Argentina, Capital Federal, Catholic Church Records - FamilySearch Historical Records

What is in This Collection?
This collection includes records dating from 1737 to 1977 and contains baptism, confirmation, marriage, and death records from parishes in the Buenos Aires City as it existed at the end of the 20th century. Earlier registers are handwritten in narrative style, and later records were handwritten on printed forms.

Argentina is subdivided into twenty-three provinces (Spanish: provincias, singular provincia) and one autonomous city (ciudad autónoma), Ciudad Autónoma de Buenos Aires, which is the federal capital of the nation (Spanish: Capital Federal) as decided by Congress.

Buenos Aires City, or Capital Federal, was founded in 1580 (after an aborted attempt 40 years earlier) and was part of the provinces in the area—first Asunción then Buenos Aires—until 1880, when the city was separated from Buenos Aires Province and federalized (put under direct control of the national government).

Reading These Records
These records are written in Spanish. For help reading these records see the following guides:
 * Spanish Genealogical Word List
 * BYU Spanish Script Tutorial
 * FamilySearch Learning Center videos:
 * 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 of event
 * Place of event
 * Name of Child
 * Child's birth date
 * Father’s name
 * Father’s origin and age
 * Mother’s name
 * Mother’s origin and age
 * Parents' residence
 * Names of godparents

Confirmation Record
 * Confirmation date
 * Name
 * Gender
 * Godparents

Marriage Records
 * Date of event
 * Place of event
 * Name of groom
 * Groom’s age, race, origin and civil status
 * Groom’s place of residence
 * Groom's religion
 * Groom's occupation
 * Names of groom's parents and their origin
 * Can read and write
 * Name of bride
 * Bride’s age, race, origin and civil status
 * Bride’s place of residence
 * Bride’s religion
 * Bride's occupation
 * Names of bride's parents and their origin
 * Can read and write
 * Witness's name, age, origin and residence

Death Records
 * Name of deceased
 * Date of death
 * Age of deceased
 * Residence of deceased
 * Cause of death
 * Witness's name, age and residence

Collection Content
For additional details about these records and help using them see Argentina Catholic Church Records - FamilySearch Historical Records.

Coverage Table
As of 13 February 2018 this collection included records from the following parishes:

How Do I Search This Collection?
Before using 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 Town
 * 2) Select Parish
 * 3) Select Record Type and Years to view the images.

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
 * Check the image the index was taken from to see if there is additional information
 * Make sure to fully transcribe and cite the record entry for future reference; see the section Citing This Collection for assistance. Save or print a copy of the image
 * 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 of each spouse to find a couple's birth records and parents' names
 * Use the birth date or age along with the place of birth to find the family in Argentina Census records
 * Compile the marriage entries for every person who has the same surname as the bride or groom; this is especially helpful in rural areas or if the surname is unusual
 * Occupations listed can lead you to other types of records such as employment or military records
 * Use the parents' birth places to find former residences and to establish a migration pattern for the family

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

 * A boundary change could have occurred, and the record of your ancestor is now in a neighboring area. Search the records and indexes of neighboring cities, provinces, and regions
 * Check for variants of given names, surnames, and place names or Spanish name abbreviations
 * Also, immigration/emigration records can be useful to find ancestors

Civil registration records are also a good source of genealogical information. You should obtain copies of both church records and civil registration, when possible, since they do not necessarily provide the same information. For example, baptismal registers sometimes provide the names of the fathers of illegitimate children when the civil registration does not.

New information is constantly being indexed, microfilmed or updated. Periodically check back and 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 and notice the asterisk for recently added or updated records.

If you are 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. Investigación Genealógica en Argentina is another FamilySearch research community page on Facebook where you can post questions and upload images of documents. The majority of the posts on this page are in Spanish but you are welcome to post on the page in English. 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 Argentina.
 * Record Finder
 * 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.