Vasconcelos-The surname


  

The Vasconcelos, a lineage of knights ("infancoes") who ascended to the first rank of the Court during the 
reign of Ferdinand I, adopted as their coat of arms the following : sable, three bars vaire, argent and gules.
(Others say: vaire and counter-vaire); these arms are somewhat similar to those of the "Alvarengas" -- who, 
in fact descend from them through a lady -- and are also similar to those of the ancient and noble French
family of the "Sires de Coucy" (gules, 3 bars vaire, azur and argent).
 
The first iconography of the arms of the Vasconcelos, without any indication of the tinctures, was found on 
a seal of 1284, used by Dom Estevao Anes de Vasconcelos, Bishop of Lisbon (see Marquis of Abrantes,
"Silologia Medieval Portuguesa - Selo nº 268). The same shield, now with tinctures, was depicted in a 
wooden panel, deemed to be from the years 1397/1401, in the Nossa Senhora da Oliveira's Church, in the 
town of Guimaraes. The variant with counter-vaire bars is seen in all the official armorials -- "Livro do 
Armeiro-Mor" (1509), and "Livro da Torre do Tombo" (by Antonio Godinho) and the same variant is also 
shown in the ceiling paintings of the Sintra Palace and in the most notable Chapel of the Morgados do 
Esporao in the Evora's See (1530).
 
To this Coat of Arms, which belongs by right to the Chief of the name "Vasconcelos" - the Marquis of 
Abrantes, as successor of the Morgados do Esporao and ancient Earls of Figueiro' (?) -- there are many 
official variants, recognized in the letters patent granted to noble families of Portugal and Brazil.

- Marquis of Castelo-Melhor - Since the 17th century (1611) the main house of Vasconcellos held the title
of Earls of Castelo-Melhor. In 1766, the holder was elevated to the hereditary rank of Marquis of the
same title, in exchange for the hereditary General-Captainships of Madeira and Santa Maria of Azores.

Through a marriage with a descendent of the Captains of Azores and Madeira this house maintains the
surname Vasconcelos, notwithstanding the fact that in 1888 the male descent line was moved to the
Silveira-Pintos. The house also holds the hereditary title of Earl of Calheta (from 1576 onwards), and is
the Chief of the name and the arms of the "Camaras".

The traditional residence of the Marquesses was one of the best palaces of Lisbon. It was alienated by the
end of the 19th century and is now known as the "Foz Palace".

The present Marquis of Castelo-Melhor, Bernardo de Vasconcelos e Sousa, an eminent historian of the
youngest generation, replaced recently (1998) Prof. Jose Mattoso as General-Manager of the Portuguese
Historic Archive ("Torre do Tombo").

Earl of Lapa - A family of ancient nobility (14th century) as seen from its male line, "Almeida"
("Almeidas, mourned by the Tagus..."). This family was the first to adopt the double surname "Almeida e
Vasconcelos". They also hold the hereditary title of Baron of Mossamedes, coming from the properties
owned by their forebears since 1388 in Reguengo de Mossamedes (Province of Beira, Portugal).
Apparently the representation of the surname "Soveral" is also held by this family.

The first Baron was Captain and Governor of Angola and gave his name to the new town of
Mossamedes, at the time a Portuguese colony.

Today there is no trace of any family descending by a legitimate male line from the first Vasconcelos, lords
of the feud of Vasconcelos in the 12th century, or from the lineage of the celebrated Martim Moniz (whose
endeavours during the conquest of Lisbon from the moors were only told 200 years later).

However, there are some noble families descending by a male line from the medieval Vasconcelos -
through Rui Vasques Ribeiro (de Vasconcelos) Lord of the villages of Figueiro' and Pedrogao, a bastard
son (although legitimatized in 1430 by the king John I) of Rui Mendes de Vasconcelos and also through
his descendents, the first marquesses of Castelo-Melhor. Those are: The family of Luis-Maria Pinto de
Vasconcelos e Sousa (junior branch of the Castelo-Melhor) and the houses of Obidos, Alcazovas, Pombeiro
e Pombeiro of Riba-Vizela. From all these, only one, Obidos, still uses today the surname Vasconcelos.

All them have a legitimate male line since 1430.

Earl of Obidos - a title of 1636, styled "king's cousin" ("com honras de parente") in 1749, and made
heriditary in 1777.
This family uses the surname Vasconcelos e Sousa and represents the ancient titles of Marquis of Santa-
Iria, Earl of Palma, Earl of Sabugal, Earl of Alva and of the former Alcaides of Obidos and Selir-do-
Porto and, also, of the lords of Monte-Paim.

Lords of Alcazovas - a title of 1449, made heriditary in 1518. To a descendent of this house was granted
in 1834 the title of Earl of Alcazova (1834). Today, they use the surname Henriques de Lencastre and are
the Chiefs of the house and the arms of the "Henriques". With the marriage of Dona Teresa Henriques,
13th Lady of Alcazovas, with the Peer Luis de Vasconcelos e Sousa (Castelo Melhor) the main line went
to the Vasconcelos, although this surname was not adopted by their descendents.

Lords (1355) and Earls (1662) of Pombeiro, Lords (1449) and Marquesses (1801) of Belas, Majorat of
Castelo-Branco-o-Novo (in Santa-Iria, near Sacavem) - Again, it was through the marriage of the 6th
Countess with a Castelo-Melhor that the main-line turned Vasconcelos. Their descendents do not use this
surname, but rather "Castelo-Branco", which is linked to the house of Pombeiro, which, apparently, they
represent.

House of Pombeiro of Riba-Vizela - The house had a Barony title, granted for two lives; it was extinct in
1906. The marriage of a lady heiress with a nobleman of the Alcazovas House (1945) the male line
became Vasconcelos.

Other ancient titles granted to the Vasconcelos: Earls of Penela, house with ilegitimate royal male line,
descending from Dona Maria de Vasconcellos, married to Dom Afonso de Cascais, a bastard son of H.H.
the Prince John, Lord of Cascais and Oeiras, who died in 1397 and was a son of King Ferdinand I);
Earls of Figueiro' and Majorat of Esporao (a large farm near Reguengos-de-Monsaraz, which still exists
with the same middle-age boundaries; its lords had a notable renaissance chapel built in the Evora See.)

- Earl of Leiria - title granted in 1890 to a member of the family Pereira de Vasconcelos; the surname
Vasconcelos is still used by his descendents, notwithstanding the fact that the male line is now Azeredo
(from Mesao-Frio)

- Sant'Ana e Vasconcelos, descending from the Viscount of Nogueiras;

- Carneiros de Vasconcelos, gentlemen of coat of arms, letters patent 1848, succeeded by marriage in the
house of the Viscounts of San Romao; these, in turn, are descendents of the ancient majorats of Ferreiras
of Carregal (1492), of Tampas, Porto and of Honra do Paço do Avioso.

- Perestrelos de Vasconcelos - "Moços-Fidalgos com Exercicio". They descend from a High Court Judge,
living in the 18th century, who married the Landlady of the ancient "Quinta do Espanhol" in the outskirts
of Torres-Vedras, house of the Perestrelos.

- Moraes Sarmento de Vasconcelos e Castro - family with a male line Moraes. "Fidalgos-Cavaleiros da
Casa Real"

- Barros e Vasconcelos - from "Quinta das Barras", near Lisbon, true noblemen, with the rank of "Moços-
Fidalgos com exercício" i.e entitled to the address of "Senhoria".

- Teixeira de Vasconcelos (Pascoais) - family of the known writer Teixeira de Pascoais, owners of the
house of Pascoais, near Amarante, who were elevated to an heriditary peerage in 1906.

- Teles de Vasconcelos - a noble family from Guarda. Antonio Teles Pereira de Vasconcelos Pimentel was
elevated to Peerage (hereditary) in 1881.

Vasconcelos, from Vila do Conde - Family granted in 1779 with a Coat of Arms; "Cavaleiros-Fidalgos"
since 1794. Through marriage (1789), became the owners of the most ancient manor house of
"Sequeiros" (14th century), near Ponte-de-Lima, source of the surnames "Sequeiros" and "Luna".

- Pais de Vasconcelos - Medieval nobless, male line Tavares, were granted the use of a Coat of Arms
representing the surname "Pais" by the end of the 16th century, and are "Fidalgos-Cavaleiros" since then.

- Azevedo de Almeida e Vasconcelos (Reriz) - The forefather was a physician, the king's chief-surgeon.
His grand-son was an Infantry's Captain who fought the Restoration War and married an Almeida e
Vasconcelos lady, from the house of Mossamedes. They own a magnificent manor house in San Pedro
do Sul, are "Fidalgos-Cavaleiros" since 1710 and were granted the title of Marquesses of Reriz in 1894.

- Almeida Loureiro e Vasconcelos - Family elevated in 1908, with the title of Viscounts of Almeida e
Vasconcelos.

- Vieira e Vasconcelos - Family from Ourem, descending from a physician dear to the King John IV,
using the surnames Vieira da Silva; Gentlemen of the Royal Household since 1806 and granted a Coat of
Arms in 1826. In 1818 were elevated to the Barony of Alvaiazere.

The Fatima's visionary Jacinta Marto, was buried in the family sepulchre in the Vila-Nova de Ourem
cemitery, upon her death in 1920. Only later her remains were moved to the Fatima Sanctuary (Santa-
Iria).

- Sousa e Vasconcelos - Noble family styled "Fidalgos-Cavaleiros".

- Vasconcelos e Sa- An illustrious family descending from Jose Maria de Vasconcelos e Sa' (1862-1953),
a military engineer who built the Cockburn's phare in Lourenzo Marques (now Maputo), and was an
adopted natural son of the 2nd Baron Albufeira.

- Lobo de Vasconcelos - Another illustrious family coming from "Quinta das Faias" , near Guarda
(Mondego); one of its members was a distinguished King Charles I's army officer. Through marriage,
they become the owners of "Casal Branco" in Almeirim.

- Vale e Vasconcelos - Family from "Casa do Souto" in Cavez, Cabeceiras- de-Basto. Among its members,
we may note Messrs. Francisco do Vale, a writer and a publisher, and Duarte Nuno de Vasconcelos,
former general-manager of STAPE (Technical Secretariat for the Electoral Process)

- Pestanas de Vasconcelos, from Porto - A illustrious catholic family, supporters of King Miguel I. They
are connected to the opening in Portugal of the "Banco Popular Português" (a private bank) and of the
wine company "Real Companhia Vinicola do Norte de Portugal". The family hosted the Fatima's
visionary Jacinta Marto and the first jesuits arriving to Portugal after their second banishment during the
1st Republic.

The neo-gothic chapel in the family's palace, which was vandalized during the period immediatly
following the April 25 Revolution (1974), holds the oldest Lord Christ image known in Portugal.
Because of this, the family was present during the dedication of the monument in Almada glorifying this
representation of Christ (similar to the "Christ of Corcovado" in Rio de Janeiro, Brasil i.e. standing with
extended arms.)

- Leite de Vasconcelos - To this family belongs one of the most eminent personalities of the Portuguese
culture, Doctor Jose Leite de Vasconcelos (1898-1951)

- Jacome de Vasconcelos - A notorious family from Braga where they own "Casa do Avelar". Some of its
members served in honorable positions in the municipal government. To this family belongs Mrs. Maria
da Assuncao Jacome de Vasconcelos, presently Manager of the Municipal / University of Minho Archives

- Vasconcelos Porto - A family descending from a known politician from the "regenerador" (conservative)
party, who was also an army engineer and was appointed Minister of War during the King Charles' reign.

- Abreu Vasconcelos - Owners of the ancient Majorat of Jolda, Arcos-de- Valdevez. The forefathers were
the children of a priest, who owned the house, and descended, by male line, from the Sequeiros, Earls of
Priegue, in Galicia -- a branch of the Sequeiros from Ponte-de-Lima (above).

- Pestana de Vasconcelos - From Madeira Islands.

- Rocha Paris Pinto de Vasconcelos - The traditional surname of this family is Rocha Paris, although some
of its descendents use the surname Vasconcelos; this was due to the change of place of the father's name,
which traditionally was the first surname in the string and later become the last. Many Portuguese families
had seen a swap in the surnames of their descendents, due to this unfortunate reason.

One of his members is the celebrated poet Joao da Rocha, who wrote under the pseudonym "Frei" and
lived during the first half of the 20th century.

- Marques de Camoes e Vasconcelos - Descending from Jose Manuel Marques de Camoes and his wife,
heir of the ancient and noble house known as "House of the Vasconcelos", in Alter-do-Chao

- Bacelar de Vasconcelos - Family descending through male line from Joao Pinto de Vasconcelos, a
natural son of an army officer of the same name, who served in Monzao during the 18th century. The
family still owns the "Casa do Forno" in Margaride, Felgueiras.

Pedro Bacelar de Vasconcelos, Civil Governor of Braga belongs to this ancient family.

- Meireles e Vasconcelos - Family coming from "Quinta da Ramada", Arco-de-Baulhe, who played a
distinct role in the liberal ranks during the 19th century. Became associated with the Vasconcelos from
Vila do Conde, thus the surname.

- Teixeira de Vasconcelos (Marvao) - A distinguished family from Minho, owners of "Casa do Marvao" in
Celorico-de-Basto. They are the descendents of Manuel Teixeira da Cunha e Andrade de Carvalho, who
had two children: Bernardo Coutinho Teixeira Alvares de Carvalho and Sebastiao Jose Teixeira Carvalho
da Cunha Coutinho; both were granted a Coat of Arms in 1790. Frei Bernardo da Anunciada Vaz Lobo
Teixeira de Vasconcelos (1902-1932), also known as Frei Bernardo de Vasconcelos, a benedictine friar,
mystic poet and writer, belonged to this family. He died with an aura of sanctity and his beatificaton
process is under way.

- Antonio Pedro de Vasconcelos - The most remarkable Governor of Colony of Sacramento (an ancient
Portuguese town, today belonging to Uruguay)

- Luis Mendes de Vasconcelos (17th century) , a Prince and Grand Master of the Sovereign and Military
Order of Malta. Only four Portuguese national had this dignity.

- Jose de Vasconcelos (1882-1959) - a Mexican philosopher and a most remarkable latin-american thinker
of the first half of this century. He was Minister of Education (1920-24) and, in 1929, a loosing candidate
to the Presidency of Mexico.

- The 3rd Earl of Castelo-Melhor, Luis de Vasconcelos e Sousa. A supporter of King Alphonsus VI, he
governed Portugal from 1662 to 1667; The victory in the war of "Restoration" is in large part due to his
endevours and led way to the regained independence of Portugal.

- Augusto de Vasconcelos (1867-1951) - Prime-Minister of Portugal (1911/12). A full professor of
Medicine, has also been Foreign Minister and Minister of Portugal in London and Madrid.

- Miguel de Vasconcelos e Brito - The Secretary of State asssinated by the insurgents on December the
1st, 1640. He owned the ancien feud ("Honra") of Alvarenga (from where he took the surname
Vasconcelos) and descended by male line from the Lunas, a family of magistrates of the 16th century
from Viana-do-Castelo and Sequeiros (Ponte-de-Lima).

It is said that "he was well-disposed to poetry and genealogy and this made him odious to a large part of
the nobless."

- Dona Francisca de Vasconcelos - She married the king of Maldivas and they had two children: Dom
Filipe, without issue, who was also king of Maldivas, and Dona Ignes, who married Sebastiao Tavares de
Sousa and had issue: Dom Luis de Sousa, who came to Portugal in 1641. The king John IV styled him as
"Rei, com docel e alteza" (king, entitled to the use of pavillion and to be addressed as "His Highness")
(see "Felgueiras Gayo, tt. Leites, § 20, nr. 10, note 1)

- Luis de Vasconcelos e Sousa, a noble who was Brazil's Vice-Roy.

- Constantino de Vasconcelos - an architect and engineer (17th century) who was the leading barroque
architect of Peru, where he lived.