Once I became familiar with the patterns in the baptismal records for the village I was working in, I no longer needed to transcribe it word for word. To make my life easier, I developed an abstract cheat sheet with the terms in Portuguese to help me find them in the document.
This is my sheet for Maia, Ribeira Grande and Achada, Nordeste. The information varies by era and village. Early records tend to have less information than newer records.
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Entry #: Page #:
Name:
Filho or Filha de (son or daughter of)
Nasceu (Birth):
Materno (maternal grandparents):
Paterno (paternal grandparents):
Baptizei de (baptized on)
Padrinhos (godparents):
Testemunhos (witnesses):
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Make a sheet with four or five of these on a page. Then, use them to note information as you are reading the records. It will make things a lot easier on your note taking and your eyes.
