Brazil, Maranhão, Catholic Church Records - FamilySearch Historical Records

What is in This Collection?
This collection will include baptism, marriage, and burial records created by various Catholic parishes and diocese in the state of Maranhão from the years 1673-1962.

For additional details about these records and help using them see the wiki article: Brazil Catholic Church Records (FamilySearch Historical Records)

Additional images will be published as they become available.

Reading These Records
These records are written in Portuguese; also see the section For Help Reading These Records for translation helps.

What Can These Records Tell Me?
The following information may be found in these records:

Sample Images
The information found in each record varies by year.

How Do I Search This Collection?
Before using this collection it is helpful to know:
 * Your ancestor's given name and surname
 * Identifying information such as residence
 * Estimated marriage or birth year

View the Images

 * 1) Select Municipality
 * 2) Select Parish
 * 3) Select Record Type and Years to view the images.

For Help Reading These Records
For help reading these Portuguese records see the following guides:


 * Portuguese Genealogical Word List
 * Brazil Language and Languages


 * Online interactive slideshow lessons are available to help you learn to read these records:
 * Reading Portuguese Handwritten Records Lesson 1: Portuguese Letters
 * Reading Portuguese Handwritten Records Lesson 2: Dates, Words, and Names
 * Reading Portuguese Handwritten Records Lesson 3: Reading Portuguese Records. In this lesson, you will explore several types of Portuguese genealogical records, including birth, baptismal, marriage, and death records.

What Do I Do Next?

 * Use the marriage date and place as the basis for compiling a new family group or for verifying existing information
 * Use the birth date or age along with the place of birth of each partner to find a couple's birth records and parents' names
 * Use the birth date or age along with the place of birth to find the family in census records Brazil Census
 * Use the parents' birth places to find former residences and to establish a migration pattern for the family
 * The name of a marriage officiator is a clue to their religion or area of residence in the county. However, ministers may have reported marriages performed in other counties
 * Compile the marriage entries for every person who has the same surname as the bride or groom; this is especially helpful in rural areas or if the surname is unusual.
 * Use the marital status to identify previous marriages
 * Witnesses often were relatives of the parents

I Found the Person I Was Looking For, What Now?

 * Add any new information to your records
 * Check the image the index was taken from to see if there is additional information
 * Make sure to fully transcribe and cite the record entry for future reference; see the section Citing this Collection for assistance. Save or print a copy of the image
 * Use the information to find more. For instance, use the age listed in the record to estimate a year of birth, if that is yet undetermined
 * Use the birth date or age along with the place of birth of each spouse to find a couple's birth records and parents' names
 * The birth and/or age may also help you find the family in the Brazil Census
 * Compile the marriage entries for every person who has the same surname as the bride or groom; this is especially helpful in rural areas or if the surname is unusual

What If I Can't Find Who I'm Looking For?

 * Consult the Brazil Research Tips and Strategies to find other records
 * A boundary change could have occurred, and the record of you ancestor is now in a neighboring provinces or regions. Search the records and indexes of neighboring cities, provinces, and regions
 * Check for variants of given names, surnames, and place names. Transcription errors could occur in any handwritten record; also, it was not uncommon for an individual be listed under a nickname or an abbreviation of their name
 * Or your ancestor immigrated to another country. Search the records of nearby areas or Brazil Emigration and Immigration
 * Brazil Civil Registration (FamilySearch Historical Records) are also a good substitute when baptism, marriage, and burial records can’t be found or are unavailable

New information is constantly being indexed, microfilmed or updated. Periodically check back to see if your ancestor’s records have been added. You can see if the area you’ve been looking in has been recently updated by going to Historical Records Collections. Watch for an asterisk for recently added or updated records.

Citing This Collection
Citations help you keep track of places you have searched and sources you have found. Identifying your sources helps others find the records you used.

“Brazil, Maranhão, Catholic Church Records, 1673-1962.” Images. FamilySearch. http://FamilySearch.org : accessed 2017. Arquivo da Arguidiocese de São Luís do Maranhão, São Luís [Archive of Archdiocese of São Luís do Maranhão, São Luís].
 * Collection Citation:

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