Mexico, Yucatán, Catholic Church Records - FamilySearch Historical Records

What is in This Collection?
This collection of Catholic Church records for the state of Yucatan covers the years 1543-1977. Often in Catholic Church records, separate books were kept for baptisms, confirmations, marriage information documents, marriages, and deaths. However, in smaller areas, all records may be recorded on one register. In larger parishes a separate book was usually maintained for confirmations, while in smaller parishes the confirmations may have been included with the baptisms. In larger parishes, most of the marriage banns (informaciones matrimoniales) may be registered separately. In smaller parishes, these records were included in the marriage entry or the confirmations may have been included with the baptisms or even with marriages. In larger parishes, a separate book of confirmations was usually maintained.

These records are in relatively fair condition, with the exception of some older records that may be damaged and, therefore, hard to read or missing some information. Most of the older records are handwritten in narrative style and follow a common text with some variations depending on the style used by the priest. Newer records are handwritten in formatted registers; some are even written in ledger style registers.

These records also include priests' applications for the ministry and marriage dispensations. The priests’ applications are all bound in books and written in narrative style. Some of the documents included in this collection are letters from the applicants and the documentation of their purity of blood. The documentation for one of these applications could include a letter from the applicant requesting acceptance into the seminary, other documents submitted by the applicant to prove legitimacy and purity of blood (limpieza de sangre), and ecclesiastical correspondence such as approving the application, requesting more documentation, and so on. The FamilySearch Catalog lists these records as becas y órdenes in the film notes. The marriage dispensations are a Catholic Church approval for marriage when a couple is of close kinship. The entries were normally made in chronological order. Marriage dispensations include the information of couples attempting to receive permissions to marry despite the consanguinity issue that they may have with canon law. This includes couples who may be too closely related and couples where one is a member of another religion. Some couples included their pedigrees. The FamilySearch Catalog lists these records as dispensas de parentescos in the film notes.

The priests’ applications were created to enlist and accept qualified men to the order of the priesthood, specifically for the Tridentino Seminary College of Merida (later San Ildefonso) in Yucatan, Mexico. In the application, the petitioner needed to present his qualifications such as: legitimacy, baptism, schooling, cleanness of blood (sometimes a pedigree was presented), witnesses’ testimonies, and so on. There were students with scholarships that were paid by tithing, and students who shared some of the expenses (porcionistas) by paying for their own room and board. This seminary became the most important educational center of the Diocese of Tabasco. The ecclesiastical marriage dispensation or relationship dispensation for marriage was an authorization documents that a couple with close kinship needed to get married in the Catholic Church. It required the certification of witnesses who knew the relationship of the couple, certification of baptism, and sometimes a pedigree.

The priest’s application was necessary to certify that the person applying was worthy to receive the seminary scholarship and order to the priesthood. Marriage dispensations were necessary, according to ecclesiastical rules, when a couple who wanted to get married had a close kinship. Mexican Catholic Church priests’ applications are a reliable and accurate source for family history. The marriage dispensations do not give a lot of genealogical information; however, they are considered accurate because the certifications needed to be submitted to the ecclesiastical authority.

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:

Baptism or confirmation
 * Date and place of the baptism or confirmation
 * Child's given name and gender
 * Legitimacy
 * Child's birth date and place
 * Parents names
 * Paternal and maternal grandparents' names
 * Godparents' names

Marriage
 * Date and place of the marriage
 * Name and age of groom
 * Groom's legitimacy, baptismal date and confirmation date
 * Groom's birth date and place of birth
 * Groom's occupation, civil status and origin and residence
 * Groom’s parents' names, their occupation and origin
 * Name and age of bride
 * Bride's legitimacy, baptismal date and confirmation date
 * Bride's birth date and place of birth
 * Bride's origin and residence
 * Bride's parents' names
 * Godparents
 * Witnesses names, their age, occupation, civil status, and residence
 * Length of time witnesses have known bride and groom

Death or burial
 * Date and place of death or burial
 * Name, age and gender of deceased
 * Origin and residence of deceased
 * Cause of death
 * Spouse's name, if married
 * Parents' names and their origin
 * If their were children of deceased

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

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
 * Family relationships

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How Do I Analyze the Results?
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I Found the Person I Was Looking For, What Now?

 * Add any new information to your records
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 * Use the birth date or age along with the place of birth to find the family in 1930, Mexico National Census
 * Compile information for every person who has the same surname as your ancestor; this is especially helpful in rural areas or if the surname is unusual
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I Can’t Find the Person I’m Looking For, What Now?

 * Mexico, Yucatán, Civil Registration - FamilySearch Historical Records are also a good substitute when church records of births, marriages, and deaths cannot be found or are unavailable
 * A useful Coverage Table for Mexico Baptisms is available in the wiki article Mexico Baptisms, Coverage Table - FamilySearch Historical Records
 * 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
 * Also, consider looking at collections for surrounding localities. Campeche is to the southwest, and Quintana Roo is along the southeast
 * New information is constantly being indexed, microfilmed or updated. Periodically check back to 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.  Watch for an asterisk for recently added or updated records

Research Helps
The following articles will help you in your research for your family in Mexico.
 * 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.