Peru, Lambayeque Civil Registration - FamilySearch Historical Records

PeruLambayeque

What is in the Collection?
Births, marriages, deaths, indexes and other records created by civil registration offices in the department of Lambayeque, Peru 1873 to 1998. Some of these records have been indexed and are searchable as part of this collection. Additional indexed records will be published as they become available.

The registration of births, marriages, and deaths in Peru documents the civil status of the residents.

Earlier records are all handwritten in a narrative format. The later records are also handwritten but on a printed format. These records are written in Spanish. Some of their text may also vary slightly.

General Information about this Collection Peru's territory, according to the Regionalization Law which was passed on November 18, 2002, is divided into 26 units: 25 regions (regiones; singular: región) and the Lima Province. The regions are subdivided into provinces (provincias), which are composed of districts (distritos). Lambayeque is a region consisting of three provinces: Chiclayo, Ferrenafe, and Lambayeque.

Before the government instituted civil registration in Peru, the Catholic Church was the only institution tracking the births, marriages, and deaths of the population. In 1852, during the Republican Era, the government instituted civil registration. This was first done by political authorities, such as prefecture, subprefecture, and state. In 1856, this responsibility was given to municipalities. Currently, civil registration is in the hands of RENIEC, which delegates the registration process to municipal registrars.

For a list of records by localities and dates currently published in this collection, select the Browse link from the collection landing page.

Collection Content
For genealogical research, the birth, marriage, and death records contain important information for at least two and sometimes three generations of ancestors in one document.

Sample Images
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What Can this Collection Tell Me?
Birth records may include:


 * Date and place of registration
 * Child's name and gender
 * Child's date and place of birth
 * Legitimacy
 * Father's name, age, occupation and origin
 * Mother's maiden name, age, occupation and origin

Marriage records may include:


 * Date and place of the registration
 * Groom's name and age
 * Groom's occupation, origin and residence
 * Names of groom's parents, their origin and residence
 * Bride's name and age
 * Bride's origin and residence
 * Names of bride's parents, their origin and residence
 * Names of witnesses, their age(s), civil status and residence

Death records may include:


 * Time, date, and place of registration
 * Name, age and gender of deceased
 * Race, civil status, and occupation of deceased
 * Nationality and origin of deceased
 * Parents' names
 * Declarant's name, age, civil status, occupation, origin and residence
 * Names of witnesses, their age(s), origin and residence

How Do I Search the Collection?
Some record sets have indexes; these indexes were created at the end of the year. Copy errors could have been made in the index, so you want to find the actual record to verify the information is correct. Using the index is a helpful way to find the actual record.

When searching: As you are searching it is helpful to know such information as your ancestor's given name and surname, some identifying information such as an estimated event date, residence, age, and family relationships.

Search by Name by visiting the Collection Page: Fill in the requested information in the boxes on the initial search page. This search will return a list of possible matches. Compare the information about the individuals in the list to what you know about your ancestors to determine if this is the correct family or person. You may need to look at the information on several individuals comparing the information about them to your ancestors to make this determination. Keep in mind:


 * There may be more than one person with the same name.
 * You ancestor may be using a nickname or alias.
 * Even though there is an index there may still be inaccuracies, such as altered spellings, misinterpretations, and optical character recognition errors if the information was scanned.

View images in this collection by visiting the Browse Page: To search the collection you will need to follow this series of links: ⇒Select "Browse through images" on the initial collection page ⇒Select the appropriate "Province" ⇒Select the appropriate "District or Municipality" ⇒Select the appropriate "Record Type and Years" which takes you to the images.

What Do I Do Next?
These records are in Spanish. For help reading the records, see the following wiki articles:


 * Spanish Genealogical Word List
 * Reading Spanish handwritten records
 * Script tutorial for Spanish

I Found Who I was Looking for, What Now?
For death records, the information in records is usually reliable, but depends upon the knowledge of the informant.

For marriage and death records, name changes, shortened names, or nicknames may have been used by your ancestors, so pay attention to other relationships (parents, spouse, siblings, children, etc.) that can confirm whether you have the right person/record.

Witnesses were sometimes relatives of the deceased or the deceased's parents.

When looking for a person who had a common name, look at all the entries for the name before deciding which is correct.

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.

I Can't Find Who I'm Looking for, What Now?
If you are unable to find your ancestor(s) in these civil registers, then try searching in the areas surrounding Lambayeque. These regions neighbor Lambayeque:


 * Piura on the North,
 * Pacific Ocean on the West,
 * Cajamarca on the East, and
 * La Libertad on the South

If you do not find your ancestors in this collection, try looking in the Peru Catholic Church Records (FamilySearch Historical Records) wiki article. Church records are also a good substitute when birth, marriage, and death records can’t be found or are unavailable. Before the government instituted civil registration in Peru, the Catholic Church was the only institution tracking the births, marriages, and deaths of the population.


 * Peru Church Records
 * Peru Baptisms (FamilySearch Historical Records)
 * Peru Catholic Church Records (FamilySearch Historical Records)
 * Peru Deaths (FamilySearch Historical Records)
 * Peru Marriages (FamilySearch Historical Records)

Or your ancestor immigrated to another country. Search the records of nearby areas or immigration/emigration records.

Peru Emigration and Immigration

Citations for This Collection
Citing your sources makes it easy for others to find and evaluate the records you used. When you copy information from a record, list where you found that information. Here you can find citations already created for the entire collection and for each individual record or image. Collection Citation Record Citation (or citation for the index entry): Image Citation