Anyone know how to find Brazilian Geneology Records?

Question:

Anyone know how to find Brazilian Geneology Records?

I'm Brazilian. I live in the U.S. I want to find a way to trace back my ancestors. Just for curiosity. Anyone have any clue how I could do that? I'm also certain I have relatives from Lebanon, but I just want to start off slow. Thanks all your your input and help in advance!

Best Answer - Chosen by Asker: It won't be the same as it is for North America. Most Brasilian records are not indexed for the internet.

Cyndis List has nothing on Brazil because Brazil has no actual genealogy records online. But there is a link from the Library of Congress that outlines what you will be able to find online: http://www.loc.gov/rr/international/hisp...

Most records that you need will be covered by very strict privacy laws. You will need to work through the Catholic Church for most of the records on the most recent generations. Anything within the last 100 years will only be available to you through the Church. If they weren't Catholic then you have a problem.

But when you do research the Church records it's much like searching for any other records. You have to find the parish where people were baptized, married and given last rites and burial (sepulcre). You will need a rough estimate of dates because these records are literally like diaries. There is no index and they are not in alphabetical order. The parish secretary will have to go through them page by page. You will also have to ask for records by the full name of the individual. It's not enough to say, "I would like all records on the Peres family". Parishes have very small staffs and no one is dedicated to looking up genealogy requests.

Whenever possible add to your letter requesting information that you would like to be given the name of the parish of the person's baptism if different than this parish. That helps you go back to the next generation.

I'm assuming your Lebanese ancestors were Orthodox Christians who migrated to South America in the last 100 years. They may actually be easier than your fully Brasilian ancestors. Their visa and passport information will be available from Lebanon and their entrance permits and requests for residency are available through the Brasilian National Archives through 1924. Later records will have to be requested from the government.

If your Lebanese ancestors came to the US then it's even easier. You send a request for the Declaration of Intent, Naturalization petition to the National Archives and Records Administration regional center that holds records for the state where your ancestor lived when naturalized.

I hope this gives you a good overview. It's not horribly difficult, but it's more like genealogy was in the US 20 years ago before the internet made records so readily available. You just need to be patient and take your time. Good luck.