Alta Verapaz Department, Guatemala Genealogy

Guide to Department of Alta Verapaz family history and genealogy: birth records, marriage records, death records, census records, family history, and military records.

History
Pre-Columbian times this area was part of the Maya civilization. When the Spanish Conquistadores came in the 1520s they conquered the central and southern highlands of Guatemala, but were driven back from this region by fierce native resistance. Local oral history speaks of a former slave ship capsizing prior to the Spaniards arriving upon this area of Guatemala. Africans and Mayans were not conquered through the sword, but through the cross. Spanish friars asked the natives for a chance to peacefully convert the land to Christianity which they succeeded in, giving the area the name Verapaz. Alta Verapaz is a department in the north central part of Guatemala. The capital and chief city of the department is Cobán. Verapaz is bordered to the north by El Petén, to the east by Izabal, to the south by Zacapa, El Progreso, and Baja Verapaz, and to the west by El Quiché. Also in Alta Verapaz are the towns of Chisec, San Pedro Carchá and San Cristóbal Verapaz. 

Civil Registration and Church Records
Most of the research you will do will be in these records.
 * 1877-2008 - at FamilySearch — index and images
 * Guatemala, Alta Verapaz, Civil Registration, 1877-1994 Additional towns.
 * Alta Verapaz, Guatemala, Catholic Church Records, 1581-1977
 * Alta Verapaz, Guatemala, Catholic Church Records, 1581-1977

Additional online records may be listed in the Family History Library Catalog for places within Guatemala, Alta Verapaz.

Reading the Records

 * You do not have to be fluent in Spanish to read your documents. Genealogical records usually contain a limited vocabulary. Use this Spanish Genealogical Word List to translate the important points in the document. Handwriting skills are taught in BYU Spanish Script Tutorial.


 * Online interactive slideshow lessons are available to help you learn to read these records:


 * Reading Spanish Handwritten Records, Lesson 1
 * Reading Spanish Handwritten Records, Lesson 2
 * Reading Spanish Handwritten Records, Lesson 3


 * Detailed instructions for reading Spanish records, examples of common documents, and practice exercises for developing skills in translating them can be found in the Spanish Records Extraction Manual.
 * The Spanish Documents Script Tutorial also provides lessons and examples.

Building a Family Record with a Search Strategy
Many articles on strategy are available on the Wiki, but here is a simple set of steps to guide you
 * Search for the relative or ancestor you selected. When you find his birth/baptism/christening record, then search for the births of his brothers and sisters.
 * Next, search for the marriage of his parents. The marriage record will have information that will often help you find the birth records of the parents, and even the names of their parents.
 * You can estimate the ages of the parents and determine a birth year to search for their birth records.
 * Search the death registers for all known family members.
 * Repeat this process for both the father and the mother, starting with their birth records, then their siblings' births, then their parents' marriages, and so on.
 * If earlier generations (parents, grandparents, etc.) do not appear in the records, search neighboring parishes.