grande, the most populous city in the interior of Paraíba; 198 kilometers from Natal, the capital of Rio Grande do Norte; and less than 250 kilometers from Recife, the capital of Pernambuco. It is called "Queen of Brejo" because it is the main hub city of a region that is characterized by the regularity of rains. Geographically, it is not inserted in the Microregion of Brejo Paraibano because it has its own region that bears its name, that is, the Microregion of Guarabira, but it becomes an important political and economic reference in the Brejo region. As well as the city of Sapé, which, close to Guarabira, is officially part of the Mesoregion of Mata Paraibana but politically is inserted in the Brejo. Both (Microregion of Brejo and Microregion of Guarabira) are part of the Mesoregion of Agreste Paraibano. The Metropolitan Region of Guarabira was created by Complementary Law 101, of July 12, 2011. Its total population is 193,656 inhabitants. Nossa Senhora da Luz is the patron saint of the municipality. Its original image was brought from Portugal in 1755 by the Portuguese Antônio Rodrigues da Costa, a native of Beiriz (Greater Porto), one of the founders of the municipality. The first known inhabitants of the locality were the Potiguar Indians. By the 16th century, they were in constant conflict with French and Portuguese settlers. Reigning, in the 16th century, Dom Felipe III, Duarte Gomes da Silveira had a notable influence on the remote origins of Guarabira. It was during the Spanish rule that he initiated, in the fertile caatingas at Quandus, near Araçagi, livestock and large estates. He was born in Olinda to Portuguese parents Pedro Alves da Silveira and Maria Gomes Bezerra. Worthy of mention at the end of the wars of the Potiguars, in 1578, the Jesuit priest Gaspar Sampére came on a peace mission from the village of Natal to Cupuoba and Quandus, a village of Indians. He had traveled on foot to the Potiguar pacification, without weapons of any kind, only wearing the breastplate of faith, transforming the brave savage rebels into meek and faithful sheep. The foundation of Guarabira dates back to 1694, in the land of Engenho Morgado, belonging to Duarte Gomes da Silveira. The first houses built would later give rise to Vila da Independência (the first name of the city of Guarabira), which, due to its location and the excellence of its soil, became the owner of great prestige and influence in the surroundings. On November 1, 1755, with a great and devastating earthquake in Portugal, a man by the name of José Rodrigues Gonçalves da Costa, seized with panic, fled from Póvoa de Varzim, in the province of Porto, his homeland. Arriving in Guarabira with all his family, Mr. Costa Beiriz (as he became known) built a chapel placing, in it, the image of Nossa Senhora da Luz that he had brought from Portugal. This became the patron saint of the municipality, although Father João Milanez had already built the first church in the municipality, the chapel of Nossa Senhora da Conceição, in 1730. In 1760, the first prayers and novenas to the Virgin of Light began. The first house of prayer was made of mud, where Father Cosme made official.

Local Offices
Cartório Distrital de Cachoeira dos Guedes Rua Antônio Guedes, s/n Centro Guarabira PB 58200-000 Telephone: (83) 8704-9294 E-mail: cartoriodistaf@bol.com.br

Registro Civil das Pessoas Naturais Rua Osório de Aquino, 131 Centro Guarabira PB 58200-000 Telephone: (83) 3271-1339 E-mail: irineufsj@gmail.com

Online Resources

 * Brazil, Paraíba, Catholic Church Records, 1731-2013 no Registros Históricos do FamilySearch

Local Churches
Paróquia da Catedral de Nossa Senhora da Luz Rua Pe. Sampaio, 45 Centro Guarabira PB 583200-000 E-mail: catedraldaluz@yahoo.com.br

Cemeteries
Cemitério São João Batista R. Napoleão Laureano, 92 Centro Guarabira PB 58200-000 Telephone: (83) 3271-9665

Cemitério Bom Jesus Bairro Novo Guarabira PB 58200-000

Cemitério e Central de Velórios PB-075, 75 Conj. Osmar de Aquino Guarabira PB 58200-000 Telephone: 4002-2535

Localities
Districts: Cachoeira dos Guedes e Pirpiri

Towns: BOQUEIRÃO, CARRASCO, CONTENDAS, ESCRIVÃO, ITAMATAY, LAGOA DE SERRA, LOURENÇO, MACIEL, PALMEIRA, PASSAGEM, PASSASSUNGA, PENDÊNCIA, QUATI, SÃO JOSÉ DO MIRANDA, SERRINHA, TANANDUBA e TORRÕES