Mexico, Morelos, Catholic Church Records - FamilySearch Historical Records

What is in the Collection?
This collection includes Catholic Church records for the cities of Amacuzac, Tetelcingo and Tlaquiltenango from 1598 to 1969. Records from the the parishes San Francisco, San Nicolás and Santo Domingo de Guzmán.

These records are written in Spanish. Here is a link to a Spanish Genealogical Word List which may be helpful. Also, see the section For Help Reading These Records for translation helps.

Often in Catholic Church records, separate books were kept for baptisms, confirmations, marriage information documents, marriages, and deaths. However, in smaller areas, all records may be recorded on one register. In larger parishes a separate book was usually maintained for confirmations, while in smaller parishes the confirmations may have been included with the baptisms. In larger parishes, most of the marriage banns (informaciones matrimoniales) may be registered separately. In smaller parishes, these records were included in the marriage entry or the confirmations may have been included with the baptisms or even with marriages. In larger parishes, a separate book of confirmations was usually maintained.

These records are in relatively fair condition, with the exception of some older records that may be damaged and, therefore, hard to read or missing some information. Most of the older records are handwritten in narrative style and follow a common text with some variations depending on the style used by the priest. Newer records are handwritten in formatted registers; some are even written in ledger style registers.

For additional details about the history of these records and help using them, see the wiki article Mexico Catholic Church Records (FamilySearch Historical Records).

Sample Images
Baptism records usually contain the following information:


 * Date and place of baptism
 * Child's name and gender
 * Legitimacy
 * Child's date and place of birth
 * Parents' names
 * Grandparents' names
 * Witnesses' names
 * Before 1820, social class of the parents
 * Sometimes the person’s race

Marriage records usually contain the following information:


 * Date and place of marriage
 * Groom's name, age and legitimacy
 * Groom's civil status, nationality, origin and residence
 * Names of the groom's parents and their origin and nationality
 * Bride's name, age and legitimacy
 * Bride's civil status, nationality, origin and residence
 * Names of bride's parents and their origin and nationality
 * Names of grandparents
 * Names of witnesses

Death records usually contain the following information:


 * Name and age of deceased
 * Date and place of death
 * Cause of death
 * Marital status of deceased
 * Sometimes, the name of spouse of deceased was married
 * Parents' names
 * Place of residence or origin of the deceased person
 * Sometimes, the origin, residence or race of deceased

How Do I Search the Collection?
Search by name by visiting the Collection Page: Fill in the requested information in the initial search page. This will return a list of possible matches. Compare the information about the people in the list to what you already know about your ancestors to determine if you have the correct family or person. You may need to compare the information about more than one person in order to find your ancestor.

As with any index, transcription errors could have occurred and not all information may be transcribed. It is recommended you verify the information with the original record. View images in this collection by visiting the Browse Page  ⇒ Select the "City or Town" ⇒ Select the "Parish" ⇒ Select the "Record Type and Years"which takes you to the images.

For Help Reading These Records
These records are in Spanish. For help reading the records, see the following resources:


 * Mexico Language and Languages
 * Spanish Genealogical Word List
 * BYU Spanish Script Tutorial
 * FamilySearch Learning Center videos:
 * Reading Spanish Handwritten Records, Lesson 1
 * Reading Spanish Handwritten Records, Lesson 2
 * Reading Spanish Handwritten Records, Lesson 3

What Do I Do Next?
In most cases, Mexican Catholic parish registers are the only records before 1859 that identify individuals, parents, and spouses. After this date, civil authorities began registering vital statistics (nacimientos, matrimonies, y defunciones) that by law include people of all religions. The information in civil sources confirms and supplements the information in church records. Be sure to search both the parish and civil records after 1860.

When you have located your ancestor’s record, carefully evaluate each piece of information given. These pieces of information may give you new biographical details that can lead you to other records about your ancestors. Add this new information to your records of each family.

For example:


 * 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.
 * Use the residence and names of the parents to locate church and land records.
 * Occupations listed can lead you to other types of records such as employment or military 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.
 * 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.
 * Use the marriage number to identify previous marriages.
 * When looking for a person who had a common name, look at all the entries for the name before deciding which is correct.

Keep in mind:


 * The information in church records is usually reliable, but depends upon the reliability of the informant.
 * Earlier records may not contain as much information as the records created after the late 1800.
 * There is also some variation in the information given from one record to another.

I Can’t Find Who I’m Looking For, What Now?
If you are unable to find your ancestor try looking through records in the surrounding localities. Estado de México and Distrito Federal are to the north, Puebla to the east and southeast, and Guerrero to the southwest.

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.


 * Collection Citation:

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