Brazil, Land Grant Records - FamilySearch Historical Records

Brazil

What Is in This Collection?
This collection includes records from 1714-1888. The collection includes administrative documents surrounding the concession and confirmation of land grants (sesmarias) during the colonial and early-national periods. The records also include personal information such as names, birth dates, and places of origin, for some of Brazil's earliest immigrants who settled in what would become the states of Alagoas, Bahia, Ceará, Espírito Santo, Goiás, Maranhão, Mato Grosso, Minas Gerais, Pará, Paraíba, Pernambuco, Piauí, Rio de Janeiro, Rio Grande do Norte, Rio Grande do Sul, Santa Catarina, São Paulo, and Sergipe. These records are currently housed in the National Archives in Rio de Janeiro.

Reading These Records
These records are written in Portuguese. For help reading them see:
 * Portuguese Genealogical Word List
 * Brazil Language and Languages

What Can These Records Tell Me?
The following information may be found in these records:
 * Full name
 * Family members
 * Residence
 * Dates of important life events

How Do I Search This Collection?
Before searching 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
You will be able to search this collection once it is published.

How Do I Analyze the Results?
Compare each result from your search with what you know to determine if there is a match. This may require viewing multiple records or images. Keep track of your research in a research log.

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

 * 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
 * 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
 * Church Records are also a good substitute when birth, marriage, and death records can’t be found or are unavailable
 * Brazil Catholic Church Records - FamilySearch Historical Records
 * Brazil Church Records
 * Or your ancestor immigrated to another country. Search the records of nearby areas or immigration/emigration records:
 * Brazil Emigration and Immigration

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

 * Try searching by surname only
 * The person may be recorded with an abbreviated or variant form of their name
 * Remember that spelling was generally not standardized until the early part of the 20th century

Research Helps
The following articles will help you in your research for your family in Brazil.
 * Record Finder
 * Research Tips and Strategies

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.

Brasil, registros de concesión de tierras (Registros Históricos de FamilySearch) Brasil, Registros de Sesmarias (Registros Históricos do FamilySearch)