Mexico, Morelos, Catholic Church Records - FamilySearch Historical Records

What is in This Collection?
This collection includes Catholic Church records for the cities of Amacuzac, Tetelcingo and Tlaquiltenango from 1598 to 1969. Records from the the parishes San Francisco, San Nicolás and Santo Domingo de Guzmán.

Often in Catholic Church records, separate books were kept for baptisms, confirmations, marriage information documents, marriages, and deaths. However, in smaller areas, all records may be recorded on one register. In larger parishes a separate book was usually maintained for confirmations, while in smaller parishes the confirmations may have been included with the baptisms. In larger parishes, most of the marriage banns (informaciones matrimoniales) may be registered separately. In smaller parishes, these records were included in the marriage entry or the confirmations may have been included with the baptisms or even with marriages. In larger parishes, a separate book of confirmations was usually maintained.

These records are in relatively fair condition, with the exception of some older records that may be damaged and, therefore, hard to read or missing some information. Most of the older records are handwritten in narrative style and follow a common text with some variations depending on the style used by the priest. Newer records are handwritten in formatted registers; some are even written in ledger style registers.

For additional details about the history of these records and help using them, see the wiki article Mexico Catholic Church Records (FamilySearch Historical Records).

Reading These Records
These records are in Spanish. For help reading these records see the following guides:
 * Spanish Genealogical Word List
 * 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

What Can These Records Tell Me?

 * Baptism
 * Confirmation
 * Marriage
 * Death

Sample Images
Baptism records usually contain the following information:


 * Date and place of baptism
 * Child's name and gender
 * Legitimacy
 * Child's date and place of birth
 * Parents' names
 * Grandparents' names
 * Witnesses' names
 * Before 1820, social class of the parents
 * Sometimes the person’s race

Marriage records usually contain the following information:


 * Date and place of marriage
 * Groom's name, age and legitimacy
 * Groom's civil status, nationality, origin and residence
 * Names of the groom's parents and their origin and nationality
 * Bride's name, age and legitimacy
 * Bride's civil status, nationality, origin and residence
 * Names of bride's parents and their origin and nationality
 * Names of grandparents
 * Names of witnesses

Death records usually contain the following information:


 * Name and age of deceased
 * Date and place of death
 * Cause of death
 * Marital status of deceased
 * Sometimes, the name of spouse of deceased was married
 * Parents' names
 * Place of residence or origin of the deceased person
 * Sometimes, the origin, residence or race of deceased

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

As with any index, transcription errors could have occurred and not all information may be transcribed. It is recommended you verify the information with the original record.

View the Images
View images in this collection by visiting the :
 * 1) Select City or Town
 * 2) Select Parish
 * 3) Select Record Type and Years 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.

What Do I Do Next?
In most cases, Mexican Catholic parish registers are the only records before 1859 that identify individuals, parents, and spouses. After this date, civil authorities began registering vital statistics (nacimientos, matrimonies, y defunciones) that by law include people of all religions. The information in civil sources confirms and supplements the information in church records. Be sure to search both the parish and civil records after 1860.

When you have located your ancestor’s record, carefully evaluate each piece of information given. These pieces of information may give you new biographical details that can lead you to other records about your ancestors. Add this new information to your records of each family.

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

 * 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 spouse 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
 * Use the residence and names of the parents to locate church and land records
 * Occupations listed can lead you to other types of records such as employment or military records
 * Use the parents' birth places to find former residences and to establish a migration pattern for the family
 * 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
 * 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
 * Use the marriage number to identify previous marriages
 * When looking for a person who had a common name, look at all the entries for the name before deciding which is correct

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

 * Consult the Mexico Record Finder to find other records
 * Earlier records may not contain as much information as the records created after the late 1800
 * 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
 * If you are unable to find your ancestor try looking through records in the surrounding localities. Estado de México and Distrito Federal are to the north, Puebla to the east and southeast, and Guerrero to the southwest.

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.

"México, Morelos, registros parroquiales, 1598-1994." Database and Images. FamilySearch. http://FamilySearch.org : 14 June 2016. Parroquias Católicas, Morelos (Catholic Church parishes, Morelos).
 * Collection Citation:

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