Chile Civil Registration - FamilySearch Historical Records

Chile

What Is in the Collection?
This collection includes records of births, marriages, and deaths for various localities in Chile from 1885 to 1903.

For a complete list of all the provincias and comunas included in this collection, see the Provinces of Chile - Civil Registration coverage table.

These records are organized by province, according to the jurisdictions in place at the time of the creation of the records. Only records from a few localities have been indexed. More records and images will be added as they become available.

The majority of the records have been well-preserved. Some may be faded but are still readable if the image is enlarged. Some earlier records were handwritten in narrative style, however, the majority of the records were handwritten in formatted registers with a similar style as to a ledger.

Reading These Records
These records are written in Spanish Genealogical Word List; also see the section For Help Reading These Records for translation helps.

What Can These Records Tell Me?
The following information is usually found in these records:

Birth Records
 * Date of registration
 * Child’s name and gender
 * Birth date and place
 * Parents’ names
 * Parents’ nationality, occupation and residence
 * Name, age, occupation and residence of informant
 * Names of witnesses

Marriage Records
 * Date and place of marriage
 * Name, age, marital status, occupation and nationality of bride and groom
 * Residence of bride and groom at time of marriage
 * Names of bride and groom’s parents
 * Witnesses’ names

Death Records
 * Name of deceased
 * Date of the registration
 * Gender, age, nationality and occupation of deceased
 * Date, place and time of death
 * Marital status/name of spouse
 * Cause of death
 * Burial place
 * Name, age and occupation of informant

How Do I Search The Collection?
You can search the index or view the images or both. Before using this collection it is helpful to know:
 * Your ancestor's given name and surname
 * Identifying information such as residence
 * Estimated marriage or birth year

Search the Index
Search by name by visiting the Collection Page.
 * 1) Fill in the search boxes on the Collection Page with the information you have.
 * 2) Click Search to show possible matches.

For more tips about searching on-line collections see the on-line article FamilySearch Search Tips and Tricks.

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

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


 * Spanish Genealogical Word List
 * Script tutorial for Spanish

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.

I Found Who I Was Looking For, What Now?

 * Use the marriage date and place as the basis for compiling a new family group or for verifying existing information.
 * Use the birth date or age along with the place of birth of each partner to find a couple's birth records and parents' names.
 * Use the birth date or age along with the place of birth to find the family in census records Chile Census.
 * Use the residence and names of the parents to locate church records Chile Church Records.
 * Use the parents' birth places to find former residences and to establish a migration pattern for the family.
 * Compile the marriage entries for every person who has the same surname as the bride or groom; this is especially helpful in rural areas or if the surname is unusual.
 * Use the marital status to identify previous marriages (whether a divorce or death dissolved a marriage).
 * Witnesses often were relatives of the parents.
 * When looking for a person who had a common name, look at all the entries for the name before deciding which is correct.

I Can't Find Who I'm Looking For, What Now?

 * New information is constantly being indexed, microfilmed or updated. Periodically check back and see if your ancestor’s records have been added.
 * A boundary change could have occurred and the record of your ancestor is now in a neighboring state or region, or your ancestor immigrated to another country. Search the records of nearby areas or immigration/emigration records Chile Emigration and Immigration. Watch this free video (in English) about finding immigrants from Chile to the United States: U.S. Hispanic Immigrants: Finding their Place of Origin.
 * There may be more than one person with the same name.
 * 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
 * If you get stuck and can’t read a document or you’re not sure where to go next in your research, you can ask for help through Hispanic Genealogy Research community on Facebook is a page sponsored by FamilySearch and here you may also post a question or upload an image of a document for further assistance. The Hispanic Genealogy Research page is designed especially for those who have Hispanic ancestry but may not be fluent in Spanish. Be sure to click like on the page on your first visit so you can receive information and updates from the page in your news feed.

Known Issues With This Collection
For a full list of all known issues associated with this collection see the attached Wiki 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: Record Citation (or citation for the index entry): Image Citation