Guatemala, Ciudad de Guatemala, Census, 1877 - FamilySearch Historical Records

Foreign Language Title
Catastro y Censo General de la Ciudad de Guatemala de 1877.

Collection Time Period
This collection of census enumerations of the city of Guatemala was taken in 1877.

Record History
This census covers only the city of Guatemala, which at the time contained the majority of the country’s population. The census was taken by regular citizens. Therefore, there may be some errors in the spelling or data, as they recorded the information while the questions were answered verbally. The census enumerations are handwritten on ledger-style, legal-sized forms. The column headings at the top of the page are printed on the forms.

Why This Collection Was Created?
The census was taken to identify the living population, and their education, origin, and social groups.

Record Reliability
The census is a reliable source for statistical information. Some of the genealogical information that is not found in other records can be used to help research the exact vital data. Some data found in the census may also not be in the vital records.

Record Description
The census enumeration pages are written in Spanish on ledger-style forms with columns. The genealogical information found in the census includes: names and surnames, ages at the time of the census, marital statuses, origins, and religions. The census is divided by canton.

Record Content
The key genealogical facts found in the census enumeration schedules are: • Complete locality including the canton, street, house number, block number, and parish name • Given name and surname of each individual living in each house or property • Name of the head of household • Age of each individual • Marital status or civil status • Occupation of each individual • Origin of each individual • Gender of the adults: male or female • Gender of the children: boys or girls • Whether an individual knows how to write • Mental or physical disabilities • Religion • Race: whites, Indians (natives), mixed (mulatto) • Houses

How to Use the Record
Census records are especially valuable to quickly identify a family group, their residence, and the birthplace for each person along with their ages, which may help to search for other record types. Census records can provide information about persons where church and civil records may be incomplete. However, use the information with caution, since it may contain inaccuracies. The informant (perhaps a member of the family or a neighbor) may have not known the facts or deliberately falsified the information.

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Related Websites
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Sources of This Collection
This is a collection of digital copies of original records housed at:


 * General Archive of Central America in Guatemala (Archivo General de Centro América en Guatemala) and
 * Guatemala, Dirección General de Estadística.

How to Cite Your Sources
Instructions for citing this source can be found at: Cite Your Sources (Source Footnotes)