Finding your Portuguese Roots

Introduction

by Cheri Mello

Copyright 1998- 2015. All rights reserved

The filming of the Portuguese records (or the Azorean ones) began in the mid-1980s. The dissemination of how to bridge the gap between the United States to the location overseas took another 5 or 6 years. Slowly, the numbers and knowledge of how to use the Portuguese records was built. This guide was written to give you a brief overview of the records that are available and how to use them to trace your ancestors. The first part will deal with the records here that will lead you to a town overseas. The second part deals with what to do once you have that town and can't read Portuguese.

Genealogical research is concerned with 3 things: a name, a date, and a place. These 3 items need to be gathered for each birth, marriage and death of each ancestor you have. If you have American branches, I strongly recommend that you do those first. Dealing with the immigrant involves some little used sources. You may not even find your immigrant on the frequently used sources. It can become frustrating. To do Portuguese research, you will need an island and a town or village. At some point, your research will lead you overseas. But let's start at the beginning, here in America.....

Finding your Portuguese Roots_1a…..Locating the Town from U.S. Sources

Finding your Portuguese Roots_1b…..Obtaining Vital Records from the States

Finding your Portuguese Roots_1c…..Using LDS Records

Finding your Portuguese Roots_1d…..Other Sources to Try

Finding your Portuguese Roots_1e…..The Immigrant

Finding your Portuguese Roots_2a…..Structure Overseas

Finding your Portuguese Roots_2b…..Vital Records

Finding your Portuguese Roots_2c…..Other Useful Portuguese Records

Finding your Portuguese Roots_3a…..Reading Portuguese Records