Philippines, Northern Samar, Roman Catholic Diocese of Catarman, Church Records - FamilySearch Historical Records

Record Description
This collection includes Catholic Church records from the Diocese of Catarman for the years 1860-1983. The collection contains birth, confirmation, marriage, and death records. The originals are kept by the Diocese of Catarman in Catarman, Northern Samar Province, Philippines.

Some records are in English and some are in Spanish; see the section For Help Reading these Records for access to translation helps.

Record Content
The information in each record varies by year. Birth records may contain:
 * Date and place of birth
 * Child’s name
 * Parents’ names

Confirmation records may contain:
 * Name, gender, and age
 * Date and place of confirmation
 * Names of parents and possibly grandparents
 * Names of godparents

Marriage records may contain:
 * Names and ages of groom and bride
 * Date and place of marriage
 * Birthplaces of groom and bride
 * Groom’s parents’ names
 * Bride’s parents’ names
 * Marital status of groom and bride

Death Records may contain:
 * Name, gender, and age of deceased (keep in mind that the death records of women may be filed under their married names)
 * Date and place of death
 * Date and place of burial
 * Marital status/name of spouse
 * Names of parents
 * Names and residences of informants/witnesses

How to Use the Record
This section includes tips and information about how to search and use the records in this collection.

When searching: As you are searching it is helpful to know such information as your ancestor's name and general place of residence. Remember that there may be more than one person in the records with the same name as your ancestor and that your ancestor may have used nicknames or different names at different times. Some record sets have indexes; these indexes were created at the end of the year. Copy errors could have been made in the index, so you want to find the actual record to verify the information is correct. Using the index is a helpful way to find the actual record.

Search the Collection
To search by image:

To browse the collection you will need to follow this series of links: ⇒Select "Browse through images" on the initial collection page ⇒Select the appropriate “Barangay" ⇒Select the appropriate “Parish" ⇒Select the appropriate “Record Type, Year Range" which takes you to the images.

Search the collection by image comparing the information with what you already know about your ancestors to determine if the image relates to them. You may need to look at several images and compare the information about the individuals listed in those images to your ancestors to make this determination.

For Help Reading these Records
For help reading the Spanish records see the following guides:
 * Spanish Genealogical Word List
 * Reading Spanish handwritten records
 * Script tutorial for Spanish

Using the Information

 * Use the marriage date and place as the basis for compiling a new family group or for verifying existing information.
 * Use the birth date or age along with the place of birth of each partner 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 Philippines Census.
 * Use the residence and names of the parents to locate civil (see “Related Wiki Articles” section below) and land records Philippines Land and Property.
 * Use the parents' birth places to find former residences and to establish a migration pattern for the family.
 * The name of a marriage officiator is a clue to an ancestor’s religion or area of residence in the province. However, ministers may have reported marriages performed in other provinces.
 * Compile the marriage entries for every person who has the same surname as the bride or groom. This is especially helpful in rural areas or if the surname is unusual.
 * Use the marital status to identify previous marriages (whether a divorce or death dissolved a previous marriage).
 * Witnesses often were relatives of the parents.

Tips to Keep in Mind

 * When looking for a person who had a common name, look at all the entries for the name before deciding which is correct.
 * For death records, the information in records is usually reliable, but depends upon the knowledge of the informant.
 * For marriage and death records, your ancestors may have used shortened names or nicknames, so pay attention to other relationships (parents, spouse, siblings, children, etc.) that can confirm whether you have the right person/record.
 * Continue to search the marriage records to identify children, siblings, parents, and other relatives of the bride and groom who may have married in the same county or nearby. This can help you identify other generations of your family or even the second marriage of a parent. Repeat this process for each new generation you identify.
 * Continue to search the indexes and records to identify children, siblings, parents, and other relatives who may have lived in the same area or a nearby area.

Unable to Find Your Ancestor?
You may want to look for records of a neighboring state or region. These areas/provinces border Northern Samar:
 * Samar and Eastern Samar in the South
 * Sorsogon to the Northwest

Related Websites

 * Philippine Islands Death Records
 * Catalog of Filipino Names
 * Philippine Genealogy - Research your Family Tree
 * Philippine Research

Related Wiki Articles

 * Philippines Genealogy
 * Philippines Church Records
 * Philippines Civil Registration- Vital Records
 * Philippines Emigration and Immigration

Related FamilySearch Historical Records Articles

 * Philippines Marriages (FamilySearch Historical Records)
 * Philippines Deaths and Burials (FamilySearch Historical Records)
 * Philippines, Civil Registration (Archives Division) (FamilySearch Historical Records)
 * Philippines, Civil Registration, Local (FamilySearch Historical Records)
 * Philippines, Civil Registration, National (FamilySearch Historical Records)
 * Philippines, Civil Registration, Spanish Period (FamilySearch Historical Records)
 * Philippines, Court Records (FamilySearch Historical Records)

Citations for This Collection
When you copy information from a record, you should list where you found the information; that is, cite your sources. This will help people find the record again and evaluate the reliability of the source. It is also good to keep track of records where you did not find information, including the names of the people you looked for in the records. Citations are available for the collection as a whole and each record or image individually.

Collection Citation:

Image Citation: