Philippines, Northern Samar, Roman Catholic Diocese of Catarman, Church Records - FamilySearch Historical Records

What is in This Collection?
This collection includes Catholic Church records from the Diocese of Catarman for the years 1860-1983. The collection contains birth, confirmation, marriage, and death records. The originals are kept by the Diocese of Catarman in Catarman, Northern Samar Province, Philippines.

Reading these Records
These records are in Spanish. For help reading them see:
 * Spanish Genealogical Word List
 * Reading Spanish handwritten records
 * Script tutorial for Spanish

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

Birth
 * Date and place of birth
 * Child’s name
 * Parents’ names

Confirmation
 * Name, gender, and age
 * Date and place of confirmation
 * Names of parents and possibly grandparents
 * Names of godparents

Marriage
 * Names and ages of groom and bride
 * Date and place of marriage
 * Birthplaces of groom and bride
 * Groom’s parents’ names
 * Bride’s parents’ names
 * Marital status of groom and bride

Death
 * Name, gender, and age of deceased
 * Date and place of death
 * Date and place of burial
 * Marital status/name of spouse
 * Names of parents
 * Names and residences of informants/witnesses

How Do I Search This Collection?
Before searching this collection, it is helpful to know:
 * Name of the person
 * Approximate date of the event

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 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 Philippines Census
 * Use the residence and names of the parents to locate civil (see “Related Wiki Articles” section below) and land records Philippines Land and Property
 * Use the parents' birth places to find former residences and to establish a migration pattern for the family
 * The name of a marriage officiator is a clue to an ancestor’s religion or area of residence in the province. However, ministers may have reported marriages performed in other provinces
 * 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 previous marriage)
 * Witnesses often were relatives of the parents

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

 * When looking for a person who had a common name, look at all the entries for the name before deciding which is correct
 * For death records, the information in records is usually reliable, but depends upon the knowledge of the informant
 * For marriage and death records, your ancestors may have used shortened names or nicknames, so pay attention to other relationships (parents, spouse, siblings, children, etc.) that can confirm whether you have the right person/record
 * Continue to search the marriage records to identify children, siblings, parents, and other relatives of the bride and groom who may have married 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
 * Continue to search the indexes and records to identify children, siblings, parents, and other relatives who may have lived in the same area or a nearby area
 * You may want to look for records of a neighboring state or region. These areas/provinces border Northern Samar:
 * Samar and Eastern Samar in the South
 * Sorsogon to the Northwest

Research Helps
The following articles will help you research your family in Philippines.
 * Philippines Record Finder

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.

Filipinas, Samar do Norte, Diocese Católica Romana de Catarman, Registros da Igreja (Registros Históricos do FamilySearch)