South Africa, Cape Province, Western Cape Archives Records - FamilySearch Historical Records

South Africa

What is in the Collection?
This collection includes various records from 1792 to 1992.

This collection has various records from the Western Cape Archives in Cape Town, South Africa. It includes the following: Birth, Marriage and Death Registrations, Probate Estate Files, Slave Records and Immigration Records. This collection is being published as images become available.

Reading these Records
These records are written in Afrikaans, Dutch, Flemish, and English. See the section For Help Reading these Records for translation helps.

General Information about Cape Province

The Union of South Africa was established in 1910 by combining four British colonies into four original provinces of the Union: Cape Province, Transvaal Province, Natal Province and Orange Free State Province. In 1994 all of these provinces were dissolved and the current nine new provinces were established. The Cape Province was broken up into three smaller provinces: the Western Cape, Eastern Cape and Northern Cape. Parts of it were also absorbed into the North West.

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 * Name of the person you are looking for
 * Approximate date of the event (birth, marriage, death, etc.)

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For Help Reading these Records
These records are in Afrikaans, Dutch, Flemish and English. For help reading the records, see the following wiki articles:


 * Afrikaans Word List
 * Netherlands Language and Languages
 * South Africa Language and Languages

I Found Who I was Looking for, What Now?

 * Use the age or birth year to begin your search in church or civil records.
 * Continue to search the records to identify children, siblings, parents, and other relatives who may have moved or lived nearby. This can help you identify other generations of your family. Repeat this process for each new generation you identify. Compile the entries for every person who has the same surname; this is especially helpful in rural areas or if the surname is unusual. This compiled list can help you identify possible relations that can be further verified by researching vital records indexes in the country.
 * When you have located your ancestor’s record, carefully evaluate each piece of information given. Save a copy of the image or transcribe the information. These pieces of information may give you new biographical details such as a title, an occupation, or land ownership. Add this new information to your records of each family. You should also look for leads to other records about your ancestors.
 * Church Records often were kept years before government records were required and are a good source for finding ancestors before 1900.

I Can't Find Who I'm Looking for, What Now?

 * Switch to a different record collection. Depending on the time period, either Civil Registration records or Church Records may be more useful.
 * While searching, it is helpful to know such information as the ancestor’s given name and surname, some identifying information such as residence and age, and family relationships. Remember that there may be more than one person in the records with the same name as an ancestor and that the ancestor may have used nicknames or different names at different times.
 * Standard spelling of names typically did not exist during the periods our ancestors lived in. Try variations of your ancestor’s name while searching the index or browsing through images. Pay special attention to how the name should have been pronounced and try variations on the pronunciation.
 * Search the indexes and records of local genealogical societies.
 * 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.
 * Be aware that there may have been some transcription errors.

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Citing This Collection
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