Mexico Catholic Church Matrimonial Information Records
Online Resources[edit | edit source]
- See Mexico Church Records for more resources.
Background[edit | edit source]
Records for matrimonial information are also known as wedding banns or pre-marriage investigations. Catholic couples desiring to be married in the Catholic Church had to go through an investigation process to prove that the couple was in good standing in the Church, and that they did not have any canonical impediments. The marriage information (información matrimonial) document can consist of several parts. It includes an introduction that states the intent of marriage and sometimes the date of the banns, which were opportunities for anyone to come forward and give any reasons why the couple should not be married. The marriage banns or edicts were announced on three separate occasions.
Information Recorded in the Records[edit | edit source]
- See Mexico Catholic Church Marriage Records for more resources.
Matrimonial Information (información matrimonial)[edit | edit source]
The matrimonial information document also includes personal information on the bride and groom such as:
- Their names, ages, marital status, and place of residence
- Parents’ names, and sometimes birthplace and grandparents’ names.
- If this was a second marriage for one of them, the document gives the name of the deceased spouse and the length of time the spouse had been deceased.
- If one of the couple was from another parish, the documents from that person’s home parish showing good standing were included in the records.
- These documents may include baptismal records and indicate when the banns were published in another parish.
- Following this information, two to four witnesses who testified of the good standing of the bride and groom are listed. Information may include the witnesses’ personal information and how long they knew the bride or groom. The witnesses may have been related to the bride or groom.
- This matrimonial information document is sometimes three or four pages long. Generally a note at the end of the document lists the date of marriage if the couple were married or a note indicating they did not marry.
- Marriage Dispensations may also be found in matrimonial records.
Marriage Dispensations[edit | edit source]
- The marriage information documents may also show a dispensation (that is, exemption from restriction of marriage) for:[1][2]
- the fourth degree (was also three degrees) of consanguinity (blood relationship) or affinity (related through marriage), indicating the that bride and groom were related, such as cousins
- Related by marriage.
- Underaged bride or groom
- One of the persons is an "Ultramarion," meaning a person was not born in Mexico or Spain
- If this was the case, genealogical graphs and interesting biographical information about the families involved is included, sometimes giving you a line of ascent up to the common progenitors.
Strategy[edit | edit source]
Finding Matrimonial Information[edit | edit source]
- Matrimonial information records in Mexico are found in the parish archive.
References[edit | edit source]
- ↑ Moises Garza, "How to Locate Your Mexican Ancestor's Marriage Dispensation," Mexican Genealogy, https://mexicangenealogy.com/how-to-locate-your-mexican-ancestors-marriage-dispensation/, accessed 9 May 2025.
- ↑ Nicolas Cabrera, "Hispanic and Southwest Genealogy Tips and Strategies, Part 5," Denver Public Library Special Collections and Archives, https://history.denverlibrary.org/news/genealogy/hispanic-and-southwest-genealogy-tips-and-strategies-part-5#:~:text=Most%20dispensations%20were%20granted%20to,and%20could%20wed%20soon%20thereafter. accessed 9 May 2025.