Colombia, Valle del Cauca, Miscellaneous Records - FamilySearch Historical Records

Title in the Language of the Record
Colombia, Valle del Cauca, Diversos Registros

Record Description
These records are in Spanish. This collection contains miscellaneous records that are housed at the Archivo Histórico de Buga. These records include censuses (padrones), will-related records (mortuorias and testamentarías), and voter identification cards (cédulas electorales).

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

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.

Record Content
Census records generally contain the following information:


 * Name
 * Residence
 * Members of the household
 * Age

Will records usually contain the following information:


 * Name of the deceased
 * Names of family members
 * Location and date of death

Voter identification records usually contain the following information:


 * Name of the voter
 * Residence of the voter

How to Use the Record
To search this collection, it would be helpful to know the following information:


 * Name of ancestor
 * Place of residence
 * Years the ancestor was alive

Search the Collection
To search the collection image by image select "Browse through images" on the initial collection page ⇒Select the appropriate "Tipo de registro y años" which takes 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.

Using the Information

 * Use the age to calculate a birth date.
 * Get the names of family members and look for their records.
 * Use the place of residence as a starting point and search nearby towns for further records and ancestors.

Tips to Keep in Mind

 * When looking for a person who had a common name, look at all the entries for the name before deciding which is correct.
 * Proof of information given during a census was not required, so it may contain some errors.
 * Censuses were taken by ordinary civilians who may have misspelled names.

Unable to Find your Ancestor?

 * Search nearby towns.
 * Check for variant spellings of the names, especially phonetically.

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


 * Spanish Genealogical Word List
 * Colombia Language and Languages

Related Websites

 * Establishment of Valle del Cauca
 * Valle del Cauca

Related Wiki Articles

 * Colombia
 * Colombia Census

Citing FamilySearch Historical Collections
When you copy information from a record, you should list where you found it. This will help you or others to find the same record again. Keep track of records where you did not find information about your ancestor so you and others won’t waste time looking through these records in the future.

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

Citation Example for a Record Found in This Collection
“Argentina, Buenos Aires, Catholic Church Records, 1635-1981,” images, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org: accessed 28 February, 2012), La Plata &gt; San Ponciano &gt; Matrimonios 1884-1886 &gt; image 71 of 389 images, Artemio Avendano and Clementina Peralta, 1884; citing Parroquia de San Ponciano en la Plata, Buenos Aires, Argentina, Matrimonios. San Ponciano, La Plata, Buenos Aires.