Argentina, Tucumán, Catholic Church Records - FamilySearch Historical Records

Title in the Language of the Record
Argentina, Tucumán, Registros Parroquiales de la Iglesia Católica

Record Description
This collection of church records for the period of 1727 to 1955 includes baptisms, confirmations, marriages, and deaths/burials for the cities of Alderetes, Concepción, Cruz Alta, Famaillá, Graneros, Medinas, Monteros, San Miguel de Tucumán, Tafí del Valle, Trancas, Villa Luján and Villa de Leales in the province of Tucumán.

The records are in Spanish; see the section "For Help Reading these Records" for access to translation helps.

The parishes contained in the collection are Nuestra Señora del Rosario, Inmaculada Concepción, Santo Cristo, Nuestra Señora del Carmen, Nuestra Señora de La Merced, Nuestra Señora de la Encarnación,San Joaquín and Nuestra Señora de la Candelaria.

Record Content
The information in each record may vary by year.

Baptism records usually include the following information:
 * Date of baptism
 * Place of baptism
 * Name
 * Parents’ names
 * Parents’ nationality
 * Parents' occupation
 * Godparents’ names

Confirmation records usually include the following information:
 * Name, age, and gender
 * Parents' names
 * Godparents' names

Marriage records usually include the following information:
 * Date of marriage
 * Place of marriage
 * Name of groom
 * Groom's age, nationality, occupation, and race
 * Groom's parents' names
 * Name of bride
 * Bride's age, nationality, occupation, and race
 * Bride's parents' names
 * Witnesses' names and civil status
 * Sometimes place of birth
 * Parents’ names
 * Sometimes grandparents’ names

Death/burial records usually include the following information:
 * Date
 * Place
 * Name of the deceased (keep in mind that death records for women may be filed under their married name)
 * Age of deceased
 * Parents' names
 * Final resting place

How to Use the Records
Catholic Church parish registers are the only record available to identify individuals, parents, and spouses before 1889. After this date, civil authorities began registering vital statistics, which by law includes people of all religions. For later years the information in civil sources confirms and supplements the information in church records.

Some record sets have indexes; these indexes were created at the end of the year. Copy errors could have been made in the index, so you want to find the actual record to verify the information is correct. Using the index is a helpful way to find the actual record.

If indexes are available, check these for the name first. Indexes are usually located at the beginning of a group of images, at the end or in individual folders. Find your ancestor’s name and look for the locator information next to the name (such as page, entry, or certificate number). This will help you find the record you are looking for in the collection.

For burial records, the information in records is usually reliable, but depends upon the knowledge of the informant.

Regarding marriage and burial records, name changes, shortened names, or nicknames may have been used by your ancestors, so pay attention to other relationships (parents, spouse, siblings, children, etc.) that can confirm whether you have the right person/record.

Search the Collection
To search by index: Fill in the requested information in the initial search page. This search will return a list of possible matches. Compare the information about the ancestors in the list to what you already know about your ancestors to determine if this is the correct family or person. You may need to compare the information about more than one person to find your ancestor.

To search by image: To browse this collection you will need to follow this series of links: ⇒ Select the "Browse" link in the initial 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 if the image relates to them. You may need to look at several images and compare the information about the individuals listed in those images to your ancestors to make this determination.

When searching: As you are searching it is helpful to know such information as your ancestor's given name and surname, some identifying information such as residence, age, and family relationships. 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.

For Help Reading These Records
These records are in Spanish. For help reading the records, see the following wiki articles:
 * Spanish Genealogical Word List
 * Argentina Language and Languages

Using the Information
To learn more about using the information in these records, view these free video tutorials (Videos are in Spanish):
 * Latin America
 * Spain, Latin America, & Mexico
 * Use the birth date or age along with the place of birth of each partner 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 census records Argentina Census Argentina, National Census, 1895 (FamilySearch Historical Records) Argentina National Census, 1869 (FamilySearch Historical Records).
 * Use the residence and names of the parents to locate civil records Argentina Civil Registration.
 * Use the marriage date and place as the basis for compiling a new family group or for verifying existing information.
 * Use the birth date or age along with the place of birth of each partner to find a couple's birth records and parents' names.
 * Use the parents' birth places to find former residences and to establish a migration pattern for the family.
 * The name of a marriage officiator is a clue to their religion or area of residence in the province. However, ministers may have reported marriages performed in other provinces.
 * 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.
 * Use the marital status to identify previous marriages, that is, whether a divorce or death dissolved a previous marriage.
 * Witnesses often were relatives of the parents.

Tips to Keep in Mind
When looking for a person who had a common name, look at all the entries for the name before deciding which is correct.

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.

Continue to search the indexes and records to identify children, siblings, parents, and other relatives who may have lived in the same area or a nearby area.

Unable to Find Your Ancestor?
A boundary change could have occurred and the record of you ancestor is now in a neighboring state or region, or your ancestor immigrated to another country. Search the records of nearby areas or immigration/emigration records Argentina Emigration and Immigration.

Civil records are also a good substitute when baptism, marriage, and burial records can’t be found or are unavailable Argentina Civil Registration.

General Information about These Records
The later records were created when the parishes were part of the Diocese of Tucumán, which was created on February 15, 1897 from the Diocese of Salta, and later elevated to archdiocese on February 11, 1957. The earlier records were created when the parishes were part of the Diocese of Salta, created on March 28, 1806 from the Diocese of Santiago del Estero, and had jurisdiction over a wide territory which currently is formed by different provinces including Tucumán. The records before 1806 were created when the parishes were part of the Diocese of Cordoba del Tucumán, which had jurisdiction over Santiago del Estero, Tucumán, Salta, Catamarca, La Rioja, and Jujuy.

Related Websites

 * Archdiocese of Tucumán
 * Official Website of the Archdiocese of Tucumán

Related Wiki Articles

 * Argentina Marriages (FamilySearch Historical Records)
 * Argentina Baptisms (FamilySearch Historical Records)
 * Province of Tucuman
 * Province of Tucuman Maps
 * Province of Tucuman History
 * Argentina Cemeteries
 * Argentina Church Directories
 * Argentina Church History
 * Argentina Church Records
 * Argentina

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

Keep track of records where you did not find information about your ancestor so you and others will not waste time looking through these records in the future.

A suggested format for keeping track of records that you have searched is found in the wiki article Help:How to Cite FamilySearch Collections.

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