Guatemala, Petén, Civil Registration - FamilySearch Historical Records

Guatemala

Title in the Language of the Record
Guatemala, Petén, Registros Civiles

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 Petén, 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 will be published as they become available. Images courtesy of Registro Nacional de las Personas (RENAP).

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 for translation helps.

Collection Contents
Birth records may contain the following information:


 * Birth date and place
 * Name at birth
 * Gender
 * Parents’ names
 * Parents’ residence
 * Witnesses’ names
 * Informant’s names, age, occupation, marital status, birth place, and residence
 * Document date

Marriage records may contain the following:


 * Marriage date and place
 * Groom’s name, age, occupation, birth place, resident city, and address
 * Groom’s legitimacy and parents’ names
 * Groom’s maternal and paternal grandparents’ names
 * Bride’s name, age, occupation, birth place, resident city, and address
 * Bride’s legitimacy and parents’ names
 * Bride’s maternal and paternal grandparents’ names
 * Groom’s marital status
 * Bride’s marital status
 * Document date

Death records may contain:


 * Death date and place
 * Deceased’s name, gender, and age
 * Deceased’s marital status, occupation, and parents’ names
 * Cause of death
 * Informant’s name, age, marital status, occupation, birth place, resident city and address
 * Document date

How Do I Search the Collection?
This section provides information on how to search the collection, what to do with information once found, some tips on how to find records, and what to do if no record is found.

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 resident city, age, estimated event year, and one or both of the parents’ names.

View images in this collection by visiting the Browse Page  ⇒ Select the “Municipality” category ⇒ Select the “Record Type and Years” category which takes you to the images.

Search the collection by image comparing the information with what you already know about your ancestors to determine if the image relates to them. You may need to look at several images and compare the information about the individuals listed in those images to your ancestors to make this determination.

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


 * If the images have an index to the record set, use the index to find your ancestor, then use the reference information in the index to find the actual record
 * To effectively use civil records, follow these steps:


 * 1) 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.
 * 2) The phrase “dío a luz” means the same as “was born” or “gave birth to”
 * 3) Search for the marriage of his or her parents. The marriage record will often give you information that leads to the parents’ birth record.
 * 4) Estimate the parents’ age and search for their birth records.
 * 5) Repeat the process for both the father and mother.
 * 6) If earlier generations are not in the record, search neighboring municipios.
 * 7) Search the death records for all family members.

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

 * Check for variant spellings of the names. When looking for a person who had a common name, look at all the entries for the name before deciding which is correct. Also, 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.
 * 1) Titles may be clues to property ownership, occupations, rank, or status within the community.
 * Look for an index. There are often indexes at the beginning of each volume. In addition local genealogical and historical societies often have indexes to local records.
 * Be aware that, as with any index, transcription errors may occur.
 * Search the records of nearby departments

Citing 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:

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