Portugal, Coimbra Testaments - FamilySearch Historical Records

Title in the Language of the Records
Testamentos de Coimbra, Portugal

Collection Time Period
This collection of notary public wills includes the years 1561-1900.

Record Description
This collection contains testaments created in the presence of notaries and housed at the Coimbra University Archive (Arquivo da Universidade de Coimbra). Additional images will be published as they become available. These records are handwritten in Portuguese and in narrative style. Additional images will be published as they become available.

Record Content
Key genealogical facts found in testaments (wills) may include:


 * Name of notary public
 * Date and place issued
 * Name of testator
 * Place of residence and sometimes place of origin
 * Age or date of birth
 * Spouse’s name and age or birth date
 * Names of heirs and their ages or birth date and place of residence

How to Use the Records
Testaments were created in chronological order in a book kept by the notary public. If you have an approximate date of death for your ancestor, you may search the wills by date. Information in wills can help to find out the type of life or type of individual the ancestor was, can also give information not found in other records.

Record History
A testament is a document that sets forth a person's wishes for the disposition of their property after death. Testaments (wills) in Portugal are written and kept by a notary public. A person wanting to leave a will after death goes to a notary public anywhere in Portugal and, after presenting legal identification, can start composing his will with the help of the notary public. The notary agency keeps the original document and a copy is given to the testator. The testator may also register a will in the Conservatória dos Registros Centrais (Central Conservatory of Records) in Lisbon. This entity keeps an index of registered wills and the place where it was written and kept.

Why the Record Was Created
Generally, people that have any assets, fortune, or property want to divide the fortune among family members, make donations to institutions, etc. in writing.

Record Reliability
The genealogical data entered in a will is that of the testator, the dividing of goods, and the heirs. The information written by the notary public depends on the knowledge of the testator. This information may be correct as it may have some errors if the person was relying on memory.

Related Websites

 * Instituto dos registros e do notariado
 * Sucessões na Europa

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Related Wiki Articles
Portugal Websites

Citing FamilySearch Historical Collections
When you copy information from a record, you should list where you found the information. This will help you or others to find the record again. It is also good to keep track of records where you did not find information, including the names of the people you looked for in the records.

A suggested format for keeping track of records that you have searched is found in the Wiki Article: How to Cite FamilySearch Collections.

Examples of Source Citations for a Record in This Collection
Please, help FamilySearch Wiki by supplying source citations for this collection here.


 * "Delaware Marriage Records," index and images, FamilySearch (https://www.familysearch.org): accessed 4 March 2011, entry for William Anderson and Elizabeth Baynard Henry, married 23 November 1913; citing marriage certificate no. 859; FHL microfilm 2,025,063; Delaware Bureau of Archives and Records Management, Dover.
 * “El Salvador Civil Registration,” index and images, FamilySearch (https://www.familysearch.org): accessed 21 March 2011, entry for Jose Maria Antonio del Carmen, born 9 April 1880; citing La Libertad, San Juan Opico, Nacimientos 1879-1893, image 50; Ministerio Archivo Civil de la Alcaldia Municipal de San Salvador.

Sources of Information for This Collection
Portugal. Coimbra Notary Public Offices. Testaments (wills), 1561-1900. Coimbra University Archive (Arquivo da Universidade de Coimbra), Coimbra, Portugal.

At the beginning of the source add in wiki text and at the end.

Detailed instructions for adding citations are also listed in the wiki article: How to Create Source Citations For FamilySearch Historical Records Collections.