Mexico, Hidalgo, Civil Registration - FamilySearch Historical Records

What is in This Collection?
The civil registration records for Mexico cover the vital events of birth, marriages, and deaths. They are organized by state and then by municipality/city. Earlier records were handwritten in narrative style; later records were handwritten in formatted registers. Civil records in Mexico cover about 90 to 95 % of the population. Beginning in 1859, the Mexican government began requiring births, marriages, and deaths to be recorded by civil authorities on a municipality/district level. Although these records are a great source of genealogical information, they are not complete as civil registration wasn't strictly enforced in Mexico until 1867 and people did not always comply. For this reason, it is suggested to use church registers alongside the civil records to help in your research. The civil records of Mexico have been preserved relatively well. Only some of the older registers may have some physical damage; however, in general they are in good condition and are a reliable source to extract genealogical information.

Reading These Records
Example: These records are in Spanish. For assistance with the Spanish language, see the section For Help Reading These Records.

What Can These Records Tell Me?

 * Birth
 * Marriage
 * Death

Sample Images
Birth records may contain the following information:


 * Child's name and gender
 * Presenter's name
 * Child's date and place of birth
 * Parents' names
 * Parents' age, occupation, nationality and residence
 * Names of paternal grandparents
 * Names of maternal grandparents
 * Names of witnesses
 * Witnesses' age, occupation and residence

Marriage records may contain the following information:


 * Date and place of marriage
 * Names of the bride and groom
 * Groom's age, origin, civil status, occupation and residence
 * Names of groom's parents, their origin and residence
 * Bride's age, origin, civil status, occupation and residence
 * Names of bride's parents, their origin and residence
 * Names of witnesses
 * Witnesses' age(s), civil status, occupation and residence

Death records may contain the following information:


 * Name and age of deceased
 * Date and place of death
 * Civil status and nationality of deceased
 * Spouse's name if married and their nationality
 * Parents' names, age occupation, origin and residence
 * Declarant's name, age, civil status, occupation and residence
 * Declarant's relationship to deceased
 * Burial information

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

View the Images
View images in this collection by visiting the :
 * 1) Select City or Municipality
 * 2) Select Record Type and Years to view the images.

Search the collection by image comparing the information with what you already know about your ancestors to determine which one is your ancestor. You may need to compare the information about more than one person to make this determination.

For Help Reading These Records
These records are in Spanish. For help reading the records, see the following resources:
 * Mexico Language and Languages
 * Spanish Genealogical Word List
 * BYU Spanish Script Tutorial
 * FamilySearch Learning Center videos:
 * Reading Spanish Handwritten Records, Lesson 1
 * Reading Spanish Handwritten Records, Lesson 2
 * Reading Spanish Handwritten Records, Lesson 3

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.

What Do I Do Next?
The civil registration records in Mexico are an excellent source for genealogical research after 1867. Important genealogical data can be found in these records, which may also include data of other family members to fill in another generation group.

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

 * Add any new information to your records
 * Use the information to find more. For instance, use the age listed in the record to estimate a year of birth, if that is yet undetermined
 * Use the birth date or age along with the place of birth to find the family in 1930, Mexico National Census
 * 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 residence and names of the parents to locate church and land records
 * The father’s occupation can lead you to employment records, military records, or other types of 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?
New information is constantly being indexed, microfilmed or updated. Periodically check back to see if your ancestor’s records have been added. You can see if the area you’ve been looking in has been recently updated by going to Historical Records Collections. Watch for an asterisk for recently added or updated records.
 * Unable to find your ancestor? Try looking through records in the surrounding localities. Querétaro is to the west, San Luis Potosí to the north, Veracruz to the northeast, Puebla to the east, Tlaxcala to the southeast, and Estado de México to the south and southwest
 * Consult the Mexico Record Finder to find other 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

Known Issues with This Collection
For a full list of all known issues associated with this collection see the attached article. If you encounter additional problems, please email them to [mailto:support@familysearch.org support@familysearch.org]. Please include the full path to the link and a description of the problem in your e-mail. Your assistance will help ensure that future reworks will be considered.

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.

"Mexico, Hidalgo, Civil Registration, 1861-1967." Images. FamilySearch. http://FamilySearch.org : accessed 17 January 2018. Las oficinas del Registro Civil de Hidalgo (Hidalgo Civil Registry State Archives).
 * Collection Citation:

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