Tenório, Paraíba, Brazil Genealogy

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

History
The name Tenório brings with it numerous interpretations referring to its origin, which sometimes fit together as if completing each other, sometimes are contradictory. However, in the various versions told, something remains constant. It is the figure of an Indian chief who would have passed through these lands (today the municipality of Tenório), in a very distant time, coming from Rio Grande do Norte with his people. And it is precisely from this point that the story about the origin of the name Tenório begins to take on more than one explanation. Well, one of the versions reports that this Indian settled in these lands with his people and that, because he was a "prayer", many people came from the surroundings to consult with him. With this, with the strength of popular tradition, the place took the name of the main reason for visiting, that is, the name of the sought after "rezador" Indian Tenorio. And in another version, however, they say that this Indian chief would have been in these lands only passing through, and that he and his people stopped to rest, from their long journey, under a tree. From there, this tree and, consequently, the place where it was found, received the name of this chief. Other versions revolve around the fact that this Indian who, when passing through this region, would have died on the banks of the Tenório stream and that this fact would be the reason to mark the place with the name of the Pajé. It is interesting to note that, as mentioned earlier, these versions are not contradictory at all, and may even be complementary. After this first moment in the history of Tenório, characterized by the presence of the Indians, we have a second moment in the thirties, when this space was all divided into small and medium-sized agricultural properties, belonging to the following owners: Cícero, Manuel and Joel Batista, and Antônio Gregório. As it is a rural area, the residences, evidently, were scarce. There was only vegetation (capoeira) and some crops: cotton, agave, cassava, beans and corn. The difficulty in acquiring water at that time was even greater than it is today, since there were still no dams or wells and, also, the creek, which we mentioned earlier, is intermittent. District created under the name of Tenório, on May 11, 1959, subordinated to the municipality of Juazeirinho. Elevated to the category of municipality with the name Tenório, on April 29, 1994, sepatated from Juazeirinho.

Local Offices
Cartório de Registro Civil e Notas Joaquim Torquato Alves Rua Inácio Mota, 165 Centro Tenório Paraíba 58665-000 Telephone: (83) 8690-8421

Online Resources

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

Local Churches
Paróquia de São José