Spain, Province of Castellón, Municipal Records - FamilySearch Historical Records

Title in the Language of the Record
España, Registros Municipales de la Provincia de Castellón

Record Description
This collection will include civil registration, census, military drafts and other records microfilmed and digitized at municipal archives in the Castellón Province, Spain.

Municipal Census (Padrón de Habitantes) from 1732-1941. Military Draft Registrations (Quintas) from 1734-1940. Passport Registers (Registros de Pasaportes) from 1811-1865. Town Records-Foundlings and Orphans (Expósitos y Huérfanos) from 1841-1880. Voting Records-Population Registrations (Censo Electoral or Censo de Población) from 1824-1837. Hospital Records (Registros del Hospital) from 1848-1861. Vital records (Registros de Nacimiento, Matrimonio y Defunción del Registro Civil Municipal) from 1848-1857.

The records are in Spanish; see the section "For Help Reading these Records" for access to translation helps.

This collection is being published as images become available.

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

Record Content
Civil registrations include birth, marriage, and death records.

Birth records generally include the following information:
 * Child's name and gender
 * Place and date of birth
 * Parents’ names
 * Parents' country of birth (if not more specific)

Marriage records may include the following:
 * Names and ages of bride and groom
 * Date and place of marriage
 * Birthplaces of bride and groom
 * Parents' names

Death records usually include:
 * Deceased's name and age (keep in mind that death records for women may be filed under their married name)
 * Date and place of death
 * Birthplace of deceased
 * Marital status/Spouse's name
 * Parents' names
 * Burial date and place

Military draft records generally include the following information:
 * Name of draftees
 * Age of draftees
 * Parents’ name
 * Address

How to Use the Record
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.

For death records, the information in records is usually reliable, but depends upon the knowledge of the informant.

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.

Search the Collection
To search by image: To browse the collection you will need to follow this series of links: ⇒ Select the "Browse" link in the initial search page ⇒ Select the "Municipio" (Municipality) category ⇒ Select the "Tipo de registro y años" (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.

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 residence, 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.

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

Using the Information

 * 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 residence and names of the parents to locate church records Spain Catholic Church Records (FamilySearch Historical Records).
 * Use the parents' birth places to find former residences and to establish a migration pattern for the family.
 * The name of a marriage officiator is a clue to their religion or area of residence in the province. However, ministers may have reported marriages performed in other provinces.
 * 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 (whether a divorce or death dissolved a marriage) to identify previous marriages.
 * Witnesses often were relatives of the parents.

Tips to Keep in Mind
When looking for a person who had a common name, look at all the entries for the name before deciding which is correct.

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.

Continue to search the indexes and records to identify children, siblings, parents, and other relatives who may have lived in the same area or a nearby area.

Unable to Find your Ancestor?
A boundary change could have occurred and the record of your ancestor is now in a neighboring province.

These provinces neighbor Castellón:
 * Teruel on the west,
 * Tarragona in the north, and
 * Valencia in the south. The Mediterranean Sea borders the east.

Church records are also a good substitute when birth, marriage, and death records can’t be found or are unavailable.
 * Spain Baptisms
 * Spain Catholic Church Records

Or your ancestor immigrated to another country. Search the records of nearby areas or immigration/emigration records.

Related Websites

 * Hispanic Genealogy Blog is written in English.
 * Blog de Genealogía Hispaña Blog is written in Spanish.
 * Genealogía Española-España GenWeb Website is in Spanish.
 * Castellón Index

The following is a link to a research outline for Spain: Spain Research Outline It contains information about tracing a family through local records, a letter-writing guide for genealogical requests and their Spanish translations, Spanish and Latin word lists, a list of archives and genealogical societies, and a list of books available at the Family History Library.

Related Wiki Articles

 * Castellón Civil Registration - Vital Records
 * Castellón
 * Spain

Citing FamilySearch Historical Collections
When you copy information from a record, you should list where you found the information. This will help you or others to find the record again.

It is also good to keep track of records where you did not find information, including the names of the people you looked for in the records.

A suggested format for keeping track of records that you have searched is found in the wiki article Help:How to Cite FamilySearch Collections.

Citation for This Collection
The following citation refers to the original source of the data and images published on FamilySearch.org Historical Records. It may include the author, custodian, publisher and archive for the original records.