Philippines, La Union, Diocese of San Fernando de La Union - FamilySearch Historical Records

Title in the Language of the Record
Filipinas, La Union, Diócesis de San Fernando de La Unión

Record Description
This collection will include records from 1801-1981.

These records contain church records including baptisms, marriages, deaths, and confirmations from the Diocese of San Fernando de La Union, Philippines. Church records are very important for family research. Civil authorities did not steadily register vital events in the Philippines until the nineteenth century.

Church records were kept from 1569, with some records dating even earlier. They are generally an excellent source of names, dates, and places of births, marriages, and deaths. The Catholic faith was the state religion for the next three centuries. In early history, there was no separation of church and state in the Philippines, and in most cases local parish priests played the dual role of civil official and ecclesiastical leader. The dual roles did not end until the Spanish government made a true separation of church and state in the year 1898. Only then were other religions permitted.

Each parish has kept records of Catholic inhabitants. Typically, these are records of:


 * Christening or baptism (bautismos).
 * Confirmations (confirmaciones).
 * Marriages (casamientos or matrimonios).
 * Parish enumerations (padrón de almas or estado de almas).

Citation for This Collection
The following citation refers to the original source of the information published in FamilySearch.org Historical Record collections. Sources include the author, custodian, publisher, and archive for the original records.

Suggested citation format for a record in this collection.

Known Issues
Philippines, La Union, Diocese of San Fernando de La Union, 1801-1981, Balaoan, St. Nicholas of Tolentina, Marriages, 1924-1936 (vol.5) This book is deaths and not marriages.

Philippines, La Union, Diocese of San Fernando de La Union, 1801-1981, Balaoan, St. Nicholas of Tolentina, Deaths, 1941-1973 (vol. 1). This book is marriages and not deaths.

Record Content
Baptism records may contain the following information:


 * Date of baptism
 * Date of birth
 * Place of baptism
 * Name of child
 * Name of parents
 * Names of witnesses
 * Fathers Occupation

Marriage records may contain the following information:


 * Place of marriage
 * Date of marriage
 * Name of bride and groom
 * Gender
 * Names of parents
 * Names of grandparents
 * Names of godparents

Death records may contain the following information:


 * Name of deceased
 * Date of death
 * Place of death
 * Date of burial
 * Place of burial
 * Name of spouse
 * Occupation
 * Names of surviving children
 * Names of parents

How to Use the Record
To begin your search, it would be helpful if you knew the following information:


 * Place of residence at time of event
 * Name of ancestor
 * Approximate year of the event

Search the Collection
To search the collection image by image select "Browse through images" on the initial collection page: ⇒ Select the appropriate "Municipality/Town" ⇒ Select the appropriate "Parish" ⇒ Select the appropriate "Record Type, Year Range (Volume Numbers)" which will take you to the images.

Look at the images one by one 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. Keep in mind:


 * There may be more than one person in the records with the same name.
 * You may not be sure of your own ancestor’s name.
 * Your ancestor may have used different names or variations of their name throughout their life.

For Help Reading These Records
These records are in Spanish. For help reading the records, see the following wiki articles:

Spanish Genealogical Word List

Unable to Find Your Ancestor?

 * If you do not find the records in a parish, search parishes in the immediate vicinity. See the Catholic Directory of the Philippines (above) for parishes and the names of their parish priests.

Related Websites

 * Catholic Hierarchy
 * History of San Fernando

Related Wiki Articles
Philippines Church Records

Citing FamilySearch Historical Collections
Citations for individual image records are available for this collection. Browse through images in this collection and click on the "Show Citation" box: Philippines, La Union, Diocese of San Fernando de La Union, 1801-1981

When you copy information from a record, you should list where you found the information. This will help you or others to find the record again. It is also good to keep track of records where you did not find information, including the names of the people you looked for in the records.

A suggested format for keeping track of records that you have searched is found in the wiki article Help:How to Cite FamilySearch Collections.