Most churches do not have records before 1910 because they were confiscated by the new Republic and became "civil records". Records before 1914 should be at the Archives and are usually available.
As for post 1910 Church records, those are kept at the local parish. Access to them depends entirely on the parish priest. Some priests will only look up a particular record and issue it to you if he finds it. He will not research (much) nor will he allow you to go through the book yourself. Some priests will gladly engage you and do a thorough search. Other priests, especially if he is your cousin, or was your father's class mate, or knew your relatives well, might just sit you down in front of a desk, bring you the registers and tell you to knock yourself out. (Before anybody thinks I am exaggerating, I have had that felicitous experience myself and know of others who had that fortuitous response.) It really all depends on the priest and/or you connections. "Cunhas" are still very important in the Azores. Do not let anybody tell you otherwise. Good luck, Hank! John M. Raposo On Thursday, July 9, 2015 12:36 PM, Marilyn Thompson <mari...@jmtmlt.com> wrote: If I remember right in 1911 the events -birth- marriage-deaths are in the civil registration offices. There should still be copy in the parish I would think. I am sure someone with more knowledge will chime in. On Thu, Jul 9, 2015 at 9:01 AM, Hank Cupper <hcup...@comcast.net> wrote: I’m traveling to Flores, my home island, in late August with my cousin Deanna. We hope to find other cousins still living there. Our direct ancestors left in 1880, but thanks to Cheri and Rosemarie’s super workshop in Salt Lake City I’ve now got a huge pre-1910 family tree. They were fertile and healthy! Does anyone have advice or tips about getting access to local church records in the islands? I have a contact in the village, but I don’t think she’s much of a church goer. Do I contact the priest directly? Or do I have to contact the diocese first? Or...?? If we can just bridge a generation or two I think we’ll find we’re related to just about everyone there! Hank Cupper-- For options, such as changing to List, Digest, Abridged, or No Mail (vacation) mode, log into your Google account and visit this group at http://groups.google.com/group/Azores. Click in the blue area on the right that says "Join this group" and it will take you to "Edit my membership." --- You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "Azores Genealogy" group. To unsubscribe from this group and stop receiving emails from it, send an email to azores+unsubscr...@googlegroups.com. Visit this group at http://groups.google.com/group/azores. -- For options, such as changing to List, Digest, Abridged, or No Mail (vacation) mode, log into your Google account and visit this group at http://groups.google.com/group/Azores. Click in the blue area on the right that says "Join this group" and it will take you to "Edit my membership." --- You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "Azores Genealogy" group. To unsubscribe from this group and stop receiving emails from it, send an email to azores+unsubscr...@googlegroups.com. Visit this group at http://groups.google.com/group/azores. -- For options, such as changing to List, Digest, Abridged, or No Mail (vacation) mode, log into your Google account and visit this group at http://groups.google.com/group/Azores. Click in the blue area on the right that says "Join this group" and it will take you to "Edit my membership." --- You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "Azores Genealogy" group. To unsubscribe from this group and stop receiving emails from it, send an email to azores+unsubscr...@googlegroups.com. Visit this group at http://groups.google.com/group/azores.