Sao Miguel Birth and Marriage Records

[JC]

Is there an online source for looking for birth and marriage records
from Sao Miguel? I have spent an hour looking around the CCA site but
have found nothing except some death records. Not being able to read
portuguese is a definite disadvantage. I think learning it is going to
the top of my new years list ;-). If anyone can post a link or let me
know where to go to find these, I would really appreciate it.

Thanks
JC

[Cheri Mello]

JC,

The CCA site will eventually house all the records.  It will take a few more years to complete all the islands.  Right now, there are no records for S.Miguel online.  Only an index that Hermano provided to them for deaths in Lagoa, I believe.

Cheri Mello
Listowner, Azores-Gen
Researching: Vila Franca, Ponta Garca, Ribeira Quente, Ribeira das Tainhas, Achada

[JC]

Since it is not on line yet, how should I go about trying to find a
marriage record for my gg grandparents?

Thanks
JC

[Cheri Mello]

JC,

I don't see any year for the marriage on Sao Miguel, so I don't know where to point you.  Do you have a year or a range?

[Jacki G.]

Oh, sorry. I think it would be around 1877. Their oldest child that I know of was born in 1878 and my gg grandmother would have been between 19 and 21 depending on what source for her age I go by. Her death cert said she was born in 1859 but the ships records and passports show her as 25 in 1882 making it more like 1857. So, give or take say 5 years.

 

Should I go after his birth record or baptism record first, since I know his date of birth?

 

JC

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From: azo...@googlegroups.com [mailto:azo...@googlegroups.com] On Behalf Of Cheri Mello
Sent: Monday, February 01, 2010 4.48 PM
To: azo...@googlegroups.com
Subject: Re: [AZORES-Genealogy] Re: Sao Miguel Birth and Marriage Records

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[Cheri Mello]

JC,

Most of Sao Miguel is filmed up to about 1883 or so.  There are gaps in certain freguesias (villages).

You can go to the Family History Library Catalog (FHLC) online or to your FHC to order the film for your village for the 1870s.  Depending on how the roll is put together, you may have baptism and marriages on the same roll.  If it's a larger freguesia though, that's not as likely.

Since you have the exact date of the birth, I'd order the baptism film.  Once you think you find the record you can scan it and send it to the list for help with translation.  If you're learning to read the records though, I'd try to find all the siblings (up to the 1883ish cut off) for practice in reading the Portuguese.

[Jacki G]

Cheri,

 

Thank you. I know they are from Faja de Cima, Ponta Delgado. Is Faja de Cima the village? If not, will I still be able to find it with that much information.

 

JC

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From: azo...@googlegroups.com [mailto:azo...@googlegroups.com] On Behalf Of Cheri Mello

Sent: Monday, February 01, 2010 8:38 PM

To: azo...@googlegroups.com
Subject: Re: [AZORES-Genealogy] Re: Sao Miguel Birth and Marriage Records

[Cheri Mello]

Hi JC,

Yes, here's the way it's organized:
Freguesia/village: Faja de Cima
Council (county): Ponta Delgada
Island: Sao Miguel
Archipelago: Azores
County: Portugal

For my record keeping, my personal would be Faja de Cima, Sao Miguel, Azores.  There's only 1 Faja de Cima, so stating the council (which is also a city) is not necessary in my book.  And I figure if some relative found my research and they had no idea that they were part Azorean, and that they are part of Portugal, well, then they need a map and a talk with grandma.  But I like to simplify and streamline things as much of possible, as that's more of my style.  Others would argue to add other things.

The FHLC (direct link and good to bookmark):
http://www.familysearch.org/eng/Library/FHLC/frameset_fhlc.asp

There's more than one way to do this.  Here's mine:
I chose Place Search.
Place: Faja de Cima
Part of: Portugal

Click on the blue link on the next page.  Then on the next page after that, chose the top one (Church Records).  Next page click the Parish Registers (blue words).

As you see they filmed Faja de Cima up to 1879.  Most of Sao Miguel was up to 1883ish and you wound up with the "ish."  Click the upper right button that says View Film Notes.

You may want to print out the next page and take it with you to your FHC.

For your 1877 birth, you'd order Batismos 1867-1879, film 1330541.  You're lucky that Faja de Cima is small.  The marriages from 1837-1879 are also film 1330541.  So that is the only film you need at the moment.

I haven't ordered film in a while, so I'm unsure how long it takes to come in.

Hope this helps.

[Jacki G.]

Cheri,

 

Thank you so much. That helps a lot. Not only in finding these particular records but it also helps me understand better how the process works and what to look for. That kind of help is boundless in it's usefulness. Before I started on this branch of my family all my research has been in the US back to the late 1600's then back to Scottland. This research is definitely a whole different ball of wax.

 

When you are looking through these films, is it the names that you are visually scanning the documents for first?  While I don't speak Portuguese yet, I do recognize the names of the months, some of the key words and some of the abbreviations for first and last names.

 

JC

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From: azo...@googlegroups.com [mailto:azo...@googlegroups.com] On Behalf Of Cheri Mello

Sent: Tuesday, February 02, 2010 10.23 AM

To: azo...@googlegroups.com
Subject: Re: [AZORES-Genealogy] Re: Sao Miguel Birth and Marriage Records