Ecuador, Catholic Church Records - FamilySearch Historical Records

Title in the Language of the Record
Ecuador, Registros Parroquiales de la Iglesia Católica.

Record Description
This collection of Catholic Church parish records includes the years 1565 to 1996. It includes baptism, confirmation, marriage and death records from several parishes in dioceses and archdioceses of Ecuador. For a complete list all the parishes contained in this collection, click here.

All the records of the sacramental ordinances were created, registered, and kept by the priest in authority of his parish jurisdiction. The parish jurisdiction may have included sub-parishes in nearby localities. One register was generally kept at the parish archive and another copy sent to the diocesan archive for preservation.

Catholic Church parish registers are the primary source for finding genealogical information of birth, death, and marriage in Ecuador prior to 1900, when the civil registration was implemented. For the most part, the records are handwritten in narrative form; only in later years are the records handwritten in formatted registers. The text is in Spanish.

For a list of records by date or locality currently published in this collection, select the Browse link from the collection landing page.

Citation for This Collection
The following citation refers to the original source of the information published in FamilySearch.org Historical Record collections. Sources include the author, custodian, publisher and archive for the original records.

Suggested citation format for a record in this collection.

Record Content
These baptism records usually contain the following information:


 * Date and place of baptism
 * Name of child
 * Birth date of child
 * Gender of child
 * Parents’ names
 * Godparents’ names

These confirmation records usually contain the following information:


 * Date and place of confirmation
 * Name
 * Parents' names
 * Godparents

These marriage records usually contain the following information:


 * Date and place of marriage
 * Names of the groom and bride
 * Groom’s age
 * Bride’s age
 * Marital status of the groom and bride
 * Groom’s parents' names
 * Bride’s parents' names
 * Witnesses' names

These death and burial records usually conntain the following information:


 * Date and place of death
 * Name of deceased
 * Age and residence of deceased
 * Cause of death
 * Parents' names of deceased

How to Use the Record
To search the collection you will need to follow this series of links: ⇒Select the Browse link in the initial search page ⇒ Select the Provincia category ⇒ Select the Ciudad o Pueblo category ⇒ Select the Parroquia category ⇒ Select the Tipo de registro y años category which takes you to the images.

Look at the images one by one comparing the information with what you already know about your ancestors to determine which one is your ancestor. You may need to compare the information about more than one person to make this determination.

These may be the only records available before the implementation of civil registration in about 1900. To find the record of an ancestor, a person needs to know at least the name of the ancestor and the place and approximate year of an event in the ancestor’s life.

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.

If you are unable to find the ancestors you are looking for, try the following:


 * Check for variant spellings of the surnames.
 * Check for a different index. There are often indexes at the beginning of each volume.
 * Search the indexes and records of nearby localities.

Related Websites

 * Conferencia Episcopal Ecuatoriana
 * Catholic Church-Hierarchy of Ecuador
 * Ecuador Genealogía

Related Wiki Articles

 * Ecuador

Citing FamilySearch Historical Collections
When you copy information from a record, you should list where you found the information. This will help you or others to find the record again. It is also good to keep track of records where you did not find information, including the names of the people you looked for in the records.

A suggested format for keeping track of records that you have searched is found in the wiki article Help:How to Cite FamilySearch Collections.

Citation Example for a Record Found in This Collection
“Ecuador, Catholic Church Records, 1565-1996,” images, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org: accessed 26 June, 2012), Carchi &gt; Mira &gt; San Nicolas &gt; Bautismos 1929-1939 &gt; image 33 of 263 images, Angel Cruz Rodriguez, baptized 21 June 1930; citing Archbishoprics and Dioceses in Ecuador. Ecuador, Catholic Church Records. Catholic parishes in Ecuador.