Central America, Colonial Census Records - FamilySearch Historical Records

Collection Time Period
This collection includes a variety of civil and church censuses from about 1662-1921. In the colonial Guatemala region, the church censuses began to be recorded in the early 1500s and the civil censuses in the early 1800s.

How to Use the Records
Use this collection of records to find clues about the data needed to further research an ancestor in the vital records, such as civil registration or church records.

Record Description
This is a collection of various censuses of Guatemala. The earlier censuses are handwritten in Spanish in narrative style, and later ones are written on formatted ledger-style forms. The genealogical information found in the census includes: name and surname, age at the time of the census, marital or civil status, occupation, origin, properties, and religion. The census is divided by municipalities or cantons.

Record Content
Key genealogical facts found in civil census include: • Name and surname • Age at time of census • Marital status • Occupation • Origin • Gender • Literacy • Disability • Religion • Race

Key genealogical facts found in church census include:

• Name and surname • Age • Marital status • Church parish of marriage • Sometimes the parents’ names • If the person has children and sometimes the children’s names and ages

Record History
According to the “Instituto Nacional de Identificación” (National Institute of Identification), the only relevant statistical activity in the colonial period was the population censuses carried out in the province of Guatemala by the Catholic Church ecclesiastical authorities, which began in the early 1500s. Some of these colonial censuses are actually membership records. These records are housed at the Archivo Histórico Arquidiocesano (Historical Archive of the Archdiocese of Guatemala) and have great importance in the historical reconstruction of the social, economic, and cultural process of Guatemala and the Central American region of the colonial period. Some of these earlier records are quite damaged, and therefore, some information is missing. It wasn’t until the beginning of Guatemala’s independence in 1821 that civil authorities began keeping statistical records of the country’s population.

Why This Collection Was Created?
The authorities’ mission for the census was that the statistics gathered would effectively contribute to the development and democracy of Guatemala.

Record Reliability
The census was regularly taken by authorized citizens. They collected the information given to them from a member of the household, who may not have known the exact data. It is recommended to use the census information with caution as there may be some mistakes. However, the information gathered will help to find other information not found in vital records.

Related Web Sites
This section of the article is incomplete. You can help FamilySearch Wiki by supplying links to related websites here.

Citing FamilySearch Historical Collections
A suggested format for keeping track of records that you have searched is found in the Wiki Article: How to Cite FamilySearch Collections

Please add sample citations to this article following the format guidelines in the wiki article listed above. Examples of citations:


 * United States. Bureau of the Census. 12th census, 1900, digital images, From FamilySearch Internet (www.familysearch.org: September 29, 2006), Arizona Territory, Maricopa, Township 1, East Gila, Salt River Base and Meridian; sheet 9B, line 71
 * Mexico, Distrito Federal, Catholic Church Records, 1886-1933, digital images, from FamilySearch Internet (www.familysearch.org: April 22, 2010), Baptism of Adolfo Fernandez Jimenez, 1 Feb. 1910, San Pedro Apóstol, Cuahimalpa, Distrito Federal, Mexico, film number 0227023

How Has This Article Helped You?
Send us your story

Style Guide
For guidelines to use in creating wiki articles that describe collections of images and indexes produced by FamilySearch, see: FamilySearch Wiki: Guidelines for FamilySearch Collections pages

Sources of Information for This Collection:
"Central America Colonial Census Records," database, FamilySearch; from the Archivo General de Centro América. "Central America, Colonial Census records." General Archive of Central America, Guatemala City, Guatemala. FHL microfilm. Family History Library, Salt Lake City, Utah, USA.

The format for citing FamilySearch Historical Collections, including how to cite individual archives is found in the following link: How to Create Source Citations for FamilySearch Historical Records Collections