Brazil, Land Grant Records - FamilySearch Historical Records

Brazil

What Is in This Collection?
This collection includes records from 1714-1888.

The collection includes administrative documents surrounding the concession and confirmation of land grants (sesmarias) during the colonial and early-national periods. The records also include personal information such as names, birth dates, and places of origin, for some of Brazil's earliest immigrants who settled in what would become the states of Alagoas, Bahia, Ceará, Espírito Santo, Goiás, Maranhão, Mato Grosso, Minas Gerais, Pará, Paraíba, Pernambuco, Piauí, Rio de Janeiro, Rio Grande do Norte, Rio Grande do Sul, Santa Catarina, São Paulo, and Sergipe. These records are currently housed in the National Archives in Rio de Janeiro.

Reading These Records
These records are written in Portuguese; also see the section For Help Reading These Records for translation helps.

What Can These Records Tell Me?
Land grant records may contain the following information:


 * Full name
 * Family members
 * Residence
 * Dates of important life events

How Do I Search This Collection?
Before using this collection it is helpful to know:
 * Your ancestor's given name and surname
 * Identifying information such as residence
 * Estimated marriage or birth year

View the Images
You will be able to search this collection once it is published.

For Help Reading These Records
For help reading these Portuguese records, see the following guides:


 * Portuguese Genealogical Word List
 * Brazil Language and Languages

How Do I Analyze the Results?
Compare each result from your search with what you know to determine if there is a match. This may require viewing multiple records or images. Keep track of your research in a research log.

I Found Who I Was Looking For, What Now?

 * Use the birth date or age along with the place of birth of each spouse to find a couple's birth records and parents' names
 * Use the birth date or age along with the place of birth to find the family in census records Brazil Census
 * Use the parents' birth places to find former residences and to establish a migration pattern for the family
 * Church Records are also a good substitute when birth, marriage, and death records can’t be found or are unavailable
 * Brazil Catholic Church Records (FamilySearch Historical Records)
 * Brazil Church Records
 * Or your ancestor immigrated to another country. Search the records of nearby areas or immigration/emigration records:
 * Brazil Emigration and Immigration

What If I Can't Find Who I'm Looking For?

 * New information is constantly being indexed, microfilmed or updated. Periodically check back and see if your ancestor’s records have been added.  You can see if the area you’ve been looking in has been recently updated by going to Historical Records Collections and notice the asterisk for recently added or updated records.

Citing This Collection
Citations help you keep track of places you have searched and sources you have found. Identifying your sources helps others find the records you used.


 * Collection Citation: