Salta Province, Argentina Genealogy

Guide to Salta Province family history and genealogy: birth records, marriage records, death records, census records, family history, and military records.

History
The battle of Salta in 1813 freed the territory from Spain, but occasional attacks were mounted from the Viceroyalty of Peru as late as 1826. The Province of Salta was founded in 1814. Exploiting internal Argentine conflicts that arose after the Argentine Declaration of Independence, Bolivia annexed Tarija in 1826. In 1834, Jujuy withdrew from Salta and became a separate province. The National Government of Los Andes, constituted from the province in 1902 with a capital at San Antonio de los Cobres, was returned to Salta Province in 1943 as the Department of Los Andes. 

Geography and Climate
The easternmost parts of the province have a semi-arid climate with a dry winter season.[4][5] The mean annual temperature and precipitation are 20 °C (68.0 °F) and 500 millimetres (19.7 in).[4][5] Temperatures can reach up to 47 °C (116.6 °F) during summers, while they can fall down to −5 °C (23.0 °F) during winters.[4][5] The first slopes of the Andes force the moist, easterly winds to rise, provoking very high condensation leading to the formation of clouds that generate copious amounts of rain.[6] The eastern slopes of the mountains receive between 1,000 to 1,500 mm (39 to 59 in) of precipitation a year, although some places receive up to 2,500 mm (98 in) of precipitation annually owing to orographic precipitation.[6][7] Most of the precipitation is concentrated in the summer, with winters being dry.[8] The high rainfall on these first slopes creates a thick jungle that extends in a narrow strip along these ranges, creating an area of great species diversity.[4][8] At higher altitudes on these slopes, the climate is cooler and more humid, with the vegetation consisting of deciduous and pine trees.[8] Between the high altitudes to the west and the low plains to the east lie the valleys.[5] The climate of these valleys is temperate, allowing for human settlement and agricultural activities.[5] Mean annual precipitation is around 1,000 mm (39 in), most of it during summer.[5] Mean temperatures exceed 20 °C (68.0 °F) during the summer, while during winter, they are below 14 °C (57.2 °F).[5] Further west, the Altiplano is a plateau at 3,000 m to 4,000 m above sea level. The climate is arid and cold: high temperatures vary little (since the warmer season is cloudy, and the coolest is sunny), ranging from 14 °C to 21 °C (57F to 70F); night temperatures go from 6 °C (43F) in midsummer, to -8 °C (18F) in midwinter, and extremes under -15 °C (5F) might be recorded. All rain falls exclusively in the summer, with values between 200 mm and 400 mm in total. Several salt flats exist in this area. At the highest altitudes found in the western parts of the province, the climate is arid and cold, with large diurnal ranges (temperature range between day and night).[4] The main rivers of the province are the Pilcomayo, Bermejo, and the Juramento, which later becomes the Salado River. Salta Province is located at a geologically active region, and suffers from occasional earthquakes. There have been four earthquakes of note in the province: In 1692, registering 7.0 on the Richter magnitude scale, and at IX (Violent) on the Mercalli intensity scale, In 1844, registering 6.5 on the Richter magnitude scale, and VII (Very strong) Mercalli intensity, In 1948, registering 7.0 on the Moment magnitude scale (MMS), and IX (Violent) Mercalli intensity, and In 2010, registering 6.1 or 6.3 (MMS), and VI (Strong) Mercalli intensity. The 1692 earthquake was the inspiration for Salta's annual citywide festival, held on 16 September, in honor of El Señor y la Virgen del Milagro.[9] Economy[edit] Salta's economy is relatively underdeveloped, yet diverse. Its economy in 2006 was estimated at US$5.141 billion or, US$4,764 per capita, 45% below the national average.[10] In 2012, its economy was estimated at $30.613 billon Pesos (about US$6.743 billion) or, 23,971 pesos (about US$5,280) per capita.[11][12] Agriculture and its derived industries are still an important activity in the province, adding over 10% to output. Tobacco, sugar cane and viticulture are the most important and produce most of the exports from the area. Other crops mostly for local consumption are maize, beans, citrus, bananas, and tomatoes. The sugar cane is processed in plants in Salta before it is sent to the rest of Argentina and other countries. The plant in San Martín de Tabacal is the most important of them. The famous wines of the Valles Calchaquíes region near Cafayate are produced in numerous vineyards of diverse sizes (mainly Torrontés, Malbec and Cabernet Sauvignon). Gas and petroleum from the Tartagal, Aguas Blancas, Madrejones and Campo Durán centres is transported to Buenos Aires and Rosario by pipes. Campo Durán also has an oil refinery located in the province. In all, manufacturing plays a significant role in Salta, adding 20% to the economy. Mining includes uranium at Iruya, La Poma and San Carlos. American breeds of cattle are raised only on the humid subtropical east, along with some sheep and goats. Tourism[edit] The Salta Province is home to a number of natural, social and historic attractions. The city of Salta "La Linda" ("The beautiful") is both an important tourist destination, and the centre point for visiting the rest of the province. The city holds different attractions; among them are its colonial houses and cathedral, and the Museo de Arqueología de Alta Montaña de Salta that holds the three frozen Inca mummies found at the 6,700 meters of the Llullaillaco volcano. Also from Salta, the Tren a las Nubes crosses canyons and cliffs before arriving to the 3,775 metres (12,500 feet) of San Antonio de los Cobres. The red-rock formations of the Valles Calchaquíes and the wine-town of Cafayate are the second most visited place in the province. Many visit the Cachi mountains and the villages (such as Payogasta) around it. There are three national parks in Salta: El Rey National Park in the Yungas jungle, Baritú National Park and Los Cardones National Park.

The Train to the Clouds one of the highest railways in the world, taking its way across the high peaks of the Cordillera de los Andes, surrounded by striking sceneries.[13] Demographics[edit] [show]Historical population According to the results from the 2010 census [INDEC], the province has a population of 1,214,441.[14] It constitutes 3.0% of the total population in Argentina.[15]:63 This represented a 12.5% increase in the population compared to 2001 census [INDEC] which had 1,079,051 inhabitants.[16] 6.5% of the population or 79,204 persons declared themselves as having Indigenous background,[17]:69 making it one of the provinces that has a high percentage of indigenous people, being ranked 5th behind Chubut, Neuquén, Jujuy and Río Negro.[15]:278 The most populous indigenous groups in the province are the Wichí, which make up 24.9% of the total indigenous population followed by the Kolla (21.6%), and the Guaraní (13.7%).[17]:69 As well, 4,189 persons declared themselves to be Afro-Argentine.[18] Political division[edit]

Valles Calchaquíes near Cafayate.

View of the Lerma Valley and the city of Salta. The province is divided in 23 departments (Spanish: departamentos). Department (Capital) Anta (Joaquín Víctor González) Cachi (Cachi) Cafayate (Cafayate) Capital (Salta) Cerrillos (Cerrillos) Chicoana (Chicoana) General Güemes (General Güemes) General San Martín (Tartagal) Guachipas (Guachipas) Iruya (Iruya) La Poma (La Poma) La Caldera (La Caldera) La Candelaria (La Candelaria) La Viña (La Viña) Los Andes (San Antonio de los Cobres) Metán (San José de Metán) Molinos (Molinos) Orán (San Ramón de la Nueva Orán) Rivadavia (Rivadavia) Rosario de la Frontera (Rosario de la Frontera) Rosario de Lerma (Rosario de Lerma) San Carlos (San Carlos) Santa Victoria (Santa Victoria) See also[edit] 1948 Salta earthquake Salta-Square2.jpg Cable Car to the Cerro San Bernardo - Salta - Argentina.jpg Tren a las nubes cruzando Viaducto la Polvorilla.jpg Argentine vineyard and mountains..jpg Tour to the Quebrada de las Conchas.jpg Quebrada de las Flechas - Argentina.jpg Iruya 1.jpg Salinas Grandes 052.JPG Cachi 01.jpg Camino a Cachi.jpg References[edit] Jump up ^ "Censo 2010 Argentina resultados provisionales: mapas". 200.51.91.231. Retrieved 2014-04-22. Jump up ^ "Información para el desarrollo sostenible: Argentina y la Agenda 2030" (PDF) (in Spanish). United Nations Development Programme. p. 155. Archived from the original (PDF) on 25 August 2017. Retrieved 25 August 2017. Jump up ^ Parker, William Belmont (1920). Argentines of today. Volume 5 of Hispanic Notes and Monographs. 2 (Digitized May 22, 2008 ed.). New York: The Hispanic Society of America. pp. 637–640. ^ Jump up to: a b c d e f g "Clima de la Provincia de Salta" (in Spanish). Portal Informativo de Salta. Retrieved 15 December 2015. ^ Jump up to: a b c d e f g "Información del Clima" (in Spanish). Ministerio de Cultura y Turismo de la Provincia de Salta. Retrieved 15 December 2015. ^ Jump up to: a b Bobba, María (2011). "Causas de Las Sequías de la Región del NOA (Argentina)". Retrieved 26 July 2015. Jump up ^ Ahumada, Ana (2002). "Periglacial phenomena in the high mountains of northwestern Argentina" (PDF). South African Journal of Science. 98: 166–170. Retrieved 26 July 2015. ^ Jump up to: a b c "The Vegetation of Northwestern Argentina". The University of Western Ontario. Retrieved 15 December 2015. Jump up ^ "La Fiesta del Fe - Salta´s Massive Pilgrimmage". 19 September 2001. Retrieved 2016-01-11. Jump up ^ "El déficit consolidado de las provincias rondará los $11.500 millones este año" (in Spanish). Instituto Argentino para el Desarrollo de las Economías Regionales. Retrieved 10 July 2015. Jump up ^ "Producto Bruto Geográfico–Provincia de Salta" (PDF) (in Spanish). Dirección General de Estadísticas de la Provincia de Salta. Retrieved 10 July 2015. Jump up ^ The average exchange for 1 US dollar was 4.54 Argentine pesos in 2012 according to the World Bank Jump up ^ "Train to the clouds - ARGENTINEAN NORTH". Trenalasnubes.com.ar. Retrieved 2014-04-22. ^ Jump up to: a b "Evolución de la población en los Censos Nacionales de 1869, 1895, 1914, 1947, 1960, 1970, 1980, 1991, 2001 y 2010. Provincia de Salta, según departamento" (in Spanish). Dirección General de Estadísticas de la Provincia de Salta. Retrieved 15 December 2015. ^ Jump up to: a b "Censo Nacional de Población, Hogares y Viviendas 2010: Resultados definitivos: Serie B No 2: Tomo 1" (PDF) (in Spanish). INDEC. Retrieved 15 December 2015. Jump up ^ "Población censada en 2001 y 2010 y variación intercensal absoluta y relativa 2001-2010. Provincia de Salta, según departamento" (in Spanish). Dirección General de Estadísticas de la Provincia de Salta. Retrieved 15 December 2015. ^ Jump up to: a b "Censo Nacional de Población, Hogares y Viviendas 2010: Pueblos Originarios: Región Noroeste Argentino: Serie D No 1" (PDF) (in Spanish). INDEC. Retrieved 16 December 2015. Jump up ^ "Cuadro P42-P. Provincia de Salta. Población afrodescendiente en viviendas particulares por sexo, según grupo de edad. Año 2010" (PDF) (in Spanish). INDEC. Retrieved 15 December 2015. External links[edit] Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Salta (category) Wikisource has the text of a 1905 New International Encyclopedia article about Salta Province. (in Spanish) Salta Province official website (in Spanish) Salta Province official portal (in Spanish) Tourist Secretary (in Spanish) Salta.com (in Spanish) Nuevo Diario de Salta (in Spanish) Universidad Nacional de Salta (in Spanish) Welcome Salta [show] v t e Departments of Salta Province [show] v t e Provinces of Argentina Coordinates: 24°47′S 65°25′W Categories: Salta ProvinceProvinces of ArgentinaStates and territories established in 1814 Navigation menu Not logged inTalkContributionsCreate accountLog inArticleTalkReadEditView historySearch

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Getting started with research in Salta
See FamilySearch Tutorials on Latin American Research.

'''Most of your genealogical research for Argentina will be in two main record types: civil registration and church records. This article will teach you methods for locating and searching these two record groups.'''

Civil Registration

 * Civil registration records are government records covering birth, marriage, and death. They are an excellent source of names, dates, places, and relationships.


 * Civil authorities began registering births, marriages, and deaths in 1886. Even though the law was passed in 1886 most of the provinces started keeping records at different times. Most had the system going by 1900.


 * Every municipal district was to make duplicate copies of their books. In Salta they kept the original books and send the copies to the Archivo General de Tribunales in the Federal District. In the provinces they were to be send the copies to the provincial or judicial archives of each province.


 * According to the law, the public has liberal access to the civil records. The director of the civil archive is required to provide interested parties with a complete copy of any record, including marginal notes, under his jurisdiction.


 * The Family History Library has not microfilmed the civil registration records of Argentina. The Library's collection continues to grow as new records are microfilmed and added to the collection from numerous sources. Don't give up if records are not available yet. The FamilySearch Catalog is updated periodically. Check it again every year for the records you need.

Locating Civil Registration Records
Civil registration records are kept at the local municipal district civil registration office (Dirección del Registro Civil). Therefore, you must determine the municipal district where your ancestor lived before you can find the records. The original book stays in the municipal office and duplicate copies are sent to the provincial or judicial archives of the province or the General Archive of the Tribunal in the federal district. Therefore, duplicates may also be available at the provincial level. If a letter to the town/city fails, write to the provincial office.

Your ancestor may have lived in a village that belonged civilly to a larger nearby town. In large cities, there may be many civil registration districts. You may need to use gazetteers and other geographic references to identify the place your ancestor lived and the civil registration office that served it. See Diccionario geográfico estadístico nacional argentino (1885). Although this gazetteer is in Spanish, the province is listed immediately after the name of the town.

Local Archives
Civil officials will generally answer correspondence in Spanish. Use the following address:

Dirección del Registro Civil       Oficina de Inscripciones y Rectificaciones        (*postal code) (City), (Province), Argentina


 * Find the Argentina postal code here.

Provincial Archives and Tribunal Archives
These archives maintain the duplicates sent to them by the municipal districts. You may write to these archives and request searches of the records. The public has access to these records. For the province of Salta, you will need to write to the following address:

Registro Provincial de las Personas Pedernera 273 CP 4400 Salta Argentina Telefono: 0387 4 212009 / 4 212012 / 4 221126

After deciding who has jurisdiction over the records for the time period you need, write a brief request to the proper office. Send the following:


 * Full name and the sex of the person sought.
 * Names of the parents, if known.
 * Approximate date and place of the event.
 * Your relationship to the person.
 * Reason for the request (family history, medical, etc.).
 * Request for a photocopy of the complete original record.
 * Check or cash for the search fee (usually about $10.00).

'''Write your request in Spanish whenever possible. For writing your letter in Spanish, use the translated questions and phrases in this Spanish Letter-writing Guide.'''

Church Records
The vast majority of Argentines were Catholic and were registered in the records of the local parish or diocese which are called registros parroquiales (parish registers). These records include entries for baptisms, marriage information, marriages, deaths, and burials. Often two and sometimes three generations are indicated in the records. In addition, church records may include church censuses, account books, confirmations, and other church-related records.

Church records are crucial for genealogical research, since civil authorities did not begin registering vital statistics until after 1886. After this date one should search in both church and civil records as there may be information in one that does not appear in the other. For instance the church records may only list the godparents whereas the civil records may list the grandparents.

1. Online Digital Records for Church Records
For some localities, digital copies of Catholic church records can be searched online:

Bautismos are infant baptisms, which are used for birth information. Información matrimonial are documents collected in preparation for a marriage. Matrimônios' are marriages. Defunciones are deaths. Entierros are burials'". Índice''' is the index.
 * 1634-1972 - at FamilySearch — index and images
 * 1645-1930 - at FamilySearch Historical Records, index, incomplete.
 * 1722-1911 - at FamilySearch Historical Records, index, incomplete.

2. Microfilm Copies of Church Records in the FamilySearch Catalog
If the locality and time period you need are not included in the online records, the next step is to find them in the microfilm collection of the Family History Library. Currently, they are being digitized, and plans are to complete that project by 2020. Check back occasionally to see if your records have become available. In the meantime, some of them might be available at a Family History Center near you. To find a microfilm:


 * a. Click on this link to see a list of  records for Argentina, Province of Salta.
 * b. Click on "Places within Argentina, Salta" and a list of towns and cities will open.
 * c. Click on the town or city you wish to search.
 * d. Click on "Church Records" topic. Click on the blue links to specific record titles.
 * e. Choose the correct event and time period for your ancestor.
 * f. Some combination of these icons will appear at the far right of the microfilm listed for the record. FHL icons.png. Clicking on the magnifying glass will take you to the index. Clicking on the camera will take you to an online digital copy of the microfilm.

3. Writing to a Catholic Priest for Church Records
Baptism, marriage, and death records may be searched by contacting or visiting local parish or diocese archives in Argentina. Argentina has no single repository of church records. Write your request in Spanish whenever possible. 'This method is not always reliable. Officials might or might not respond.'

Write a brief request in Spanish to the proper church using this address as guide replacing the information in parentheses:


 * Reverendo Padre
 * Parroquia de (name of parish) 
 * (postal code), (city), Corrientes
 * Argentina


 * Find the Argentina postal code here.

When requesting information, send the following:

'''Write your request in Spanish whenever possible. For writing your letter in Spanish, use the translated questions and phrases in this Spanish Letter-writing Guide.]'''
 * Money for the search fee, usually $10.00, and an international reply coupon (IRC)
 * Full name and the sex of the ancestor sought
 * Names of the ancestor’s parents, if known
 * Approximate date and place of the event
 * Your relationship to the ancestor
 * Reason for the request (family history, medical, and so on)
 * Request for a photocopy of the complete original record

Reading the Records

 * You do not have to be fluent in Spanish to read your documents. Genealogical records usually contain a limited vocabulary. Use this Spanish Genealogical Word List to translate the important points in the document. Handwriting skills are taught in BYU Spanish Script Tutorial.


 * Online interactive slideshow lessons are available to help you learn to read these records:


 * Reading Spanish Handwritten Records, Lesson 3
 * Reading Spanish Handwritten Records, Lesson 3
 * Reading Spanish Handwritten Records, Lesson 3


 * Detailed instructions for reading Spanish records, examples of common documents, and practice exercises for developing skills in translating them can be found in the Spanish Records Extraction Manual.
 * The Spanish Documents Script Tutorial also provides lessons and examples.

Tips for finding your ancestor in the records
Effective use of church records includes the following strategies.


 * Search for the relative or ancestor you selected. When you find his birth record, search for the births of his brothers and sisters.
 * Next, search for the marriage of his parents. The marriage record will have information that will often help you find the birth records of the parents.
 * You can estimate the ages of the parents and determine a birth year to search for their birth records.
 * Then repeat the process for both the father and the mother.
 * If earlier generations (parents, grandparents, etc.) do not appear in the records, search neighboring parishes.
 * Search the death registers for all known family members.

Research Tools

 * How to read old handwriting tutorials
 * BYU Research Outline for Argentina
 * IGI Batch Numbers
 * Useful websites
 * Listing of all records collections for Argentina available on FamilySearch.org

Wiki articles describing online collections are found at:


 * Argentina, Salta Province Catholic Church Records (FamilySearch Historical Records)
 * Argentina Baptisms (FamilySearch Historical Records)
 * Argentina 1869 Census (FamilySearch Historical Records)
 * Argentina, 1895 Census Population Schedules (FamilySearch Historical Records)
 * Argentina Marriages (FamilySearch Historical Records)

Census

 * Argentina Census
 * 1869 - at FamilySearch — index and images
 * 1895 - at FamilySearch — index and images

Tutorials

 * Tutorials at FamilySearch related to Latin American Research

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