Mexico, Campeche, Civil Registration - FamilySearch Historical Records

What is in This Collection?
This is a collection of civil records for the state of Campeche in Mexico. The records cover the years from 1860 to 1926.

They are birth, marriage and death records and are organized by state and then by municipality/city. Early records were handwritten in narrative style; later they 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, church registers schould be used alongside the civil records. The civil records of Mexico have been preserved relatively well. Only some of the older registers may have some physical damage.

As of 13 March 2018, this collection included records from the following cities or municipality:
 * Becal
 * Calkiní
 * Campeche
 * Champotón
 * Ciudad del Carmen
 * Lerma
 * San Francisco

Reading These Records
These records are written in Spanish. For help reading them see: FamilySearch Learning Center videos:
 * Spanish Genealogical Word List
 * BYU Spanish Script Tutorial
 * Reading Spanish Handwritten Records, Lesson 1
 * Reading Spanish Handwritten Records, Lesson 2

If you speak Spanish, the following free online lesson may be helpful to learn how to use the information in these records:
 * Registros Civiles y Parroquiales – Spanish

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

Birth Records
 * Date and place of event
 * Name of presenter
 * Name of child
 * Child’s gender
 * Child’s date and place of birth
 * Parents' names
 * Parents' origin and current residence
 * Names of witnesses

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

Death Records
 * Date and place of death
 * Name and age of deceased
 * Civil status and occupation of deceased
 * Origin and current residence
 * Witness' names, age and place of residence
 * Place of internment (sometimes)

Collection Content
For additional details about these records and help using them see Mexico Civil Registration Records - FamilySearch Historical Records.

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
 * 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
 * Compile information for every person who has the same surname as your ancestor; this is especially helpful in rural areas or if the surname is unusual
 * Continue to search the records to identify children, siblings, parents, and other relatives in the same county or nearby. This can help you identify other generations of your family or even the second marriage of a parent
 * Make sure to fully transcribe and cite the record entry for future reference
 * Use the birth date or age along with the place of birth to find the family in 1930, Mexico National Census. The census can help you find if your ancestors were married civilly or by the Catholic Church or both. Then you can proceed looking in those records for more information

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

 * Mexico, Campeche, Catholic Church Records - FamilySearch Historical Records may also be a good substitute when civil records of births, marriages, and deaths cannot be found or are unavailable
 * 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
 * Also, consider looking at collections for surrounding localities. Tabasco is on the western border, Yucatán on the northeastern, Quintana Roo on the southeastern, and Guatemala on the south

Research Helps
The following articles will help you research your family in Mexico.
 * Mexico Record Finder
 * Mexico 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.

México, Campeche, Registro Civil (Registros Históricos do FamilySearch)