Philippines, La Union, Diocese of San Fernando de La Union - FamilySearch Historical Records

What Is In This Collection?
This collection contains church records including marriages, deaths, and confirmations from the Diocese of San Fernando de La Union, Philippines for the years 1801-1984. Baptism records are included for the years 1900-1914. Civil authorities did not steadily register vital events in the Philippines until the nineteenth century.

For additional details about the history of these records and help using them, see the wiki article Philippines Church Records.

Reading These Records
These records are written in Spanish. For help reading them see:
 * Spanish Genealogical Word List
 * Reading Spanish handwritten records
 * Script tutorial for Spanish

What Can These Records Tell Me?
The following information may be found in these records:

Birth
 * Name, age, and gender
 * Date and place of baptism
 * Date and place of birth
 * Names of parents
 * Names of witnesses
 * Fathers Occupation

Confirmation
 * Name
 * Date and place of confirmation (The date and place of the confirmation will most often be on the first page of the register)
 * Names of parents
 * Names of godparents

Marriage
 * Names and ages of groom and bride
 * Date and place of marriage
 * Birthplaces of groom and bride
 * Names of groom’s parents
 * Names of bride’s parents
 * Who performed the marriage
 * Names of witnesses

Death
 * Deceased’s name, gender, and age (keep in mind that death records for women may be filed under their married name)
 * Date and place of death
 * Year and place of birth
 * Marital Status/Name of Spouse
 * Names of parents
 * Birthplaces of parents
 * Names and residences of informants/witnesses
 * Date and place of burial
 * Names of surviving children

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 marriage or birth year

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?

 * Add any new information to your records
 * If available, check the image for additional information
 * Analyze the entry to see if it provides additional clues to find other records of the person or their family
 * Use the birth date or age along with the place of birth to find the family in census records Philippines Census
 * Use the residence and names of the parents to locate civil and land records Philippines Land and Property
 * 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
 * Use the marital status to identify previous marriages (whether a divorce or death dissolved a previous marriage)
 * Witnesses often were relatives of the parents
 * When looking for a person who had a common name, look at all the entries for the name before deciding which is correct
 * For death records, the information in records is usually reliable, but depends upon the knowledge of the informant
 * For marriage and death records, your ancestors may have used shortened names or nicknames, so pay attention to other relationships (parents, spouse, siblings, children, etc.) that can confirm whether you have the right person/record
 * 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

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

 * A boundary change could have occurred and the record of your ancestor is now in a neighboring province. These provinces neighbor La Union:
 * Ilocos Sur to the north,
 * Benguet in the east, and
 * Pangasinan to the south
 * Or your ancestor may have immigrated to another country. Search the records of nearby areas or immigration/emigration records. Philippines Emigration and Immigration
 * Civil registration records are also a good substitute when church records are insufficient. Philippines, Civil Registration, Local - FamilySearch Historical Records
 * 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

Research Helps
The following articles will help you in your research for your family in Philippines.
 * Philippines Record Finder

Known Issues
There are two folders with incorrect descriptions. Both are from the parish of St. Nicholas of Tolentino.
 * Marriages, 1924-1936 (vol.5) is actually deaths, v. 5, 1924-1936
 * Deaths, 1941-1973 (vol. 1). is actually marriages, v. 1, 1941-1973

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.

Filipinas, La Union, Diocese de San Fernando de La Union (Registros Históricos do FamilySearch)