Santa Cecília, Paraíba, Brazil Genealogy

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

History
Around 1770, when the production of the sugar mills was in full development, a Portuguese couple who lived in Nazaré da Mata, and had a mill, arrived here, in search of an area where they could plant foodstuffs and raise animals to serve as support for food and transport, meeting the primary needs of the ENGENHO. The proximity of the Paraíba River was a good place, as the land was fertile and in abundance for the cultivation of foodstuffs and water to supply the needs in the dry period. A rammed earth house was built on this site, where they stayed during the winter. In the summer, the couple returned to Nazaré da Mata, loaded with cereals, flour and meat, produced on land that in the future would be the municipality of Santa Cecília. The following children were born to this Pioneer couple: - João Lopes de Mendonça, Antônio Lopes de Mendonça, - Francisco Lopes de Mendonça, - José Lopes de Mendonça. Only João Lopes remained here, marrying the sister of another settler named Lourenço Sales. Her name was Cecília Sales and she was nicknamed "Cisia". They got married and built a little house on the edge of a pond that was a source of water for the residents of the neighborhood and even other more distant areas. With an adventurous spirit, João Lopes de Mendonça traveled to the Amazon, leaving Cisia alone at the mercy of her luck and died there. District created with the name of Santa Cecília, on January 16, 1978, subordinated to the municipality of Umbuzeiro. Elevated to the category of municipality with the name of Santa Cecília do Umbuzeiro, on December 13, 1995, separated from Umbuzeiro.

Local Offices
Cartório do Registro Civil Rua Manoel Rodopiano de Sales, s/n Centro Santa Cecília PB 58463-000 Telephone: (83) 8103-6150 E-mail: cartorio.santacecilia@hotmail.com

Online Resources

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