Argentina, Buenos Aires, Catholic Church Records - FamilySearch Historical Records

Title in the Language of the Records
Registros Parroquiales de la Provincia de Buenos Aires, Argentina

Record Description
These Spanish records contain baptisms, marriages, and deaths from 1635 to 1981. Early registers are handwritten in narrative style, and later records were handwritten on printed forms. They are from parishes in the Buenos Aires Province as it existed at the end of the 20th century.

Boundaries of the Buenos Aires Province changed considerably from its founding in 1617. The Buenos Aires Province belonged to the following confederations (in chronological order): the Spanish Peruvian viceroyalty (the province was then called Province of Rio de la Plata), the viceroyalty of the Rio de la Plata, the Argentine Confederacy, the State of Buenos Aires, and finally the Argentine Republic, also known today as Argentina. Throughout this dynamic history, the Catholic Church retained a prominent place in the affairs of the Province’s citizens. As of the late 20th century, an estimated 92 percent of the population was nominally Roman Catholic.

In 1886 the civil government began keeping vital records (civil registration). If you are looking for ancestors who came before this time, then the Catholic Church parish registers are the best records available to identify these individuals, since church records were around for hundreds of years prior to civil registration.

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

Record Content
Birth records usually contain the following information:


 * Place of event
 * Date of event
 * Name of child
 * Child’s birth date
 * Father’s name
 * Mother’s name
 * Parents' residence
 * Godparents names

Marriage records usually contain the following information:


 * Date of event
 * Place of event
 * Groom's name
 * Groom’s civil status, age and origin
 * Names of groom's parents
 * Parents place of residence


 * Bride's name
 * Bride’s civil status, age and origin
 * Names of bride's parents
 * Parents place of residence


 * Witnesses

Death records usually contain the following information:


 * Event date and location
 * Name of deceased
 * Gender, age, race of deceased
 * Date and place of birth
 * Residence
 * Religion, civil status
 * Occupation
 * Date of death and time
 * Cause of death

How to Use the Record
As you are searching it is helpful to know such information as your ancestor’s given name and surname, some identifying information such as residence and age, and family relationships. Remember that there may be more than one person in the records with the same name as your ancestor and that your ancestor may have used nicknames or different names at different times.


 * 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.

To search this collection by index: Fill in the requested information in the initial search page. This search will return a list of possible matches. Compare the information about the ancestors in the list to what you already know about your ancestors to determine if this is the correct family or person. You may need to compare the information about more than one person to find your ancestor.

To browse this collection by image: ⇒ Select the "Browse" link in the initial search page ⇒ Select the “City or Town” category ⇒ Select the “Parish” category ⇒ Select the “Record Type and Years” that takes you to the images.

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.

Using the Information

 * 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.
 * The name of the officiator is a clue to their religion or area of residence in the county. However, ministers may have reported marriages performed in other counties.
 * 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.

Unable to Locate Ancestors
If you are unable to find the ancestors you are looking for, try the following:


 * Check for variant spellings of the surnames.
 * Search the records of nearby localities.

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


 * Spanish Genealogical Word List
 * Argentina Language and Languages

Known Issues with This Collection
For a full list of all known issues associated with this collection see the attached wiki article. If you encounter additional problems, please email them to [mailto:support@familysearch.org support@familysearch.org]. Please include the full path to the link and a description of the problem in your e-mail. Your assistance will help ensure that future reworks will be considered.

Related Websites

 * Province of Buenos Aires Maps
 * Province of Buenos Aires History
 * Province of Buenos Aires Genealogy

Related Wiki Articles

 * Argentina
 * Argentina Church Records
 * Argentina Church History

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