Guatemala, Izabal, Civil Registration - FamilySearch Historical Records

What is in This Collection?
This collection will include birth, marriage, death, indexes, and other records from 1877-1994. These were created by the civil registration offices in the department of Izabal, Guatemala. The civil registration records for Guatemala cover the vital events of birth, marriages, and deaths. They are organized by municipality/city. Earlier records were handwritten in narrative style; later records were handwritten in formatted registers. As you search this collection, you will notice that some information in the records has been blacked out. Specific privacy laws in Guatemala prohibit some information classified as sensitive from being shared with the public. The information that is blacked out may be different from record type to record type, and does not negatively affect your family history research. Images courtesy of Registro Nacional de las Personas (RENAP).

Reading These Records
These records are written in Spanish. For help reading them see: FamilySearch Learning Center videos: If you speak Spanish, the following free online lesson may be helpful to learn how to use the information in these records:
 * Spanish Genealogical Word List
 * BYU Spanish Script Tutorial
 * Reading Spanish Handwritten Records, Lesson 1
 * Reading Spanish Handwritten Records, Lesson 2
 * Registros Civiles y Parroquiales – Spanish

What Can These Records Tell Me?
The following information may be found in these records:

Birth
 * Birthdate and place
 * Name at birth
 * Gender
 * Parents’ names
 * Parents’ residence
 * Witnesses’ names
 * Informant’s names
 * Document date

Marriage
 * Marriage date and place
 * Groom’s name, age, occupation, birth place, resident city, and address
 * Groom’s legitimacy and parents’ names
 * Groom’s maternal and paternal grandparents’ names
 * Bride’s name, age, occupation, birth place, resident city, and address
 * Bride’s legitimacy and parents’ names
 * Bride’s maternal and paternal grandparents’ names
 * Groom’s marital status
 * Bride’s marital status
 * Document date

Death
 * Death date and place
 * Deceased’s name, gender, and age
 * Deceased’s marital status, occupation, and parents’ names
 * Cause of death
 * Informant’s name, age, marital status, occupation, birth place, resident city and address
 * Document date

How Do I Search This Collection?
Before searching this collection, it is helpful to know:
 * Your ancestor's given name and surname
 * Some identifying information such as resident city, age, and estimated event year
 * One or both of the parents’ names

How Do I Analyze the Results?
Compare each result from your search with what you know to determine if there is a match. This may require viewing multiple records or images. Keep track of your research in a research log.

I Found the Person I Was Looking For, What Now?

 * Add any new information to your records
 * The phrase “dío a luz” means the same as “was born” or “gave birth to”
 * When you have located your ancestor’s birth, marriage, or death record, carefully evaluate each piece of information about them. These pieces of information may give you new biographical details that can lead you to other records about your ancestors
 * Use the date along with the place to find the family in Guatemala Census records
 * Use the residence and names of the parents to locate Parishes in Guatemala and land records
 * It is often helpful to extract the information on all children with the same parents. If the surname is unusual, you may want to compile entries for every person of the same surname and sort them into families based on the names of the parents. Continue to search the records to identify siblings, parents, and other relatives in the same or other generations who were born in the same town or nearby location

I Can't Find the Person I'm Looking For, What Now?

 * When looking for a person who had a common name, look at all the entries for the name before deciding which is correct. Also, check for variant spellings of the names
 * Remember that your ancestor may have used nicknames or different names at different times
 * Titles may be clues to property ownership, occupations, rank, or status within the community
 * Look for an index. There are often indexes at the beginning of each volume. In addition local genealogical and historical societies often have indexes to local records Continue to search the index and records to identify children, siblings, parents, and other relatives who may have served in the same unit or a nearby unit
 * Hispanic Genealogy Research community on Facebook is a page sponsored by FamilySearch and here you may also post a question or upload an image of a document for further assistance.
 * Investigación Genealógica en Guatemala is another FamilySearch research community page on Facebook where you can post questions and upload images of documents. The majority of the posts on this page are in Spanish but you are welcome to post on the page in English. Be sure to click like on the page on your first visit so you can receive information and updates from the page in your news feed

Research Helps
The following articles will help you in your research for your family in Guatemala.
 * Guatemala Record Finder
 * Guatemala Research Tips and Strategies

Citing This Collection
Citations help you keep track of places you have searched and sources you have found. Identifying your sources helps others find the records you used.

Guatemala, Izabal, Registro Civil (Registros Históricos do FamilySearch)