Mogadouro, Bragança, Portugal Genealogy

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

History

 * Mogadouro is a municipality in the district of Bragança in Portugal.
 * The history of Mogadouro is evident in the number of castros that dot the landscape of the region from the neolithic period.
 * Celts also passed through this region leaving behind its art and religion. One of these Celtic tribes, the Zoelae, were responsible for setting many of the lands along the Duro, Sabor and Angueira Rivers.
 * The region is referred to in art, religion and socio-economic reports from the Roman period.
 * The Visgothic era is shown in the area as are the Moorish influence of handicrafts made from flax and wool.
 * The later Castle of Modagouro, was started prior to the establishment of the civic charter in 1272-1273.
 * Mogadouro remained stagnated until the 16th century as consequence to its economic activity which did not contract because of the lack of royal patronage.
 * After the 16th century Mogadouro saw some growth. The Távora family, a noble house with influence and power in the court, controlled the region. They commanded the fort and guided the town, contributing to the development of the lands withing their domain.
 * The municipal archive burned down in 1881 and again in 1927.
 * The 19th century found few noble families were interested in their holdings in Mogadouro and they did not do much to develop the area.
 * Mogadouro is divided into 21 parishes
 * The population of Mogadouro is roughly 9,600 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 Bragança Civil Registration.

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

Conservatória do Registo Civil e Predial de Mogadouro Pç. Eng Duarte Pacheco Mogadouro 5200-000 Vilarinho dos Galegos PORTUGAL Phone: 279341583 Email: [mailto:crcpcom.mogadouro@dgrn.mj.pt crcpcom.mogadouro@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 Bragança 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.

Family History Centers
Viseu Portugal Family History Center Rua Cândido dos Reis 81 VISEU 3510-056 PORTUGAL Phone: +351 351-32425559 Email: [mailto:PT_Viseu@ldsmail.net PT_Viseu@ldsmail.net] Website: Viseu Portugal Family History Center