Davao del Sur Province, Philippines Genealogy

Asia Philippines  Davao del Sur Province

Guide to  ancestry, family history and genealogy: birth records, marriage records, death records, census records, parish registers, and military records.

History
Prior to the creation of the province on May 8, 1967, the undivided province of Davao where Davao del Sur belonged and Davao City which is the capital of old Davao shared the same history.

The province of Davao Del Sur was created by the defunct Congress on May 8, 1967 under Republic Act No. 4867. It started functioning as a province on July 1, 1967 which was comprised of only ten (10) municipalities where Digos as the capital. The elective provincial positions were filled by appointments by the President of the Philippines until the time when the officials were duly elected and qualified in the 1967 election.

The province derived its name from the word “Daba-Daba”. This is a bagobo word which used to refer to a “Sacred Brass” that belonged to the legendary bagobo chieftain named Datu Duli. Datu Duli lived at the rolling hills of the famous Sandawa Mountain, the ancient name of Mt. Apo. Later on, the letter “O” was added to the word which meant justice to the bagobos. It was added to describe the fairness with which justice was dispensed with by Datu Duli among his people. As years went by, the word “Daba-Daba” was shortened to Daba-o which later on was pronounced Davao. The early inhabitants of Davao del Sur were the Bagobo-Guinggas who occupied the places at the foot of Mt. Apo, the Bilaans of the Hagonoy Valley, the Manobos in Malita and Jose Abad Santos and other ancient tribes. The aboriginal tribes are believed to belong to the second wave of Indonesians who came to the island from Southeast Asia years before the birth of Christ (BC), probably between 1,000 and 2,500 years ago. These early settlers lived a peaceful life, developed a rich culture unaffected by outside influence until the end of the 14th century when the Muslim Malays from Java and Sumatra introduced the Arabic strain into the ways of life of the early Davaoweños, The Muslim influence became an established fact with the famed Mohammedan leader Shereef Kabungsuan of Arab as its first sultan. Muslim tribe like the Maranaos and Maguindanaos occupied certain places of Davao Del Sur. The original inhabitants remained unconverted to the new faith.

The introduction of the Christian religion in Davao del Sur occurred after the colonization of the northern islands. Here is the account of Zaide:

“In 1847, Jose Uyanguren, a wealthy soldier adventurer, offered to the Spanish government a proposition that he would pacify and colonize Davao at his own expense. Governor Claveria approved Uyanguren’s proposal on February 27, 1847. In two years of hard fighting, he was able to pacify the warlike tribes and founded a settlement which he called Nuevo Vergara in honor of his natal city in Spain. It is now Davao City “ (Zaide, History of the Philippines, Mc.Cullough Printing Co.,

Manila 1957, p. 72).

However, the Spanish entry into the province dates even before Uyanguren’s pacification drive. The early excursion of Spain in Davao del Sur occurred during the period of exploration. Alip accounts that one of the early Spanish expeditions landed in one of the islets in Sarangani. This is the Villalobos expedition in 1542.

At the turn of the 20th century, other tribes from the Visayas arrived who later became the leaders of the province in government, particularly the Cebuanos. Soon they were joined by the pioneering Ilocanos and Ifugaos who occupied the municipality of Magsaysay. Others came captivated by the promise of Mindanao all of whom built together what is now the province of Davao Del Sur.

Cemeteries

 * Old Chinese Cemetery


 * Davao Masonic Cemetery


 * Ma-a Public Cemetery


 * Forest Lake Cemetery


 * Public Cemetery, Lanao Kuran Arakan Cotabato


 * San Pedro Memorial Park


 * Davao Chinese Cemetery


 * Find A Grave

Family History Library

 * Davao del Sur Province, Philippines FHL Results


 * Philippines Civil Registration (Archives Division) (FamilySearch Historical Records)


 * Philippines Genealogy


 * Philippines Genealogy Family Search


 * Family History Library Research Outlines

Philppine Statistics

 * Philippine Statistics

Researching Filipino Ancestors

 * Philippines, Civil Registration, Spanish Period (FamilySearch Historical Records)


 * Philippines Civil Registration- Vital Records


 * Philippines, Civil Registration, National (FamilySearch Historical Records)


 * Philippines, Civil Registration, Local (FamilySearch Historical Records)


 * [Philippines, Civil Registration (Archives Division) (FamilySearch Historical Records)]


 * Philippines Births and Baptisms (FamilySearch Historical Records)


 * Philippines Marriages (FamilySearch Historical Records)


 * Philippines Deaths and Burials (FamilySearch Historical Records)


 * Philippines, Court Records (FamilySearch Historical Records)


 * Philippines Church Records


 * Philippines


 * Death Records


 * National Archives Government Website


 * Catalog of Filipino Names


 * Civil Registration


 * Parish Registers - Family History before 1837


 * BYU Education Research Phillippines


 * Philippines, Civil Registration (Archives Division), 1902-1945


 * Filipino Ancestors


 * Obits Philippines freepages


 * Families of the Philippines


 * Surnames, etc


 * Resources for genealogy in the Philippines


 * PHILIPPINES-L Archives


 * Philippines » Birth, Marriage, Death


 * Philippines


 * Bona's Philippine Genealogy Site


 * Philippine Army and Guerrilla Records

Vital Statistics

 * Vital Statistics Special Release