Mexico, Michoacan, Civil Registration - FamilySearch Historical Records

What is in This Collection?
This collection of civil records for Michoacán covers the years 1859 to 1940. The civil registration records for Mexico cover the vital events of birth, marriages, and deaths. They are organized by state and then by municipality/city. Earlier records were handwritten in narrative style; later records were handwritten in formatted registers. Civil records in Mexico cover about 90 to 95 % of the population. Beginning in 1859, the Mexican government began requiring births, marriages, and deaths to be recorded by civil authorities on a municipality/district level. Although these records are a great source of genealogical information, they are not complete as civil registration wasn't strictly enforced in Mexico until 1867 and people did not always comply. For this reason, it is suggested to use church registers alongside the civil records to help in your research. The civil records of Mexico have been preserved relatively well. Only some of the older registers may have some physical damage; however, in general they are in good condition and are a reliable source to extract genealogical information.

Reading These Records
These records are in Spanish. For help reading these records see the following guides:
 * Mexico Language and Languages
 * Spanish Genealogical Word List
 * BYU Spanish Script Tutorial
 * FamilySearch Learning Center videos:
 * Reading Spanish Handwritten Records, Lesson 1
 * Reading Spanish Handwritten Records, Lesson 2
 * Reading Spanish Handwritten Records, Lesson 3

What Can These Records Tell Me?

 * Birth
 * Marriage
 * Death

Sample Images
Birth records may contain the following information:


 * Date and place of event
 * Name and gender of child
 * Child's date and place of birth
 * Parents names, age and civil status
 * Paternal grandparents
 * Maternal grandparents

Marriage records may contain the following information:


 * Date and place of marriage
 * Names of the bride and groom
 * Groom's age, civil status, occupation, origin and residence
 * Names of groom's parents
 * Groom's parents' age, civil status and occupation
 * Bride's age, civil status, occupation, origin and residence
 * Names of bride's parents
 * Bride's parents' age, civil status and occupation
 * Names of witnesses
 * Witnesses' names, age, civil status, occupation and residence

Death records may contain the following information:


 * Name and age of deceased
 * Date and place of death
 * Cause of death
 * Civil status of deceased at time of death
 * Civil status and name of spouse, if married at time of death
 * Parents’ names
 * Burial information

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 birth, marriage or death year

View the Images
View images in this collection by visiting the : Search the collection by image comparing the information with what you already know about your ancestors to determine which one is your ancestor. You may need to compare the information about more than one person to make this determination.
 * 1) Select City or Municipality
 * 2) Select Record Type and Years to view the images.

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.

What Do I Do Next?
When you have located your ancestor’s birth, marriage, or death record, carefully evaluate each piece of information about them. These pieces of information may give you new biographical details that can lead you to other records about your ancestors. For example:

I Found the Person I Was Looking For, What Now?
It is often helpful to extract the information on all children with the same parents. If the surname is unusual, you may want to compile entries for every person of the same surname and sort them into families based on the names of the parents. Continue to search the records to identify siblings, parents, and other relatives in the same or other generations who were born in the same town or nearby location.
 * Use the birth date or age along with the place of birth to find the family in 1930, Mexico National Census
 * Use the residence and names of the parents to locate church and land records
 * The father’s occupation can lead you to employment records, military records, or other types of records
 * The parent’s birth places can tell you former residences and can help to establish a migration pattern for the family

I Can’t Find the Person I’m Looking For, What Now?
If you are unable to find your ancestor try looking through records in the surrounding localities. Colima is to the west, Jalisco to the northwest, Guanajuato to north, Querétaro to the northeast, Estado de México to the east, and Guerrero to 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.
 * Consult the Mexico Record Finder to find other 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
 * Consult the Mexico Record Finder to find other records

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.

"México, Michoacán, Registro Civil, 1859-1940." Database and images. FamilySearch. http://FamilySearch.org : 17 January 2018. Direccion del Registro Civil y Notarias (Civil Registry State Archives), Michoacán.
 * Collection Citation:

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