Guatemala, San Marcos, Civil Registration - FamilySearch Historical Records

What is in This Collection?
This collection will include birth, marriage, death, indexes, and other records from 1877-1994. These were created by the civil registration offices in the department of San Marcos, Guatemala. As you search this collection, you will notice that some information in the records has been blacked out. Specific privacy laws in Guatemala prohibit some information classified as sensitive from being shared with the public. The information that is blacked out may be different from record type to record type, and does not negatively affect your family history research. Additional images (such as marriage and death records) will be published as they become available. Images courtesy of Registro Nacional de las Personas (RENAP).

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
 * BYU 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 may be found in these records:

Birth
 * Name and gender of the child
 * Place and date of birth
 * Baptismal date
 * Father's name
 * Mother's given name
 * Mother and Father's marital status

Marriage
 * Bride's name
 * Groom's name
 * Marriage date and place
 * Marriage certificate and banns dates
 * Groom's age, marital status, occupation and residence
 * Names of groom's garents (including maiden name of Mother)
 * Bride's age, marital status, occupation and residence
 * Names of bride's parents, including maiden name of Mother
 * Birthplaces of bride and groom
 * Witnesses' names, ages, and occupations

Death
 * Death and burial date and place
 * Name and age at death
 * Cause of death
 * Father of deceased and his occupation
 * Date and birthdate of the deceased
 * Marital status of the deceased
 * If married, the name of the spouse

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
 * Search for the relative or ancestor you have selected. When you find the person’s birth record, search for the births of his or her brothers and sisters
 * Search for the marriage of his or her parents. The marriage record will often give you information that leads to the parents’ birth record. Sometimes marriage records are found in the margins of birth records
 * Estimate the parents’ age and search for their birth records
 * Repeat the process for both the father and mother
 * 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?

 * When looking for a person who had a common name, look at all the entries for the name before deciding which is correct
 * Remember that there may be more than one person in the records with the same name as your ancestor and that your ancestor may have used nicknames or different names at different times. Transcription errors could also occur in any handwritten record. And 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
 * Guatemala, Catholic Church Records - FamilySearch Historical Records are also 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 Click here for a list of Spanish name abbreviations
 * The Mexican State of Chiapas was at one-time part of Guatemala. Check the Mexico, Chiapas Civil Registration - FamilySearch Historical Records if your ancestor lived on the western border of Guatemala
 * If you get stuck and can’t read a document or you’re not sure where to go next in your research, you can ask for help through these resources:
 * Hispanic Genealogy Research community on Facebook is a page sponsored by FamilySearch and here you may also post a question or upload an image of a document for further assistance. The Hispanic Genealogy Research page is designed especially for those who have Hispanic ancestry but may not be fluent in Spanish. Be sure to click like on the page on your first visit so you can receive information and updates from the page in your news feed

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

Guatemala, San Marcos, Registro Civil (Registros Históricos do FamilySearch)