Venezuela, Catholic Church Records - FamilySearch Historical Records

Venezuela

What is in This Collection?
This collection of church records covers the years 1577 to 1995 and includes parishes in several dioceses and archdioceses of Venezuela. This collection of baptisms, marriages, and burials were created, registered, and kept in separate registers by the priest in authority of the parish jurisdiction. Regularly two registers were created, the original was kept at the parish archive and a duplicate copy was sent to the diocesan archive for preservation.

The entries were normally created in chronological order. Some confirmations may be found within the baptisms book. The earlier parish records were all handwritten in narrative form, and later records were handwritten in formatted entries.

The parish registers may be the only records available for genealogical research before civil registration was implemented in 1873. Most of the parish records in this collection were acquired from the diocesan archives. Other archdiocesan registers have been published separately from this collection.

As of 23 January 2018, this collection included records from the following states in Venezuela:


 * Anzoátegui
 * Apure
 * Aragua
 * Barinas
 * Bolivar
 * Carabobo
 * Cojedes
 * Distrito Federal


 * Falcón
 * Guárico
 * Lara
 * Mérida
 * Miranda
 * Monagas
 * Nueva Esparta
 * Portuguesa


 * Sucre
 * Táchira
 * Trujillo
 * Vargas
 * Yaracuy
 * Zulia

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:

Baptismal and Confirmation
 * Name
 * Age
 * Gender
 * Birth date and place
 * Date and place of baptism
 * Date and place of confirmation
 * Names of parents
 * Names of godparents
 * Names of witnesses

Marriage
 * Name of groom
 * Name of bride
 * Age of groom
 * Age of bride
 * Date and place of marriage
 * Birthplaces of groom and bride
 * Names of groom’s parents
 * Names of bride’s parents
 * Who performed the marriages
 * Names of witnesses

Death
 * Deceased’s name
 * Gender
 * Age
 * Date and place of death
 * Marital status/name of spouse
 * Birthplace
 * Names of parents

Sample Images
The information found in each record varies by year. Records were made by Catholic priests or their associates, recorded in Spanish, and mostly written on either lined paper or blank paper that contained pre-printed numbers.

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

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. Keep track of your research in a research log.

I Found the Person I Was Looking For, What Now?

 * Add any new information to your records
 * Check the image the index was taken from to see if there is additional information
 * Make sure to fully transcribe and cite the record entry for future reference; see the section Citing This Collection for assistance. Save or print a copy of the image
 * Use the information to find more. For instance, use the age listed in the record to estimate a year of birth, if that is yet undetermined
 * Use the birth date or age along with the place of birth of each spouse to find a couple's birth records and parents' names
 * 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

What If I Can't Find Who I'm Looking For?
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.
 * 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. Click here for a list of Spanish name abbreviations
 * Venezuela Civil Registration are also a good substitute when baptism, marriage, and burial records can’t be found or are unavailable

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