Uruguay, Catholic Church Records - FamilySearch Historical Records

Uruguay

Title in the Language of the Record
Registros de la Iglesia Católica, Uruguay

What Is in This Collection?
This Collection will include church baptismal, marriage, and death/burial records from the Catholic parishes in Uruguay for the years 1726-2004.

These records are in Spanish; see the section "For Help Reading These Records" for links to translation help guides.

Collection Content
Baptism records generally contain the following information:


 * Name and gender
 * Birth date
 * Parents’ names
 * Godparents' names
 * Date and place of baptism

Marriage records usually contain the following:


 * Name and age of groom
 * Groom’s nationality
 * Groom’s residence
 * Groom’s marital status
 * Name of groom’s parents
 * Name and age of bride
 * Bride’s nationality
 * Bride's residence
 * Name of bride's parents
 * Names of witnesses

Death/burial records may contain the following information:


 * Name, gender, and age of deceased
 * Ethnicity (if not Hispanic)
 * Marital status/name of spouse
 * Date and place of last rites
 * Date of death

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.

Regarding 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.

View the Images
View images in this collection by visiting the :
 * 1) Select Departamento (State)
 * 2) Select Ciudad/Pueblo (City/Village)
 * 3) Select Parroquia (Parish)
 * 4) Select Tipo de registro y años (tomo) (Record type and years (volume)) to view the images.

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.

I Found the Person I Was Looking For, What Now?

 * Use the birth date or age along with the place of birth to find the family in census records
 * Use the residence and names of the parents to locate other church and land records
 * Occupations listed can lead you to other types of records such as employment or military record
 * Use the parents' birth places to find former residences and to establish a migration pattern for the family
 * Compile information for every person who has the same surname as your ancestor; this is especially helpful in rural areas or if the surname is unusual
 * Continue to search the records to identify children, siblings, parents, and other relatives 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 the Person I'm Looking For, What Now?

 * Civil registration records are also a good source of genealogical information. See Uruguay Civil Registration for further information.  You should obtain copies of both church records and civil registration, when possible, since they do not necessarily provide the same information. For example, baptismal registers sometimes provide the names of the fathers of illegitimate children when the civil registration does not
 * There may be more than one person with the same name
 * Check for variants of given names, surnames, and place names. Transcription errors could occur in any handwritten record; also, 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
 * Even though this is an index there may still be inaccuracies, such as altered spellings, misinterpretations, and optical character recognition errors if the information was scanned
 * A boundary change could have occurred and the record of your ancestor is now in a neighboring area. Search the records and indexes of neighboring cities, provinces, and regions
 * Your ancestor may have immigrated to another country. Search the records of nearby countries or immigration/emigration records

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

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.