Venezuela, Archdiocese of Valencia, Catholic Church Records - FamilySearch Historical Records

Title in the Language of the Record
Venezuela, Arquidiócesis de Valencia, Registros de la Iglesia Católica

Record Description
This collection will include records for the dates 1760 and 1905-2013, with some records outside the date range. Records of baptisms, marriages, burials, and confirmations from the parishes of the Catholic Archdiocese of Valencia in Venezuela can be found in this collection. The text of the records is in Spanish.

The Catholic Church parish records are an excellent source for genealogical research in Venezuela. These may also be the only records available before the implementation of the civil registration in 1873. Parish priests performed the baptisms, marriages, deaths, burials, and other holy sacraments in their assigned parish or parishes. All the original parish records were kept in the parish archive; however, the older records were, and currently are, sent annually to the archdiocesan archive to be preserved and centralized in one place.

Record Content
Baptism records in this collection usually include the following:


 * Date and place of the event
 * Name of person baptized
 * Gender and date of birth
 * If legitimate or illegitimate
 * Parents’ names, residence, and/or place of birth
 * Names of godparents

Marriage records in this collection usually include:


 * Date and place of the event
 * Names of the bride and groom
 * Sometimes the civil status (widowed, single, divorced) at the time of the event
 * Place of birth and residence of the bride and groom
 * Parents’ names
 * Name of witnesses

Death records in this collection usually include:


 * Place and date where the person died
 * Name of the deceased
 * Civil status and name of spouse, if married at time of death
 * Place of burial
 * Parents’ names

How to Use the Record
To search the collection you will need to follow this series of links &gt; ⇒Select the "Browse" link in the initial collection page ⇒Select the "State" category ⇒Select the "City or Town" ⇒Select the "Parish" ⇒Select the "Record Type and Years" which takes you to the images.

Search the collection by image comparing the information with what you already know about your ancestors to determine which one is your ancestor. You may need to compare the information about more than one person to make this determination. The residence and name information gathered from the church records may be used to locate the family in civil registration records.

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.

Related Websites
Archidiocesis de Valencia

Related Wiki Articles
Venezuela

Citing FamilySearch Historical Collections
Citations for individual image records are available for this collection. Browse through images in this collection and click on the "Show Citation" box: Venezuela, Archdiocese of Valencia, Catholic Church Records, 1930-2012

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 information published in FamilySearch.org Historical Record collections. Sources include the author, custodian, publisher, and archive for the original records.