Peru, Callao, Civil Registration - FamilySearch Historical Records

Peru Callao

What is in the Collection?
This collection consists of digital images of original civil registration records of births, marriages, and deaths from the Provincia Constitucional, or Callao, in Peru from 1874 to 1996.

El Callao (/kɑːˈjɑː.oʊ/; Spanish pronunciation: [kaˈʎa.o] or [kaˈʝa.o]) is the chief seaport of Peru. The city is also called Provincia Constitucional (Constitutional Province), the only province of the Callao Region. The Historic Centre of Callao is located 15 km (9.3 mi) west of Historic Centre of Lima, the country's capital, and is part of the Lima Metropolitan Area. Callao borders Lima Province on the north, east and south, and the Pacific Ocean on the west.

The registration of births, marriages, and deaths in Peru documents the civil status of the residents.

Earlier records are all handwritten in a narrative format. The later records are also handwritten but on a printed format. These records are written in Spanish. Some of their text may also vary slightly.

Before the government instituted civil registration in Peru, the Catholic Church was the only institution tracking the births, marriages, and deaths of the population. In 1852, during the Republican Era, the government instituted civil registration. This was first done by political authorities, such as prefecture, subprefecture, and state. In 1856, this responsibility was given to municipalities. Currently, civil registration is in the hands of RENIEC, which delegates the registration process to municipal registrars.

These records are written in Spanish; see the section For Help Reading these Records for translation helps.

Maps and Gazetteers

 * Map of Peru, showing Callao next to Lima
 * AD 1797 map showing Callao de Lima (top map)

What Can this Collection Tell Me?
Information found in birth records may include the following:


 * Date and place of registration
 * Child's name and gender
 * Child's date and place of birth
 * Legitimacy
 * Father's name, age, occupation and origin
 * Mother's maiden name, age, occupation and origin

Information found in marriage records may include the following:


 * Date and place of the registration
 * Groom's name and age
 * Groom's occupation, origin and residence
 * Names of groom's parents, their origin and residence
 * Bride's name and age
 * Bride's origin and residence
 * Names of bride's parents, their origin and residence
 * Names of witnesses, their age(s), civil status and residence

Information found in death records may include the following:


 * Time, date, and place of registration
 * Name, age and gender of deceased
 * Race, civil status, and occupation of deceased
 * Nationality and origin of deceased
 * Parents' names
 * Declarents' name, age, civil status, occupation, origin and residence
 * Names of witnesses, their age(s), origin and residence

How Do I Search the Collection?
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.

As you are searching it is helpful to know such information as your ancestor’s given name and surname, some identifying information such as residence and age, and family relationships. 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.

Search by Name by visiting the Collection Page: Fill in the requested information in the initial search page. This search will return a list of possible matches. Compare the information about the ancestors in the list to what you already know about your ancestors to determine if this is the correct family or person. You may need to compare the information about more than one person to find your ancestor.

View images in this collection by visiting the Browse Page: To browse this collection by image: ⇒ Select the "Browse" link in the initial search page ⇒ Select the “Province” category ⇒ Select the “District or Municipality” category ⇒ Select the “Record Type and Years” that takes you to the images.

For Help Reading these Records
These records are in Spanish. For help reading the records see the following guides:


 * Spanish Genealogical Word List
 * Reading Spanish handwritten records
 * Script tutorial for Spanish

To learn more about using the information in civil records, view these lessons for free:


 * Documentos esenciales para buscar a sus antepasados - Spanish

I Found Who I was Looking for, Now What?

 * 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 partner 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.
 * The name of the officiator is a clue to their religion or area of residence in the county. However, ministers may have reported marriages performed in other counties.
 * 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 Who I'm Looking for, Now What?

 * Check for variant spellings of the surnames.
 * Check for a different index. There are often indexes at the beginning of each volume.
 * Your ancestor may have immigrated to another country. Search the records of nearby areas or immigration/emigration records.

Church records are also a good substitute when birth, marriage, and death records can’t be found or are unavailable. Before the government instituted civil registration in Peru, the Catholic Church was the only institution tracking the births, marriages, and deaths of the population.


 * Peru Baptisms (FamilySearch Historical Records)
 * Peru Marriages (FamilySearch Historical Records)
 * Peru Deaths (FamilySearch Historical Records)
 * Peru Catholic Church Records (FamilySearch Historical Records)
 * Peru Church Records

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:

Record Citation (or citation for the index entry):

Image Citation