Uruguay Civil Registration - FamilySearch Historical Records

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Foreign Language Title
Registro Civil de Uruguay.

Collection Time Period
This collection of civil registration records from Uruguay includes the years 1879-1930.

How to Use the Record
Begin your search by finding your ancestors in the indexes; this will help you access a specific record quickly. Use the locator information found in the index (such as page, entry, or certificate number) to locate your ancestors in the records. Remember that the indexes may contain errors, such as altered spellings or misinterpretations of the original records. Scanned records may also contain optical character recognition errors. If you do not find your ancestor in the index, it may be useful to look for alternate spellings of the name. When searching the index it is helpful to know the following: • The county where the birth, marriage, or death occurred. • The name of the person at the time of the event • The approximate event date • The event place When looking for a person who had a common name, look at all the entries for the name before deciding which is the entry for your ancestor. Compare the information in the record to what you already know about your ancestor to determine if this is the correct person. You may need to compare the information of more than one person (for example, you may need to compare the names of the parents) to make this determination.

When you have located your ancestor’s record, carefully evaluate each piece of information. Add this new information to your records of each family. Use a couple’s marriage date and place as the basis for compiling a new family group record or for verifying existing information. These pieces of information may give you new biographical details that can lead you to other records about your ancestors.

For example:

• From a marriage record, use the birth date or age along with the place of birth of each partner to find the couple’s birth records and their parents’ names. • Use the birth date or age along with the place of birth to find the family in census records. • Use the residence and names of the parents to locate church and land records. • Use occupations to find employment records or other types of records such as military records. • Use the parents’ birth places to find former residences and to establish a migration pattern for the family. • Look at the name of the officiator for a clue to the family’s religion or area of residence in the county. However, ministers may have reported marriages performed in other counties. • Search the collection for marriage entries for individuals who have the same surnames as your ancestors; they may be relatives. This is especially helpful in rural areas or when the surname is unusual. • 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. • Use the marriage number to identify previous marriages.

Keep in mind: • Earlier records may not contain as much information as the records created after the late 1900. • The information in the records is usually reliable but depends upon the reliability of the informant. • There is also some variation in the information given from one record to another record.

If you are unable to find the ancestors you are looking for, try the following: • Check for variant spellings of the surnames. • Check for a different index. There are often indexes at the beginning of each volume. • Search for the marriage record of the marriage partner, if known. • Search the indexes and records of nearby counties.

Record Description
The information recorded in civil registration records varied over time. The later records generally give more complete information than the earlier ones. The records in this collection are handwritten in Spanish. Earlier records are written in narrative style, and later records were written onto forms.

Record Content
The key genealogical facts found on most birth records include the following: • Place and date of registration • Place, date, and time of birth • Name of the newborn • Names of the parents (maiden name of the mother) • Parents’ places of origin or residence • Occupation of the father • Names of the grandparents

The key genealogical facts found on most marriage records include the following: • Place and date of marriage • Names and ages of the groom and bride • Civil statuses, places of origin, and residences of the groom and bride • Parents’ names, their places of origin, and sometimes their marital status • Sometimes the names of the grandparents • Witnesses’ names

The key genealogical facts found on most death records include the following: • Place and date of death • Name of the deceased • Cause of death • Occupation, residence, and age of the deceased • Sometimes the parents’ names • Burial place

Record History
The civil government of Uruguay began keeping vital records in 1879. A duplicate register of the records was required to be made; one of the registers was to be sent to the General Archive (Archivo General) in Montevideo for preservation.

Why This Collection Was Created
The civil registration is a public service under the supervision of the Justice Department, which is responsible to superintend the legal constitution of the family. Through civil registration, it is possible to exercise the people’s rights related to civil status, identity, real estate, and other specific acts guarded by the law. After 1920, it also served for compiling civil statistical records.

Record Reliability
Civil registration records are an excellent and important source for accurate information on names, dates, and places of births, marriages, and deaths. For records about births, deaths, or marriages that occurred before 1879, see the church records.

Related Websites
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Citing FamilySearch Historical Collections
A suggested format for keeping track of records that you have searched is found in the Wiki article: How to Cite FamilySearch Collections.

Source Citations for a Record in This Collection
Please add sample citations to this article following the format guidelines in the Wiki article listed above.

Examples of citations:

• United States. Bureau of the Census. 12th census, 1900, digital images, from FamilySearch Internet (www.familysearch.org: September 29, 2006), Arizona Territory, Maricopa, Township 1, East Gila, Salt River Base and Meridian; sheet 9B, line 71.

• Mexico, Distrito Federal, Catholic Church Records, 1886-1933, digital images, from FamilySearch Internet (www.familysearch.org: April 22, 2010), Baptism of Adolfo Fernandez Jimenez, 1 Feb. 1910, San Pedro Apóstol, Cuahimalpa, Distrito Federal, Mexico, film number 0227023.

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Sources of This Collection
“Uruguay Civil Registration,” database, FamilySearch (http://pilot.familysearch.org/recordsearch), 2010; from Direccion General del Registro de Estado Civil, Montevideo, Uruguay. “Uruguay Civil Registration”. Direccion General del Registro de Estado Civil, Montevideo, Uruguay. FHL microfilms. Family History Library, Salt Lake City, Utah, USA.