Philippines, Lingayen-Dagupan Catholic Archdiocese Parish Registers - FamilySearch Historical Records

What is in This Collection?
These records include indexes to baptisms, confirmations, marriages, and burials from the Catholic Church parish registers of the Archdiocese of Lingayen-Dagupan covering the years 1615-1982. Baptism records are only available for the years 1900-1914.

Entries for baptisms, marriages, and deaths (burials) usually consist of a narrative paragraph. Dates are usually spelled out and the name of the principal person is usually written in the margin next to the entry. After about 1920, preprinted forms with columns were sometimes used. Catholic Church parish registers in the Philippines were created to record the church sacraments of baptism, confirmation, marriage, and burial. See the Philippines Church Records article for more details.

Reading These Records
These records are in Spanish. For help reading them see:
 * Spanish Genealogical Word List
 * Reading Spanish handwritten records
 * Brigham Young University: Script tutorial for Spanish

What Can These Records Tell Me?
The following information may be found in these records:

Baptism
 * Name
 * Gender
 * Age
 * Approximate year of birth
 * Place and date of baptism
 * Names of parents

Confirmation registers/lists
 * Name
 * Date and place of confirmation
 * Names of parents
 * Names of godparents

Marriage
 * Name of bride and groom
 * Gender and ages of bride and groom
 * Approximate years of birth
 * Names of bride and groom's parents
 * Place and date of marriage
 * Names of the godparents

Death/burial
 * Name of deceased
 * Gender of deceased
 * Age at time of death
 * Approximate year of birth
 * Place and date of death
 * Name of the spouse
 * Names of parents
 * Cause of death

How Do I Analyze the Results?
Compare each result from your search with what you know to determine if there is a match. This may require viewing multiple records or images. Keep track of your research in a research log.

What Do I Do Next?

 * Add any new information to your records
 * 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 Philippines Census
 * Use the residence and names of the parents to locate civil (see “Related Wiki Articles” section below) and land records Philippines Land and Property
 * Use the parents' birth places to find former residences and to establish a migration pattern for the family
 * The name of a marriage officiator is a clue to their religion or area of residence in the province. However, ministers may have reported marriages performed in other provinces
 * 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
 * Use the marital status to identify previous marriages (whether a divorce or death dissolved a previous marriage)
 * Witnesses often were relatives of the parents

I Can't Find the Person I'm Looking For, What Now?

 * Consult the Philippines Record Finder to find other records
 * Note the founding date of the parish you are searching. If the date is after your ancestor would be recorded, search records of the parent parish. See the Catholic Directory of the Philippines. If your ancestor lived before the beginning date of the church records, the older parish may be far from the new one
 * Or your ancestor may have immigrated to another country. Search the records of nearby areas or immigration/emigration records
 * Philippines Emigration and Immigration
 * Civil registration records are also a good substitute when church records are insufficient
 * Philippines, Civil Registration, Local - FamilySearch Historical Records

Research Helps
The following articles will help you in your research for your family in Philippines.
 * Philippines Research Tips and Strategies
 * Philippines Record Finder

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.

Filipinas, Lingayen-Dagupan, Registros Paroquiais da Arquidiocese Católica (Registros Históricos do FamilySearch)