Matosinhos, Porto, Portugal Genealogy

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

History

 * Matosinhos is a city and a municipality in the northern Porto district of Portugal.
 * This settlement extends back 5000 years during the Neolithic era through the Iron Age and the Roman Empire.
 * In the 12th century when Portugal was established, this territory had already existed for a time, Vila de matesinum.
 * One of the first official records referring to Matusiny dates from 1258, the results of Afonso III.
 * Matosinhos was a humble location and part of the parish of Sandim.
 * In the 16th century, Matosinhos received a foral attributed to King D. Manuel I in 1514, which made it assume an important position as an agro-producer and seat of many property-owners.
 * Matosinhos has 4 parishes.
 * The population of Matosinhos is roughly 175,500 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 Porto Civil Registration.

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

Conservatória do Registo Civil de Matosinhos R. Alfredo Cunha 264, 2º – D 4450-021 Matosinhos PORTUGAL Phone: 229381324 Fax: 229385546 Email: [mailto:crc.matosinhos@dgrn.mj.pt crc.matosinhos@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 Porto 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
Foz Portugal Family History Center Av Marechal Gomes da Costa 774 FOZ DO DOURO 4150-355 PORTUGAL Phone: +351 122-617-2850 Email: [mailto:PT_Foz@familyhistorymail.org PT_Foz@familyhistorymail.org] Website: Foz Portugal Family History Center