I have been researching my own family genealogy for just a few years but not in a daily basis as I work with Book Conservation during the week, so only the weekends are left for doing that and it’s not so much when you have so many other things to accomplish in just two days.
The FamilySearch website (www.familysearch.org) is the first place I go for searching original records and they have a large database for Brazil. The newest one, updated September 2011, is the Immigration Cards 1900 – 1965:
I found many documents from my family at FamilySearch web site. They are an inestimable source of evidence!
Regarding immigration in Brazil ports, the best place for you to visit is the Arquivo Nacional – www.arquivonacional.gov.br - where you can obtain all the information about the ships and a database of immigrant arrivals. The search for names of those that arrived in Rio de Janeiro Port between 1880 -1930 is manual. Although the ship manifests are on line, there are no indexes up to this moment. You will need to create a username and login to access their database - http://www.an.gov.br/rvbndes/menu/menu.php
You will also find a great resource on newspaper from Brazil at Biblioteca Nacional, they are fully searchable by keywords. Newspaper Online.
Do you know where I can find records of arrivals before 1850? My great great grandfather, Antonio de Lima was born in the Azores and appeared in San Luis Obispo, California in the 1852 census. I'm trying to track his progress and thought he might have immigrated first to Brazil. Any ideas?
ReplyDeleteHello Ray,
DeleteDid you searched the passports from Azores website? If he came from Azores, you will probably find him there with dates. Usually passport were requested shortly before the trip.
If you have any other question, send me an email to myportuguesegen at gmail dot com