Mexico, Durango, Catholic Church Records - FamilySearch Historical Records

Title in the Language of the Records
Registros Paroquiales de la Iglesia Católica en el Estado de Durango, México.

Record Description
This collection of parish records from Durango includes records for the years 1627-1978. The text of the records is in Spanish.

For a list of records by localities, document type and dates currently published in this collection, select the Browse link from the collection landing page.

For additional details about the history of these records and help using them, see the wiki article Mexico Catholic Church Records (FamilySearch Historical Records).

Record Content
Baptismal records generally include:


 * Date of death and/or burial
 * Event place (most always the parish saint name)
 * Name of the deceased person
 * Parents and/or spouse, if the person was married
 * Age of the deceased person
 * Place of origin and/or residence of the deceased
 * Legitimacy
 * In some registers the race

Search the Collection
To browse the collection by image: ⇒ Select the "Browse" link in the initial search page ⇒ Select the "City or Town" category ⇒ Select the "Parish" category ⇒ Select the "Record Type and Years" category which takes you to 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.

Using the Information
In most cases, Mexican Catholic parish registers are the only record to identify individuals, parents, and spouses before 1859. After this date, civil authorities began registering vital statistics (nacimientos, matrimonios y defunciones) which by law includes people of all religions. The information in civil sources confirms and supplements the information in church records. Be sure to search both the parish and civil records after 1860. Begin your search by finding your ancestors in the index. Name indexes to baptisms, marriages, and death or burials make it possible to access a specific record quickly. Remember that these indexes may contain inaccuracies, such as altered spellings, misinterpretations, and optical character recognition errors if the information was scanned.

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

Surrounding Localities
Unable to find your ancestor? Try looking through records in the surrounding localities. Sinaloa is to the west, Chihuahua to the north, Coahuila to the northeast, Zacatecas to the southeast, and Nayarit to the south.

Known Issues with This Collection
For a full list of all known issues associated with this collection see the attached Wiki 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.

Related Websites

 * Durango Maps
 * Durango History
 * Durango Genealogy Forum

Related Wiki Articles

 * Mexico
 * Durango, Mexico
 * Mexico Church Records
 * Mexico Catholic Church Records (FamilySearch Historical Records)

Citing FamilySearch Historical Collections
When you copy information from a record, you should also list where you found the information. This will help you or others to find the record again. 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.

Citation for This Collection
Citations for individual image records are available for this collection. Browse through images in this collection and click on the "Show Citation" box: Mexico, Durango, Catholic Church Records, 1604-1985

The following citation refers to the original source of the information published in FamilySearch.org Historical Record collections. Sources include the author, custodian, publisher and archive for the original records.