FamilySearchWiki:WikiProject:Adding MDH Links to County Pages, Part 3: Adding Links for County Histories

This page will give you additional guidance and resources to find birth information for your ancestor. Use this page after first completing the birth section of the Chiapas Guided Research page.

Additional online resources

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Additional Databases and Online Resources

• 1537-1966: Mexico, Select Church Records at Ancestry ($)
• 1558-1978: Chiapas, Mexico, Catholic Church Records at Ancestry ($)
• 1560-1950: Mexico, Select Baptisms at Ancestry ($)

Online Images (Browsable Only)

Some collections have not been indexed, but are available to browse image by image.

State	Time Period	Record Type	Collection Name	Repository
Chiapas	1557-1978	Catholic Church Records (registros parroquiales)	Mexico, Chiapas, Catholic Church Records, 1557-1978 - How to search these records This page has instructions for how to search microfilm when there is no index.	FamilySearch Historical Records -
Chiapas	1600-1933	Baptisms (bautismos)	Registros parroquiales, 1599-1933	FamilySearch Catalog - Finding Records in Browsable Images This page has instructions for how to search microfilm when there is no index.

Substitute records

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Additional Records with Birth Information

Substitute records may contain information about more than one event and are used when records for an event are not available. Records that are used to substitute for birth events may not have been created at the time of the birth . The accuracy of the record is contingent upon when the information was recorded. Search for information in multiple substitute records to confirm the accuracy of these records.

Use these additional records to locate birth information about your ancestor:
Wiki Page	FamilySearch(FS) Collections	Why to search the records
1930 Census	See Wiki page	Census records may provide an age at the time of the census, giving an estimated birth year. (Note: Distrito Federal is missing from the 1930 census)
Marriages	See Wiki page	Marriage records may occasionally provide the age of the individuals getting married, giving an estimated birth year.
Deaths	See Wiki page	Death and burial records may provide an age at the time of death, giving an estimated birth year.

Redirect Research Efforts

Due to the nature of Mexico's Civil Registration and Catholic Church Records, if you have not found your ancestor in the indexes to those records, there are not many substitute records available to find birth information. However, here are some ways to redirect your searching:

• Try browsing images manually through Catholic Church Record images if you know your ancestor's location.
• Search instead for a different individual, such as your ancestor's siblings, parents, etc.
  

Improve searching

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Tips for finding births

Successfully finding birth records in online databases depends on a few key points. Try the following search suggestions:

• Hispanic people traditionally had two surnames. The first is the father's first surname, and the second is the mother's first surname. Try searching by either just the paternal or the maternal surname.

• Upon marriage, a woman often drops her second surname, replacing it with her husband's first surname, and inserting a "de" between the two.

• Your ancestor’s name and surname may have had many different spelling variations.

• If you are not finding what you’re looking for, try using wildcard characters. That is, use an asterisk * to replace one or more characters.

• Try searching surrounding areas. Your ancestors may have been born in another town than where they lived later in life.
• Be flexible with year searches. Give a year range of about 2-3 years on either side of the believed year of the event.

Why the record may not exist

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Known Record Gaps

Records Start
The Roman Catholic Church records began about the 1560s. The Church was the primary record keeper for Mexico until civil registration started in 1859, although these records weren’t kept regularly until 1867.

Records Published by FamilySearch
Collection coverage tables show the places and time periods of original records published by FamilySearch. For any FamilySearch collections you did not find your ancestor in, check the coverage table for gaps in the online collection. If the time period or location your ancestor lived in is missing from the collection, it may require searches in records found at original repository or finding substitute records for the event.

• Mexico Baptisms, Coverage Table (FamilySearch)

Records Destroyed
Church and civil registration records have been lost during Mexico's military conflicts; other records have deteriorated due to natural effects such as humidity, insects and more dramatic events such as fires, floods, and earthquakes. Some records were destroyed or damaged because of poor storage.

Online Map · What is Guided Research? · Recent Updates

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