Mexico Archives and Libraries

Archives collect and preserve valuable original documents of organizations such as churches or governments that contain information about the populace. Libraries generally collect published sources such as books, maps, and microfilm. This section describes the major repositories of genealogical and historical records and sources for Mexico. When one of these institutions is referred to elsewhere, return to this section to obtain the address.

If you plan to visit one of these repositories, contact the organization and ask for information about its collection, hours, services, and fees. Some archives have catalogs, inventories, guides, or periodicals that describe their records and how to use them. If possible, study these guides before visiting the archives so you can use your time more effectively.

Mexico Archives
Mexico has several major types of genealogical repositories:


 * National government archives and libraries
 * State archives and libraries
 * Local civil offices/municipio offices
 * Catholic Church archives
 * University archives and libraries
 * Historical and genealogical societies

The Family History Library has microfilmed copies of many records from the Mexican national and state archives, libraries, and other record repositories.

National Government Archives and Libraries
The National Archives of Mexico (Archivo General de la Nación) is an important source of genealogical and historical information. It collects records related to Mexican history, culture, and people. Records of genealogical value at the National Archives include:


 * Church records
 * Civil records
 * Censuses
 * Court records
 * Military records
 * Emigration lists
 * Land records

The Archivo General de la Nación is open to the public. Microfilm copies of some of the records at the archive are available at the Family History Library and other major archives and libraries. You may be able to purchase microfilms from these archives or request photocopies of the records by writing to:

Archivo General de la Nación Eduardo Molina y Albañiles Col. Penitenciaría Ampliación Deleg. Venustiano Carranza C.P. 15350 México, D.F.

Some helpful guides to Archivo General de la Nación collection include:

Argena II: Documentos Coloniales(Argena II, Colonial Documents). Colima, México: Cenedic, 1995. (FHL compact disc no. 420.) Describes 322 documental record groups in the National Archives. The records in the New Spain section of the archives consist of 115 record groups containing more than 41,000 volumes.

Archivo General de la Nación Guía General (General Guide to the National Archives). México, D.F.: Difusión y Publicaciones del Archivio General de la Nación, 1991. (FHL book 972 A3gg.)

Branches of the Archivo General de la Nación collect records dealing with specialized subject matter such as military records, industry, trade, commerce, and so on. You may want to write to these archives for more detailed information. For addresses of these archives, which are also located in Mexico City, write to the Archivo General de la Nación, or consult the following reference:

International Directory of Archives/Annuaire International des Archives. London, England: K.G. Saur, 1992. (FHL book 020.5 Ar 25 v.38.)

State Archives
The states in Mexico have archives that serve as repositories for their own records. Each state has jurisdiction over its own archives, which are separate from the national archives, and its own criteria for retaining, archiving, and housing records.

Many records of genealogical value are kept by these archives. For example the states of Yucatán, Oaxaca, Veracruz, Puebla, Tlaxcala, Hidalgo, Mexico, Queretaro, Michoacán, Jalisco, Guanajuato, San Luis Potosí, Aguascaientes, Durango, Nuevo León and Zacatecas have excellent records. The records of genealogical value at the state archives include:


 * Birth, marriage, and death records
 * Censuses
 * Land records
 * Some church records
 * Notarial records
 * Probates
 * Judgments
 * Court records

Some of the state archives are open to the public. You may want to write to the archive you want to visit to ensure it allows researchers. Some archives may require a letter of identification. Addresses for each of the state archives are found in Appendix A and are listed in the following book:

International Directory of Archives/Annuaire International des Archives. London, England: K.G. Saur, 1992. (FHL book 020.5 Ar 25 v.38.)

Local Civil Offices/Municipio Records Offices
Many records in Mexico are created by the local government. Civil registration, including birth, marriage, and death records, started in 1859. Every municipio in Mexico has jurisdiction over its own archives, which are separate from the state archives. Two of the most important municipio archives are El Archivo del Municipio and El Archivo del Registro Civil. These offices are comparable to county courthouses in the United States. For more information about these offices and their records, see Mexico Civil Registration.

When a municipio was established, a municipal archive was also created to keep diverse documents such as the protocolos (notarial records), an important genealogical record that includes:


 * Wills
 * Probate inventories
 * Transfers and land deeds, which have personal information about the parties involved

The records of the Archivo del Municipio have not been filmed, but you can write directly to the municipo.

A list of all the municipal archives in Mexico can be found in:

Guía General de los Archivos Estatales y Municipales de México (General Guide to the Archives of the States and Municipalities of Mexico). México, D.F.: Achivo General de la Nación, ca. 1988. (FHL book 972 A3a.) Contains the addresses of the archives as well as the kind of records they have and the dates the records cover.

Los Municipios de México (The Municipios of Mexico). México: Centro Nacional de Desarrollo Municipal, 1998. (FHL compact disc number 114.)

The Civil registration which began in 1859 is recorded in the Archivo del Registro Civil. Some Municipios had sub-offices (oficialia) in other towns within its borders. These sub-offices kept their own records. The sub-office records are listed in the FamilySearch Catalog under the name of the municipio civil registration office. Copies of the civil registration in the Archivo Municipal were sent to the state archives.

You can get information and copies of the civil records by writing to the municipio. If the local registration office does not have the early records, you may want to write to the state civil registration office. See the Spanish Letter Writing Guide (36245).

A wiki article describing an online collection is found at:

Mexico, San Luis Potosi Historical Archive Miscellaneous Records (FamilySearch Historical Records)

Catholic Church Archives
The dominant religion in Mexico is Catholicism. As of 1994, there were 14 archdioceses, 58 dioceses, and 7 territorial prelates in Mexico. Church records of baptisms, marriages, and burials are usually kept by local parishes. The diocese archives keep records pertaining to their priests and matters of church administration. You may write to a parish and request brief searches of its records. For more information, see Mexico Church Records.

Libraries
There are two types of libraries in Mexico, those sustained by government funds, and those owned by private institutions or individuals. The Asociación Mexicana de Archivos y Bibliotecas Privadas, A.C. (Mexican Association of Private Archives and Libraries, A.C.) has a publication called "Guía de Archivos y Bibliotecas Privados" that lists some of their libraries. The association’s address is:

Calle Guadalajara #104 Colonia Condesa CP 06140 México DF México Telephone 286-8339 Fax 286-8558

The following archive has an extensive collection of records on the southern Mexican states

Archivo General de Centro América 4a Ave 7-41 zona 1 Ciudad de Guatemala Guatemala Telephone 2-30-37 51-66-95

The following library has an extensive collection of manuscripts and published sources

Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México Biblioteca Central Ciudad Universitaria 04510 Villa Obregón México

The Instituto Tecnológico has microfilmed a considerable number of records on northeastern Mexico The institute’s address is

Instituto Tecnológico y de Estudios Superiores de Monterrey Biblioteca Carretera Nacional km 982 Sucursal de Correos J Monterrey Nuevo León México

Other Archives
Helpful genealogical resources that cover Latin American History are also available at institutions in the United States and Spain. Your local university or public library may also have useful information. Contact these libraries and ask about their collection, hours, services, and fees.

United States
The library of the University of Texas at Austin has over 600000 volumes in their Latin American history collection In addition to the book collection they have many microfilmed records from southern Texas and Northern Mexico

University of Texas at Austin Nettie Lee Benson Latin American Collection Sid Richardson Hall 1-109 Austin, TX 78713-7330 Telephone: (512) 495-4520 Fax: (512) 495-4520

http://www.utexas.edu/

The Bancroft Library has a large collection of Latin American records. The library’s address is:

University of California Bancroft Library Berkeley, CA 94720 Telephone: (510) 642-3781

http://bancroft.berkeley.edu/

The University of Arizona in Tucson has some of the parish records of the state of Sonora. It also has a large collection of Latin American records. The university’s address is:

University of Arizona in Tucson Tucson, AZ 85721 Telephone: (520) 621-2211 http://www.arizona.edu/

Spain
Records about the European discovery, exploration, and colonization of Mexico are found in the following archives:

Archivo General de Indias Edificio de la Lonja Av. de la Constitución, 3 Edificio de La Cilla C/ Santo Tomás, 5 41071 Sevilla Telephone: (34) 95 450 05 28 Fax: (34) 95 421 94 85 Archivo General Militar de Segovia Alcázar 40071 Segovia, Spain Telephone: 43-65-11 Fax: 44-31-49

Archivo Central Militar del Servicio Histórico Militar C/Mártires de Alcalá 9 28015 Madrid, Spain Telephone: 247-0300 Fax: 559-4371

Archivo Histórico Nacional C/Serrano 115 28006 Madrid, Spain Telephone: 563-5923, 261-8003-5 Fax: 563-1199

A summary of the records preserved at the Archivo General de Indias is found in:

''Peña y Cámara, José María de la. Archivo General de Indias de Sevilla: Guía de Visitante'' (General Archive of the Indies of Seville: Visitor’s Guide). Madrid: Dirección General de Archivos y Bibliotecas, 1958. (FHL book 946 A2s; film 0896895.)

An additional description of the records at the Archivo General de Indias, and other Spanish and Latin American archives that house documents of the Spanish American colonial period is found in:

Documentación y Archivos de la Colonización Española (Documentation and Archives of the Spanish Colonization). Madrid: Ministerio de Cultura, 1980. (FHL book 946 A3d.)

There are other published guides of the many archives in Spain. Look for these in your local libraries.

Inventories, Registers, Catalogs
Most archives have catalogs, inventories, guides, or periodicals that describe their records and how to use them. If possible, study these guides before you visit or use the records of an archive so you can use your time more effectively.

Some of these guides may be available at a public or a university library or through an interlibrary loan system.

The Family History Library has copies of some of the published inventories. It also has other guides, catalogs, directories, and inventories of various libraries and record repositories. These types of records are listed in the FamilySearch Catalog under:

MEXICO- ARCHIVES AND LIBRARIES

MEXICO, STATE - ARCHIVES AND LIBRARIES