Jocotán, Chiquimula, Guatemala Genealogy

Guide to Municipality of Jocotán ancestry, family history and genealogy: birth records, marriage records, death records, church records, parish registers, and civil registration.

History

 * After the Spanish conquest in the sixteenth century, the inhabitants of origin, the Chortí, were displaced from the best productive areas and they had to settle in more arid regions with difficult access.
 * Over time, the new settlers, who brought a new way to exploit nature, settled and began to devastate the forests and mountains. As a consequence of this, the climate changed to dry and warm, and the soils lost their fertility and production capacity. Many of these Spaniards, within several generations, became poor peasants.
 * After the Independence of Central America in 1821, the town of Jocotán was assigned to the Chiquimula circuit.
 * After the Liberal Reformation of 1871, the communal lands of the indigenous people of the region were converted into ejido lands and auctioned off under the collaborators of the Liberal Revolution for the cultivation of coffee, with which the Chortí Indians were completely removed of the control of their lands.
 * The municipality of Jocotán has a population of approximately 41,000 people..

Civil Registration

 * Registros civiles, 1877-1939 -Click on the link to see the records’ availability.
 * 1877-1980 Guatemala, Civil Registration, 1877-1980 at Ancestry - index & images ($)

Parish Records

 * Registros parroquiales, 1696-1933 Click on the link to see the records’ availability.

Census Records

 * Padrones de Guatemala : Santiago Jocotán: 1701, 1738 – Click on the link to see the records’ availability.

Cemeteries

 * Cementerio Municipal de Jocotán