WikiProject:Latin America Catholic Church Finding Aid

Current Projects Page

Latin America Catholic Church Finding Aid

Project Leader

Caileigh Oldroyd

Purpose

Make a table to show record coverage of the Catholic parishes, dioceses, and archdioceses in Latin America. We are starting with Santa Catarina, Brazil and will expand out to other Brazilian States and Latin American Countries. Check out the Costa Rica Catholic Church Parish Finding Aid to see what this research turns in to!

Video Instructions

It is required to watch these videos before you begin helping. Please watch part one and part two.

• Part 1 - English
• Part 2 - English

Task List

Santa Catarina, Brazil Task List

Beginning Instructions

Open the task list:

• Task List - Tab "Data"

Background Information

Some of the information on towns and parishes was incorrectly catalogued in many places in Latin America and Brazil. In order to help others, we will be reading the actual records to get municipality names, parish names, and date ranges. Sometimes the catalogued information is correct and the information within the records matches exactly to what it says. Sometimes it is off in municipality, parish, or date range.

Always assume that the metadata is incorrect and never copy it directly on to the sheet without looking in the records first. When transcribing information a good rule of thumb is to write exactly what the records say and not assume anything. They will be sorted and compiled at a later point. The instructions below will tell you how to read through the records.

Part One

1. Sign your name in Column B (Name/Nome) next to a link.
2. Click the Link next to your name in Column C (Link).
3. Look at the first few pages to find the following information:

• Parish Name
• Municipality Name
• Date Range

Finding the Parish Name

The first few pages of a parish register typically contain an opening statement, a cover page, or both that says what the particular book is. It will usually include the parish name and the municipality it covers. You may need to click through the first few pages of the digital images to find the opening statement or cover page. Here are a few examples of what you may experience:

• You can typically spot the parish name by the words "freguesia de" or "paróquia de", which both mean parish.
  
  

• Some books may contain more than one parish. The priest will sometimes mention this in the opening statement of the book.
• You would put this on the spreadsheet as "Nossa Senhora Mai dos Homens" in Column E, "Actual Parish Name / Nome Real da Paróquia." In this instance, the priest also says there is another parish within this book. "Santo Antonio dos Anjos da cidade da Laguna". You can put this information in the "Notes / Notas" column and it will be added later.
• You will not need to know how to translate the entire paragraph, just train your eye to look for the words "freguesia de" or "paróquia de". If there is more than one parish mentioned, put it in the "Notes / Notas" column.
  
  

• Sometimes the parish will go by the municipality name instead of the patron saint. This is fine to put on the spreadsheet as "Araranguá" in Column E, "Actual Parish Name / Nome Real da Paróquia."

Finding the Municipality Name

The Municipality name usually comes after the parish name in the opening statement. The parish may also go by the municipality name it resides in.

• You can typically spot the municipality name after the parish name. It will look like this:
  
  

• You would put this on the spreadsheet as Barra Velha in Column F, "Actual Municipality Name / Nome Real do Município." You can see that it comes after Freguesia de Nossa Senhora da Conceição.

Finding the Date Range

These books are typically in chronological order, with occasional add ons. To find the actual date range the book, look at the first entry of events (baptism, marriage, or death), then go to the last entry of the book and look in the same place for the date of the last entry.

• In this photo the date is "de mil novecentos e cinco" or 1905.

• A Portuguese and Spanish number guide is at the bottom of this page that you can reference if you are English speaking.

• Once you find the date range, add it to Column F, "Acutal Date Range / Intervalo de Datas"
• You only need to put the years. Reading the exact days and months is not necessary.

No Opening Statement or Hard to Read Documents

Some books may not have an opening statement or it may be difficult to read. You can usually find the information needed for the spreadsheet within the records themselves, you just have to click through the pages. Here is an example of how to find the Date, Parish Name, and Municipality name in a baptism record:

• The information that would go on the spreadsheet: Year - 1884; Parish Name - N.S. da Conceição; Municipality - Barra Velha
  
  

Notes Column

• If you ever come across a book that you have a hard time reading, even after checking other pages, you can put in the notes column "Skipped" so another volunteer or specialist can try to read it.
• If you're fairly certain of a spelling, but aren't confident, put "Spelling" and a specialist will go and double check the spelling.
• Sometimes there are books of slave records. Please put in the notes if you come across these records/ They usually have this information on the cover of the book or within the first few pages. The portuguese word for slave is "Escravo." The Spanish word for slave is "Esclavo." Typically, it will look something like this:
  
  

• Any other concerns or items that need to be noted can be put in the notes column.

Final Steps

• When you are finished, make sure you add your name and date next to the link.
• Then start the instructions from the beginning on the next link.

Helpful Resources

• Use Portuguese Genealogical Word List for help with translating written out years from numerals to numbers.
• Use BYU Script Tutorial - Portuguese Numbers when the handwriting is tricky for reading dates.
  
• Use BYU Script Tutorial - Portuguese Alphabet Charts when the handwriting is tricky for a spelling of a parish or municipality.
• Use Santa Catarina, Brazil Genealogy for a list of municipalities to cross reference with what you think is spelled out.
• Use The All Parishes Tab to double check your spelling for a parish or municipality name. It may not have historical or defunct names of municipalities or parishes.
• Use Google to double check spelling on municipality or parish names that you are unfamiliar with. If you were unsure of a municipality in Santa Catarina, Brazil, a good way to search for it would be "GUESS OF SPELLING, Santa Catarina, Brazil." This should yield results that will direct you to the correct spelling.