Peru, Diocese of Huacho, Catholic Church Records - FamilySearch Historical Records

Peru

What is in the Collection?
The earlier records from this collection are all handwritten in a narrative format. Some later records are handwritten on printed forms, which may vary slightly from one priest to another. Generally, these records were written in chronological order. In smaller parishes, one book was used for all the ordinances (such as baptism, marriage, and death). In larger cities, records of the different types of sacred ordinances were kept in separate books. Confirmations were generally written in the baptismal registers. Some of the older records are damaged, but most of the genealogical information can be extracted.

This collection contains Catholic Church records created by parishes in the diocese of Huacho, Peru. These records include: baptisms, confirmations, marriages, pre-marriage investigations, deaths, and indexes. Some of these records have been indexed and are searchable as part of this collection. Additional indexed records will be published as they become available. Catholic Church parish registers were created by priests authorized to record the church sacraments of baptism, marriage, death, burial, and other ordinances in their parish jurisdiction.

Catholic Church parish registers are the primary source for finding genealogical information of birth, death, and marriage in Peru prior to 1852, when the civil registration was implemented.

For a list of localities currently published in this collection, select the Browse link from the collection landing page.

Reading These Records
These records are written in Spanish; see the section For Help Reading these Records for translation helps.

What Can these Records Tell Me?
Baptismal records usually contain the following information:
 * Date and parish of baptism
 * Name and gender of person baptized
 * Child's date of birth
 * Legitimacy
 * Father's name
 * Mother's maiden name
 * Names of godparents

Marriage records usually contain the following information:
 * Date and place of marriage
 * Groom's name, age, marital status and legitimacy
 * Names of groom's parents
 * Names of groom's godparents
 * Bride's name, age, marital status and legitimacy
 * Names of bride's parents
 * Names of bride's godparents
 * Witnesses’ names

Death records usually contain the following information:
 * Date and place death
 * Name of deceased
 * Age and marital status of deceased
 * Spouse’s name, if married
 * Legitimacy (not always)
 * Residence of the deceased
 * Cause of death

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
 * Family relationships

Search the Index
Search by name by visiting the Collection Page.
 * 1) Fill in the search boxes on the Collection Page with the information you have.
 * 2) Click Search to show possible matches.

For Help Reading these Records
For help reading these Spanish records, see the following wiki article:

Spanish Genealogical Word List

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.
 * The information in church records is usually reliable, but depends upon the reliability of the informant.
 * Earlier records may not contain as much information as the records created after the late 1800.
 * There is also some variation in the information given from one record to another.

What Do I Do Next?
When you have located your ancestor’s record, carefully evaluate each piece of information given. These pieces of information may give you new biographical details that can lead you to other records about your ancestors. Add this new information to your records of each family. Keep in mind:

I Found Who I was Looking for, What Now?

 * 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 birth date or age along with the place of birth to find the family in census records.
 * Use the residence and names of the parents to locate church and land records.
 * 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.
 * 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.
 * 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.
 * Use the marriage number to identify previous marriages.
 * When looking for a person who had a common name, look at all the entries for the name before deciding which is correct.

I Can’t Find Who I’m Looking for, What Now?

 * Civil registration records are also a good source of genealogical information. See Peru Civil Registration for further 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.
 * 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.
 * 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.
 * 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.
 * Your ancestor may have immigrated to another country. Search the records of nearby countries or immigration/emigration records: Peru Emigration and Immigration

Citing This Collection
Citing your sources makes it easy for others to find and evaluate the records you used. When you copy information from a record, list where you found that information. Here you can find citations already created for the entire collection and for each individual record or image.

Collection Citation:

Record Citation (or citation for the index entry):

Image Citation: