Guatemala, Retalhuleu, Civil Registration - FamilySearch Historical Records

Guatemala

What is in the Collection?
This collection will include birth, marriage, death, indexes and other records from 1877-1994. These were created by the civil registration offices in the department of Retalhuleu, Guatemala.

The civil registration records for Guatemala cover the vital events of birth, marriages, and deaths. They are organized by municipality/city. Earlier records were handwritten in narrative style; later records were handwritten in formatted registers.

As you search this collection, you will notice that some information in the records has been blacked out. Specific privacy laws in Guatemala prohibit some information classified as sensitive from being shared with the public. The information that is blacked out may be different from record type to record type, and does not negatively affect your family history research.

Additional images (such as marriage and death records) will be published as they become available. Images courtesy of Registro Nacional de las Personas (RENAP).

Reading These Records
These records are written in Spanish. Here is a link to a Spanish Genealogical Word List which may be helpful. Also, see the section For Help Reading these Records below for translation helps.

What Can This Collection Tell Me?
The following information is usually found in these records:

How Do I Search the Collection?
Before using this collection it is helpful to know:
 * Your ancestor's given name and surname
 * Identifying information such as residence
 * Estimated marriage or birth year

View The Images
View images in this collection by visiting the Browse Page.
 * 1) Select Municipality
 * 2) Select Record Type and Years to view the images.

For tips about searching on-line collections see the on-line article FamilySearch Search Tips and Tricks.

For Help Reading These Records
For help with reading these Spanish records, see the following resources:


 * BYU Spanish Script Tutorial
 * FamilySearch Learning Center videos:
 * Reading Spanish Handwritten Records, Lesson 1
 * Reading Spanish Handwritten Records, Lesson 2
 * Reading Spanish Handwritten Records, Lesson 3

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.

What Do I Do Next?
To learn more about using the information available in these records, view these lessons for free:
 * Documentos esenciales para buscar a sus antepasados - Spanish
 * Registros Civiles y Parroquiales – Spanish

I Found Who I was Looking for, What Now?

 * Search for the relative or ancestor you have selected. When you find the person’s birth record, search for the births of his or her brothers and sisters.
 * The phrase “dío a luz” means the same as “was born” or “gave birth to”
 * Search for the marriage of his or her parents. The marriage record will often give you information that leads to the parents’ birth record. Sometimes marriage records are found in the margins of birth records.
 * Estimate the parents’ age and search for their birth records.
 * Repeat the process for both the father and mother.
 * It is often helpful to extract the information on all children with the same parents. If the surname is unusual, you may want to compile entries for every person of the same surname and sort them into families based on the names of the parents. Continue to search the records to identify siblings, parents, and other relatives in the same or other generations who were born in the same town or nearby location.

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

 * When looking for a person who had a common name, look at all the entries for the name before deciding which is correct.
 * Remember that there may be more than one person in the records with the same name as your ancestor and that your ancestor may have used nicknames or different names at different times. Transcription errors could also occur in any handwritten record. And it was not uncommon for an individual be listed under a nickname or an abbreviation of their name. Click here for a list of Spanish name abbreviations
 * Titles may be clues to property ownership, occupations, rank, or status within the community.
 * Search the records of nearby departments. Use Guatemala Maps to help you find the departments nearest to Retalhuleu.
 * Keep checking back with these records to see if your ancestors, birth, marriage and/or death records have been added.
 * If you get stuck and can’t read a document or you’re not sure where to go next in your research, you can ask for help through these resources:
 * Hispanic Genealogy Research community on Facebook is a page sponsored by FamilySearch and here you may also post a question or upload an image of a document for further assistance. The Hispanic Genealogy Research page is designed especially for those who have Hispanic ancestry but may not be fluent in Spanish. Be sure to click like on the page on your first visit so you can receive information and updates from the page in your news feed.
 * Investigación Genealógica en Guatemala is another FamilySearch research community page on Facebook where you can post questions and upload images of documents. The majority of the posts on this page are in Spanish but you are welcome to post on the page in English. Be sure to click like on the page on your first visit so you can receive information and updates from the page in your news feed.