Chile, Santiago, Cemetery Records - FamilySearch Historical Records

Title in the Language of the Records
Cementerio General de Santiago, Chile

Record Description
This collection will include burial records from the General Cemetery of Recoleta, Santiago, Chile for the years 1821 to 2011.

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

It includes cemetery registers and a variety of documents which were needed for the burial. The work orders correspond to transfers or grave-site reductions. The judicial declarations give family relationships with the buried person and sometimes include birth or marriage records. The authorization document is a legal approval to give burial to an individual, and receipts (comprobantes) include the burial service payment. The daily log register includes the name of all cadavers entering the cemetery through a specific door and includes the service requested.

This collection only includes a portion of the images in the complete collection. Additional images will be published as they become available.

Record Content
Burial registers may include the following information:
 * Name, gender, and age of deceased (keep in mind that death records for women may be filed under their married name)
 * Date, place, and time of death
 * Cause of death

Burial authorization papers may include the following:
 * Purchaser's name and spouse who purchased grave plot
 * Purchaser's residence
 * Contract of sale including date and location
 * Name of person requesting transfer of remains
 * Destination for transfer of remains
 * Original place and burial date of remains
 * Reason for transfer, reduction, or relocation

How to Use the Record
If you locate your ancestor’s burial record, carefully evaluate each piece of information given.

Burial records are often brief, so it can be easy to confuse individuals of the same name, origin, and birth date.

Compare what information is given with what you already know about your ancestor to make sure it is the correct person.

Search the Collection
To search by image: To search the collection you will need to follow this series of links: ⇒Select the "Browse" link in the initial search page ⇒Select the "Record Type and dates" 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 and 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
 * Chile Language and Languages

Using the Information

 * Use the birth date or year to search for birth records.
 * Use the locality and relative’s names to locate church records.
 * The name of the undertaker or mortuary could lead you to funeral records, which often include the names and residences of other family members.
 * Compile the entries for every person who has the same surname; this is especially helpful in rural areas or if the surname is unusual.
 * Continue to search the records to identify children, siblings, parents, and other relatives of the deceased who may have been buried in the same cemetery or nearby. This can help you identify other generations of your family. Repeat this process for each new generation you identify.
 * When looking for a person who had a common name, look at all the entries for the name before deciding which is correct.

Unable to Locate Your Ancestors?

 * Check for variant spellings of the surnames.
 * Search the indexes and records of nearby public cemeteries and church cemeteries.

Related Websites

 * Memorica Chilena, Biblioteca Nacional de Chile
 * Cementerio General of Chile, An Outdoor Museum
 * Drawing of General Cemetery Layout in 1990
 * Los cementerios en el siglo XIX, un sitio web que incluye documentos, imágenes, y otras cosas
 * "Memoria del Administrador del Cementerio Jeneral," an archived book, published in 1893
 * "Historia i Tradiciones del Cementerio Jeneral de Santiago," an archived book, published in 1890

Related Wiki Articles

 * Chile Cemeteries
 * Chile History
 * Chile

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

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Citation for This Collection
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