Dominican Republic, Catholic Church Records - FamilySearch Historical Records

Dominican Republic

What is in This Collection?
This collection includes Catholic church baptism, marriage, and burial records from 1590 to 1955 for parishes throughout the Dominican Republic. For a list of the parishes in the Dominican Republic, see Parishes of the Dominican Republic.

The records in this collection were created in different Catholic Church jurisdictions throughout the Dominican Republic. Authorized priests received an order from the Queen of Spain to record the events of baptism, marriage, and burial of his parish jurisdiction. The records were to be recorded in registers that were kept at the parish level archive, and a copy was sent to the diocesan archive for preservation. Earlier records were handwritten in narrative style, and later records were handwritten in formatted registers. Depending on the priest, some records have more information than others.

The Catholic Church records of the Dominican Republic are the best reliable source for genealogical research. For research after the civil registration implementation in 1944, it is suggested to research both civil and church records and to compare the information.

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
 * 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 is often found in these records:

Inventory
For a list of all the parishes included in this Historical Records publication see Dominican Republic, Catholic Church Records - Inventory.

How Do I Search This Collection?
Before searching this collection, it is helpful to know:
 * Your ancestor's given name and surname
 * Identifying information such as residence
 * Estimated marriage or birth year

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
 * If indexes are available, check these for the name first. Indexes are usually located at the beginning of a group of images, at the end or in individual folders. Find your ancestor’s name and look for the locator information next to the name (such as page, entry, or certificate number). This will help you find the record you are looking for in the collection
 * Regarding marriage and burial records, name changes, shortened names, or nicknames may have been used by your ancestors, so pay attention to other relationships (parents, spouse, siblings, children, etc.) that can confirm whether you have the right person/record
 * 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 spouse to find a couple's birth records and parents' names
 * Use the parents' birth places to find former residences and to establish a migration pattern for the family
 * 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 one or both of the surnames is unusual
 * Use the marital status to identify previous marriages, that is, whether a divorce or death dissolved a previous marriage
 * Witnesses often were relatives of the parent
 * 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

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

 * The birth of a child must be registered within 30 days of the birth. After that, it is considered a late registration and has penalties. Therefore, if parents knew they wouldn't meet the deadline, then to avoid the penalties, many children were not registered
 * A boundary change could have occurred and the record of you ancestor is now in a neighboring state or region, or your ancestor immigrated to another country. Search the records of nearby areas or immigration/emigration records Dominican Republic, Miscellaneous Records - FamilySearch Historical Records
 * Civil records are also a good substitute when baptism, marriage, and burial records can’t be found or are unavailable Dominican Republic Civil Registration - FamilySearch Historical Records
 * Check for variants of given names, surnames, and place names. Transcription errors could occur in any handwritten record; also, it was not uncommon for an individual be listed under a nickname or an abbreviation of their name. Click here for a list of Spanish name abbreviations

Research Helps
The following articles will help you research your family in the Dominican Republic.
 * Dominican Republic Research Tips and Strategies
 * Dominican Republic Record Finder
 * Dominican Republic Finding Town of Origin

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.

pt : República Dominicana, Registros da Igreja Católica (Registros Históricos do FamilySearch) República Dominicana, registros parroquiales y diocesanos (Registros históricos de FamilySearch)