Mexico, México, Catholic Church Records - FamilySearch Historical Records

 Mexico

What is in the Collection?
This collection contains baptism, marriage, marriage info, and death records from the state of Mexico includes the years 1567-1970.

These records are written in Spanish. Here is a link to a Spanish Genealogical Word List which may be helpful. Also, see the section For Help Reading These Records for translation helps.

Often in Catholic Church records, separate books were kept for baptisms, confirmations, marriage information documents, marriages, and deaths. However, in smaller areas, all records may be recorded on one register. In larger parishes a separate book was usually maintained for confirmations, while in smaller parishes the confirmations may have been included with the baptisms. In larger parishes, most of the marriage banns (informaciones matrimoniales) may be registered separately. In smaller parishes, these records were included in the marriage entry or the confirmations may have been included with the baptisms or even with marriages. In larger parishes, a separate book of confirmations was usually maintained.

These records are in relatively fair condition, with the exception of some older records that may be damaged and, therefore, hard to read or missing some information. Most of the older records are handwritten in narrative style and follow a common text with some variations depending on the style used by the priest. Newer records are handwritten in formatted registers; some are even written in ledger style registers.

Sample Images
Baptism records usually contain the following information:


 * Date and place of baptism
 * Child's name and gender
 * Child's date and place of birth
 * Legitimacy
 * Names of the parents
 * Godparents
 * Before 1820, social class of the parents
 * Sometimes, the person’s race

Confirmation records usually contain the following information:


 * Child's name, age and origin
 * Date and place of confirmation
 * Godparents' names

Marriage records usually contain the following information:


 * Marriage date and place
 * Groom and Bride's names, marital status, occupation, age, origin and residence
 * Groom and Bride's birth and baptism date and place
 * Parents' names
 * Legitimacy
 * Witnesses' names, origin, residence, age, marital status, occupation and length of association with the couple.

Death records usually contain the following information:


 * Name and age of the deceased
 * Name of spouse and children
 * Cause and date of death
 * Burial location

How Do I Search the Collection?
Search by name by visiting the Collection Page: Fill in the requested information in the initial search page. This will return a list of possible matches. Compare the information about the people in the list to what you already know about your ancestors to determine if you have the correct family or person. You may need to compare the information about more than one person in order to find your ancestor.

As with any index, transcription errors could have occurred and not all information may be transcribed. It is recommended you verify the information with the original record.

View images in this collection by visiting the Browse Page  ⇒ Select the "City or Town" category ⇒ Select the "Parish" category ⇒ Select the "Record Type and Years" category which takes you to the images.

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


 * 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

I Can’t Find Who I’m Looking For, What Now?
If you are unable to find your ancestor try looking through records in the surrounding localities. Michoacán is to the west, Querétaro to the northwest, Hidalgo to the north and east, Tlaxcala to the east, Distrito Federal in the center southeast, Morelos to the southeast, and Guerrero to the south.

Known Issues with This Collection
For a full list of all known issues associated with this collection see the attached 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.

Citing this Collection
Citing your sources makes it easy for others to find and evaluate the records you used. When you copy information from a record, list where you found that information. Here you can find citations already created for the entire collection and for each individual record or image.

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