Mexico, Tamaulipas, Catholic Church Records - FamilySearch Historical Records

What is in This Collection?
This collection of Catholic Church records, such as baptisms, marriages, and burials for the State of Tamaulipas includes the years 1703-1964. 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.

For additional details about the history of these records and help using them, see the wiki article Mexico Catholic Church Records (FamilySearch Historical Records).

Reading These Records
These records are in Language. For help reading these records see the following guides: This could also be written as a sentence rather than a bulleted list. These records are in Spanish. For help reading these records see Spanish Genealogical Word List, Reading Spanish handwritten records, and Script tutorial for Spanish
 * Spanish Genealogical Word List
 * Reading Spanish handwritten records
 * Script tutorial for Spanish - change as appropriate

What Can These Records Tell Me?
The following information may be found in these records:

Baptism and Confirmation Records
 * Date of baptism or confirmation
 * Name and gender of child
 * Place of the event and usually the parish saint name
 * Names of the parents
 * Age of the person being baptized or the person’s birth date
 * Legitimacy
 * Before 1820, social class of the parents
 * Sometimes the person’s race

Marriage Records
 * Date of marriage
 * Place of the event and usually the parish saint name
 * Names of the betrothed
 * Names of the parents
 * Names of the witnesses
 * Ages and marital statuses of the betrothed
 * Places of origin and residence of the betrothed and sometimes that of the parents
 * Legitimacy of the betrothed
 * Sometimes the race of the betrothed

Death Records
 * Date and place of death or burial
 * Name of the deceased
 * Sometimes the names of the parents or the spouse, if the deceased was married
 * Age of the deceased person at time of death
 * Place of residence or origin of the deceased person
 * Sometimes the race of the deceased

How Do I Search This Collection?
Before searching this collection, it is helpful to know:
 * The given name and surname of the person
 * The type of event
 * The estimated date of the event

View the Images
View images in this collection by visiting the :
 * 1) Select City or Town
 * 2) Select Parish
 * 3) Select Record Type and Years to view 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.

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.

I Found the Person I Was Looking For, What Now?

 * Add any new information to your records
 * Use the information to find more. For instance, use the age listed in the record to estimate a year of birth, if that is yet undetermined
 * Use the birth date or age along with the place of birth to find the family in *Compile information for every person who has the same surname as your ancestor; this is especially helpful in rural areas or if the surname is unusual
 * Continue to search the records to identify children, siblings, parents, and other relatives in the same county or nearby. This can help you identify other generations of your family or even the second marriage of a parent

I Can’t Find the Person I’m Looking For, What Now?

 * Consult the Mexico Record Finder to find other records marriages, and deaths cannot be found or are unavailable
 * The Mexico 1930 Census can tell you if your ancestors were1930, Mexico National Census can tell you if you ancestors were married civilly, by the Catholic Church or both
 * 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
 * A boundary change could have occurred, and the and the record of you ancestor is now in a neighboring province. Search the records and indexes of neighboring cities, provinces, and regions
 * Try looking through records in the surrounding localities. Nuevo León is to the west, Texas to the north, Veracruz to the south, and San Luis Potosí to the southwest.

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
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.

"Mexico,Tamaulipas, registros parroquiales, 1703-1964." Database and images. FamilySearch. http://FamilySearch.org : accessed 18 February 2017. Paróquias Católicas, Tamaulipas (Catholic Church parishes, Tamaulipas).
 * Collection Citation:

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