Généalogie portugaise · Genealogia portuguesa · Portuguese genealogy
Généalogie portugaise · Genealogia portuguesa · Portuguese genealogy
Of Portuguese descent, but you know nothing of your ancestors beyond your grandparents?
I find them for you in the Portuguese archives, record by record, in 2 to 6 weeks, without you having to travel.
Portuguese genealogy, wherever you live: United States, Canada, United Kingdom, Brazil, South Africa, Australia…
It’s not you: these records are hard to read. Priests’ handwriting, abbreviations, old Portuguese, archives scattered between Lisbon and the districts… Even a Portuguese person today cannot read them without training. Yet the traces are there: parish registers going back to the 16th century, civil registration records, marriage files.
Old Portuguese, handwriting, priests’ abbreviations.
DigitArq, Torre do Tombo, district archives, Conservatórias.
First names, nicknames and place names that change from one record to the next.
💱 Prices are in euros. Click any price to see the approximate amount in your own currency, at today’s rate: all the world’s currencies are available.
Transcription, English translation and a list of every name in it: parents, grandparents, godparents, witnesses.
One line, paternal or maternal. Family tree in PDF, copies of the records, summary of proven facts and hypotheses.
Both sides over 4 generations, about 15 ancestors. Family tree and booklet delivered in PDF.
Your genogram over 5 generations and two transgenerational analysis sessions. With or without record research.
Reading 3 records: 120 €. Special research (foundlings, marriage dispensations, Lisbon archives): 50 € per hour, on quotation.
Fees for official records (certidões, archive copies) are charged at cost. Prices are in euros; click a price to see an approximate amount in your currency.
A free first exchange, to understand what you are looking for.
Names, dates, places, family documents.
In the digitised archives and the Conservatórias.
Family tree, translated records and summary in PDF.
From Lisbon to Fátima and Ourém, from Ponte de Sor to Belver and Abrantes, from Mação and Castelo to Oleiros and Gouveia, I have traced my lines back to ancestors born around 1575, record by record: digitised parish registers, civil records from the Conservatórias, marriage dispensation files, and even the trace of a great-grandfather who was a foundling of the São José hospital in Lisbon. Here is my genogram. It is still growing: every new record found in the archives adds to it.
The roda dos expostos
This great-grandfather had been left at the Lisbon “roda”: a revolving wheel set into the wall of the foundling home run by the Santa Casa da Misericórdia, where a newborn could be handed over without being seen. A “rodeira” took the baby in on the other side, had it baptised and gave it a name. Mothers often slipped in a “sinal” with the child: a note, a ribbon, a medal, a holy picture, so they could one day recognise and reclaim it. About 90,000 of these tokens, dated 1658 to 1939, are still kept in the archives of the Santa Casa. On the baptism record of his son, in 1895, he is called “exposto”: his parents are unknown, and his line stops there, at the door of the roda.
Genogram still in progress. Names of living people are hidden. The left-hand column shows the generation and the degree of kinship.
View the genogram full size (zoomable PDF)
The names, dates and places you know, even incomplete: a first name, a village, a photo of a family document are often enough to begin.
Yes. I prefer to work in writing, by email, in English: it leaves a clear trace of every finding. Video calls are also possible if you wish.
Allow two to six weeks for one line, depending on the state of the archives and the availability of official records.
No. Certificates ordered from the Conservatórias and archive copies are charged at cost, with no mark-up.
No. I find the records and give you a working translation, which is not official. Applications and certified translations are handled by other professionals.
No. Portuguese archives are digitised: I do the research from home and we exchange by email or video call, wherever you live.
Prices are in euros. Payment is by bank transfer only (IBAN), with no PayPal and no card fees: a 30% deposit when you order, the balance when the results are delivered. Record reading is paid when you order. To see a price in your currency, simply click it and choose your currency from the list: the amount at today’s rate appears. From outside the euro zone, an online transfer service such as Wise is usually the cheapest way to pay in euros. Everything is set out in the terms and conditions.
Some registers have been lost or have gaps, and some lines stop (foundling, destroyed register). In that case I explain why and show you the leads that remain. For an unreadable record, I tell you before charging.
Yes. They are used only for your research: they are never published or passed on to anyone.
Tell me what you already know about your family: I will reply with a quotation.
Write to me: contact@genealogia-portugal.com
I reply in English, usually within 48 hours.