Haiti, Civil Registration - FamilySearch Historical Records

Haiti

What is in the Collection?
This is a collection of birth, marriage, and death records from Port-au-Prince, Haiti. Prior to 1804 Haiti was first claimed by Spain and then granted to France in 1697. During French governance, Haiti was known as Saint-Domingue. Some of the records were created using the Republican Calendar (1792-1806). Please see the website link listed in the Related Website section of this article for information on the Republican Calendar.

Local registry offices create the civil events, such as birth, marriage, and death, of citizens in their jurisdiction. The registrar sends the records to the Ministry of Justice annually, which verifies the records and affixes a seal before transferring them to the National Archives. A copy of the record is also kept at the local registry office or at the Civil Court Clerk's Office (Bureau du greffe du Tribunal civil). Unfortunately, a large number of births are not registered in Haiti.

Civil registration records are a very reliable source for doing genealogical research after 1804, the year when civil registration was implemented in Haiti. These records were created to record the events of birth, marriage, death, and other civil events, which would determine and prove the civil status and existence of citizens.

Reading These Records
These records are written in French; also see the section For Help Reading These Records for translation helps.

What Can These Records Tell Me?
Birth records usually contain the following information:


 * Full name of child
 * Date and place of birth
 * Gender
 * Legitimacy
 * Parents' names, residence, and/or place of origin
 * Names of witnesses

Marriage records generally contain the following information:


 * Names of the bride and groom
 * Date and place of the marriage
 * Their civil statuses (widowed, single, divorced) at the time of the event
 * Place of origin and residence of the bride and groom
 * Names of parents
 * Name of witnesses

Death records' usually contain the following information:


 * Place and date of death
 * Name of the deceased
 * Civil status of deceased at time of death
 * Civil status and name of spouse, if married at time of death
 * Parents’ names
 * Sometimes, place of burial
 * Civil status of deceased at time of death
 * Civil status and name of spouse, if married at time of death
 * Parents’ names
 * Sometimes, place of burial

How Do I Search the Collection?
To begin your search, it would be helpful if you knew the following information:
 * Your ancestors given name and surname
 * Names of parents
 * Approximate date and place of event
 * Commune

View The Images
View images in this collection by visiting the Browse Page.
 * 1) Select Department
 * 2) Select Commune
 * 3) Select Record Type and Years to view the images.

For Help Reading These Records
For help reading these French records, see the following wiki articles:


 * French Wordlist
 * France Language and Languages

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.

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.

I Found Who I was Looking for, What Now?

 * When you have located your ancestor’s birth, marriage, or death record, carefully evaluate each piece of information about them. These pieces of information may give you new biographical details that can lead you to other records about your ancestors.
 * Use the parents' birth places to find former residences and to establish a migration pattern for the family.
 * 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. Repeat this process for each new generation you identify.

I Can’t Find The Person I’m Looking for, What Now?

 * 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.
 * A boundary change could have occurred and the record of your ancestor is now in a neighboring area. Search the records and indexes of neighboring cities, provinces, and regions.
 * Your ancestor may have immigrated to another country. Search the records of nearby countries or immigration/emigration records.

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. Collection Citation:

Image Citation

Digital copies of originals are also housed in different local registry offices throughout Haiti.