Brazil Archives and Libraries
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This section describes the major repositories of genealogical and historical records and sources for Brazil.
Archival Research
There are many repositories with genealogical information for Brazilian research:
- National archives and libraries (arquivos e bibliotecas nacionais)
- State archives (arquivos do Estado)
- District and municipal civil registry offices (Cartório Distrital e Municipal do Registro Civil)
- Diocese and parish archives
- Private and public libraries
- Historical and genealogical societies
Records of genealogical value at district, state, and national archives include the following:
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The Biblioteca Nacional (National Library) and state and city public archives also have:
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Some helpful guides to federal, state, municipal, and church records are:
- Catálogo dos Arquivos Brasileiros (Catalog of Brazilian Archives). Rio de Janeiro: Arquivo Nacional, 1977. Online: FHL Book: 981 A3b
- Guia Brasileiro de Fontes para a História da África, da Escravidão Negra e do Negro na Sociedade Atual: Fontes Arquivistas (Brazilian Guide of Sources for the History of Africa, Black Slavery and of the Negro in the Present Society). 2 vols. Rio de Janeiro: Arquivo Nacional, 1988. FHL Book: 981 A3g Volume 2 has information of the collections in the National Archives, in Rio de Janeiro. WorldCat
If you plan to visit one of these repositories, contact the organization, and ask for information about its collection, hours, services, and fees. Some of that information may also be found on the Internet. You may need to obtain a letter of introduction from your embassy before visiting a repository. For help writing to a Portuguese archive, use the Portuguese Letter-Writing Guide.
National Government Archives and Libraries
Addresses for the national archives of Brazil and other national repositories are as follows:
Arquivo Nacional (National Archive)
Praça da Republica 173
Centro
RIO DE JANEIRO 20211-350
Brazil
Tel Fax: (55)(21)2179-1228
E-mail: arquivonacional@rio.com.br
Website
Arquivo do Ministério do Exército (Archive of the Ministry of the Army)
Praça Duque de Caxias
20221-260 Rio de Janeiro, RJ
BRASIL
Arquivo da Marinha (Archive of the Navy)
Praça Barão de Ladário - Centro
Edif. do 1º Distrito Naval - Térreo
20091-000 Rio de Janeiro, RJ
BRASIL
Arquivo do Instituto Histórico e Geográfico Brasileiro (Archive of the Historical and Geographical Institute of Brazil)
Av Augusto Severo 8
20000 Rio de Janeiro, RJ
BRASIL
Website
State Archives
In Brazil each state has its own archives. Records of genealogical value at state archives may include the following:
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The state archives of Brazil are open to members of the public who have proper identification and permission (that is, a letter of introduction from your country’s embassy, a university official, or another notable organization).
Following are the addresses of the state archives:
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Arquivo Geral do Estado do Acre Fundação Cultural do Estado de Amapá Arquivo Público do Estado da Bahia Arquivo Público do Estado do Ceará Arquivo Público do Distrito Federal Arquivo Público Estadual do Espírito Santo Arquivo Histórico do Estado de Goiás Arquivo Público do Estado do Maranhão Arquivo Público de Mato Grosso Arquivo Público do Estado de Mato Arquivo Público Mineiro (Minas Gerais) Arquivo Público do Estado do Pará Arquivo Administrativo da Paraíba Arquivo Público Estadual de Pernambuco Arquivo Público e Museu Histórico do Piauí |
Arquivo Público do Estado do Rio de Janeiro Arquivo Público Estadual do Rio Grande do Norte Arquivo Histórico do Rio Grande do Sul Arquivo Geral do Estado de Rondônia Arquivo Público do Estado de Roraima Arquivo Público do Estado de Santa Catarina Arquivo Público do Estado de São Paulo Arquivo Público Estadual de Sergipe |
Civil and District Civil Registry Offices
In Brazil, records created by the local government, including birth, death, and marriage records, are kept in the local registry offices (Cartório Municipal) or the district registry offices (Cartório Distrital). These records are available to the public. For more information about these offices and their records, see Brazil Civil Registration.
If records are not available through the Family History Library from the towns your ancestors were from, you may need to write to the registry offices in that area. For help writing a letter in Portuguese, see the Portuguese Letter-Writing Guide.
Dioceses and Parish Archives
Brazil holds fourty-four ecclesiastical provinces, divided into 215 dioceses and 45 archdioceses, each of which has many records of genealogical and historical value for its regions.[1]. Each dioceses or archdioceses contains many parishes. Some dioceses of the Catholic Church have gathered copies of local parish church records into the diocese archives.
Archdioceses and dioceses records usually include:
- Chaplaincy records (registros de capelania)
- Dispensations (dispensas)
- Ecclesiastical court matters
- Inquisition records (diligências de habilitação/inquisição)
- Marriage processes (processos de casamento)
- Marriage bonds/banns (dispensos de matrimônio e casamentos)
- Parish censuses (censos/confessados)
- Parish registers (registros paroquiales)
- Pedigree records (autos de genere)
- Priesthood ordinations (ordenações do sacerdócio)
- Wills (testamentos)
Catholic Church records less than 100 years old are usually kept by the local parish, which may also have earlier records. Some of these records have been microfilmed by the Family History Library, and are found through the FamilySearch catalog.
For records not available through the Family History Library, you can write to these archives and request brief searches of their records. Use the Portuguese Letter-Writing Guide. For additional information, see Brazil Church Records.
For addresses to the archdioceses archives, visit the Wikipedia page List of Catholic Dioceses in Brazil. From there, you can find contact information for the parishes within the dioceses.
Libraries and Archives of Portugal
Some pre-1822 sources for Brazil are also available in libraries in Portugal and are listed below. Please click on the link for more information:
- Arquivo Nacional da Torre do Tombo
- Arquivo Histórico Militar
- Biblioteca e Arquivo Central de Marinha
- Arquivo Histórico Ultramarino (Historical Oversea Archive)
- Biblioteca da Ajuda (Library of Assistance)
- Biblioteca Nacional (National Library)
For information on records of Brazil in Portugal, see:
- Almeida, Eduardo de Castro, Inventário dos documentos relativos ao Brasil existentes no Arquivo da Marinha e Ultramar de Lisboa (Inventory of documents relating to Brazil that exist in the Marinha and Utramarino archives). 8 vols. Rio de Janeiro, 1913–1938.
Private and Public Libraries
Brazilian libraries have collected published sources such as local histories, phone directories, maps, newspapers, and genealogies. See Brazil Genealogy for information about compiled family histories.
The National Library has an extensive collection of manuscripts and published sources. For information, write to:
Fundação Biblioteca Nacional (National Library Establishment)
Av. Rio Branco 219-239
20040-008 Rio de Janeiro, RJ
BRASIL
Tel 55 21 3095 3879
Fax 55 21 3095 3811
Internet: http://www.bn.br/site/default.htm
Other useful libraries include:
Instituto Genealógico Brasileiro
Rua Sete de Abril, 230
01044-000 São Paulo, SP
BRASIL
Tel.: (11) 257-4840
Universidade de São Paulo
Cidade Universitária
Armando de Salles Oliveira
CP 8191
05508-900 São Paulo
BRASIL
Fax: (11) 815-2142
E-mail: dtsibi@org.usp.br
Internet: http://www2.usp.br/portugues/index.usp
Many of the archives, museums, libraries, and universities of Brazil can be found on the Internet at:
- http://www.uidaho.edu/special-collections/latam.html
- http://www1.lanic.utexas.edu/subject/libraries/
Historical and Genealogical Societies
In Brazil there are organized historical and genealogical societies. Some societies maintain libraries and archives that collect valuable records. For more information, see Brazil Societies.
Inventories, Registers, and Catalogs
Many archives have catalogs, inventories, guides, or periodicals that describe their records and how to use them. If possible, study these guides before you visit, or use the records during your visit so you can use your time more effectively. See:
- Catálogo dos arquivos brasileiros (Catalog of the Brazilian archives). Rio de Janeiro: Arquivo Nacional, 1977. FHL Book: 981 A3b, FHL Book: 1218975
A guide to the archives and libraries for slavery records in Brazil is:
- Guia brasileiro de fontes para a história da África, da escravidão negra e do negro na sociedade atual: fontes arquivistas (Brazilian Guide of Sources for the History of Africa, Black Slavery and of the Negro in the Present Society). 2 vols. Arquivo Nacional: Departamento de Imprensa Nacional, 1988. FHL Book: 981 A3g, This guide describes the records in federal, state, and ecclesiastical archives.
Newspapers
The GLOBE Archive is a service that allows access to the digital version of all pages and material in the Journal GLOBE published since its first edition in July 29, 1925.
The Jornal do Brasil Newspaper has a trial version of the Official Centennial Collection of Brazil online.
References
- ↑ "List of Catholic dioceses in Brazil," in Wikipedia: The Free Encyclopedia, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_Catholic_dioceses_in_Brazil. Visited 9 August 2017.