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== Guide to Spanish Military Archives  ==
The military records in Spain can be a good source to look for your male ancestors. Many men in Spain served in military units such as the army, the militia, the navy, and others. Often these records contain genealogical information that can help you to build your family tree. The men of Spain often had to receive an exemption from military service or prove that they had already served before they could leave the county. They needed to receive special permission to do so. <br>


A guidebook has been newly published in 2012 with information about Spanish Military Archives. A downloadable pdf version of the book is available by clicking on the title below. Please note that the guide is in Spanish.
==How to Find the Records==


[http://memoriaylibertad.org/data/documents/Guia_de_los_archivos_militares_espanoles.pdf Guía de archivos militares españoles]


== Military Files  ==
===Offices to Contact===
The following information is a brief overview of the information found at the main military archives in Spain. A guidebook was published in 2012 with detailed information about Spanish Military Archives. A downloadable pdf version of the book is available by clicking on the following title: [http://memoriaylibertad.org/data/documents/Guia_de_los_archivos_militares_espanoles.pdf Guía de archivos militares españoles] Please note that the guide is in Spanish.


The General Military Archive of Segovia holds more than 62,000 files containing personal files from the 15th to the 20th centuries with the majority being from the 18th and 19th century. Within the personal files you will find information about the soldier such as their service record and their baptism record.
==== Soldier Personal Files: General Military Archive of Guadalajara ====


The military records in Spain can be a good source to look for your male ancestors. Many men in Spain served in military units such as the army, the militia, the navy, and others. Often these records contain genealogical information that can help you to build your family tree. The men of Spain often had to receive an exemption from military service or prove that they had already served before they could leave the county. They needed to receive special permission to do so.  
[https://patrimoniocultural.defensa.gob.es/en/centros/archivo-general-militar-guadalajara/portada The General Military Archive of Guadalajara (AGM Guadalajara)] was created in 1967 in order to alleviate the funds of the General Military Archive in Madrid. It holds the following collections:<ref>Archivo Genral Militar de Guadalajara in ''CÓMO BUSCAR: Archivos Históricos militares y civiles, Procedimientos Judiciales, Guerra Civil Española''https://www.combatientes.es/Busquedas.htm#AGMGUADALAJARA </ref> <br>
'''Indexes'''
*[https://www.familysearch.org/search/collection/2558684 Spain, Soldier Personal Service Files, 1835-1940]
'''Original Records'''
*Soldier Personal file (expedientes reglamentarios de soldados) Beginning in the 1870s, recruitment files were created for each person who joined the military. These files contain a great deal of personal information on the young men who entered military service, often including their enlistment personal files.<ref>Archivo General Militar de Guadalajara "AGMG" Cuadro de Clasificación de Fondos in ''Sistema Archivístico de la Defensa'', http://www.portalcultura.mde.es/Galerias/cultural/archivos/fichero/2016_04_08_cuadro_AGMG.pdf </ref> <ref>FONDOS DOCUMENTALES CONSERVADOS EN EL ARCHIVO GENERAL MILITAR DE GUADALAJARA in ''Foro opr la Memoria'', https://www.foroporlamemoria.info/documentos/2004/guadalajara_verano2004.htm </ref> <br>
*Expedientes generales de alistamiento Fechas extremas: 1875 - 2001. Volumen: 9.982 unidades de instalación
*Some military prisoners


The records of those that served in the Americas are found in the General Archive of Simancas. These records include the following places:
==== Officer Personal Files and Marriage Petitions: General Military Archive of Segovia ====


*Buenos Aires
[https://patrimoniocultural.defensa.gob.es/en/centros/archivo-general-militar-segovia/portada The General Military Archive of Segovia (AGM Segovia)] was created in 1898 as a place to hold the military records scattered across various military archives throughout Spain. The archive holds more than 67,000 files. These include the following indexes and original records.<ref>Archivo General Militar de Segovia in ''CÓMO BUSCAR: Archivos Históricos militares y civiles, Procedimientos Judiciales, Guerra Civil Española''https://www.combatientes.es/Busquedas.htm#AGMSEGOVIA </ref><ref>Archivo General Militar de Segovia in ''Archivos militaryes y civiles donde se conservan fondos de caracter castrense relacionados con expedientes personales de miltares'', pg 11 https://books.google.com/books?id=hdjcLXHy4AYC&printsec=frontcover&hl=de&source=gbs_ge_summary_r&cad=0#v=onepage&q&f=false </ref><br>
*Cuba
'''Indexes'''
*Chile
*Officer Personal files (expedientes personales), 1400s-1900s, most 1700s-1800s. Organized alphabetically, gives name, office, and the year they entered the army. Compiled 1959-1963, 9 volumes.
*Philippines
**Available online at [http://bibliotecavirtualdefensa.es/BVMDefensa/i18n/consulta/registro.cmd?id=4816 Biblioteca Virtual del Ministerio de Defensa]
*Guatemala
**Also available at the [https://www.familysearch.org/search/catalog/36255 Family History Library]
*Nueva España (originally Mexico and Central America except Panama)  
*Marriage files (expedientes matrimoniales), 1818-1845, compiled WHEN
*Viceroyalty of Peru (originally included most of Spanish South America)
**Also available at the [https://www.familysearch.org/search/catalog/282083 Family History Library]
*Indias (Florida, Puerto Rico y Venezuela)
*Personal files of Famous Persons (expedientes personales de personas célebres). Compiled 1999, 4 volumes.
**Available online at [http://www.portalcultura.mde.es/Galerias/cultural/archivos/fichero/150_AGMS_Personas_celebres.pdf Biblioteca Virtual del Ministerio de Defensa]
'''Original Records'''
*Officer Personal files (Expedientes personales),  1400s-1900s, most 1700s-1800s.
**They also contain hojas de servicio (service sheets), which list all military assignments/positions held with their corresponding dates and any relevant comments, and some vital information (usually, name, birth information, and parents’ names).
*Expedientes matrimoniales, 1500s-1800s, most 1800s-1900s: The paperwork involved in the petition made for a marriage involving a person serving in the military; frequently contains copies of baptism records as well as the record of the marriage.


== Military ranks - Army<br>  ==
==== 18th Century Service Records: General Archive of Simancas ====
 
While the [https://www.culturaydeporte.gob.es/cultura/areas/archivos/mc/archivos/agi/portada.html General Archive of Simancas (AG Simancas)] is comprised mostly of 16-17th century documents focused on the nobility, it also contains holds the majority of the military records for the 18th century. The military section (secretaria de guerra) contains all letters, notices, decrees, and legal cases relating to military campaigns. The following categories would be the most helpful in documenting specific soldiers: <br>
'''Indexes'''
*Service records (hojas de servicios de america) of personnel (officers) who served in the american colonies during late 18th century and pre-independence 19th.
**Also available at the [https://www.familysearch.org/search/catalog/26258 Family History Library]
'''Original Records'''
*Personal Files and Service Records (expedientes personale y hojas de servicios), 1700s: Military service files, sorted by military branch for soldiers who served in Spain and by country name for soldiers who served in the following colonies:
**Buenos Aires
**Cuba
**Chile
**Philippines
**Guatemala
**Nueva España (originally Mexico and Central America except Panama)
**Viceroyalty of Peru (originally included most of Spanish South America)
**Indias (Florida, Puerto Rico y Venezuela)
The archive also contains files that document military captives, deserters, and prisoners of war throughout the 1700s and early 1800s.<br>
The service files for Cuba are also available at [https://www.familysearch.org/search/catalog/231362 the Family History Library].
 
==== Other Archives ====
'''National Archive''' (Archivo Histórico Nacional) was created in 1866. <br>
*Military Orders (órdenes militares)
* (expedientes de prubas de las órdenes españolas)
You can access a guide to the military records in the national archive (written in Spanish) online at [https://www.academia.edu/15142363/Fuentes_militares_en_el_Archivo_Hist%C3%B3rico_Nacional Academia.edu].<br>
 
'''Municipal and Provincial Archives''' (Archivos Historicos Municipales)
* Copies of military draft records can be found at local municipal and/or provincial archives.
 
==== Navy Military Archives ====
The Ministerio de Marina Archivo General de la Administración (Paseo de Aguadores, España) has digitzed some of their service records (expedientes personales). They are viewable at [https://www.familysearch.org/search/catalog/2794242?availability=Family%20History%20Library FamilySearch].
Other military records for the Navy can be found at the Instituto Historico de la Marina <ref>Instituto Historico de la Marina in ''Archivos militaryes y civiles donde se conservan fondos de caracter castrense relacionados con expedientes personales de miltares'', pg 28 https://books.google.com/books?id=hdjcLXHy4AYC&printsec=frontcover&hl=de&source=gbs_ge_summary_r&cad=0#v=onepage&q&f=false </ref>
 
==Information Recorded in the Records==
 
 
 
=== Personal files (Expedientes Personales/Expedientes Reglamentarios) ===
 
Personal files are a compilation of all records pertaining to an individual soldier's military service. Personal files often include many of the records described below, including:
*Conscription documents (quintas o reclutamentos)
*Service records (hojas de servicio)
*Punishment file (hoja de castigos)
*Petitions
 
=== Military conscription (Quintas/Cajas de Recluta)  ===
 
Quintas began in 1773, where every fifth man between eighteen and 20 years old was selected by lot to serve in the army. Met with heavy resistance, no national standard for military conscription was followed until the constitution of 1876.<ref> El Servicio Militar Obligatorio Español in ''ASOCIACIÓN DE VETERANOS DE IFNI DEL LEVANTE ESPAÑOL (A.V.I.L.E.)'' http://avile.es/noticias-todas/36-noticias-avile/125-el-servicio-militar-obligatorio-espanol</ref> Local municipalities were required to make lists of all male citizens from whom the conscripts were selected. Hidalgos (nobility) were not included in Quitas. 
 
The following information can be found in Quinta records.
*Name of the prospective conscript
*Their age (sometimes birth date)
*Sometimes names of parents and their residence.
 
Most quintas can be found in municipal archives and/or provincial historical archives.<ref> "LOS EXPEDIENTES DE RECLUTAMIENTO DE QUINTAS DURANTE LA SEGUNDA MITAD DEL SIGLO XIX CONSERVADOS EN EL ARCHIVO HISTÓRICO MUNICIPAL DE LOJA. ACERCAMIENTO A SU ANÁLISIS DIPLOMÁTICO" in ''De re diplomatica militari: archivos y documentos de la defensa, Madrid, 2018'' https://www.ucm.es/data/cont/docs/889-2018-06-26-separata_cabezas%20fontanilla%20susana.pdf </ref> Some can be found in the FamilySearch Catalog, under their specific municipality. Beginning in 1877, soldiers who joined the army would have their conscription ''recluta'' compiled into their Personal file. The transition was completed in 1925.<ref> "Reformas en el reclutamiento y reemplazo en el Ejército
Español ante el siglo XX" in ''SEMINARIO DE INVESTIGACIÓN Departamento de Historia Contemporánea Universidad Complutense de Madrid Curso 2015-2016'' https://www.ucm.es/data/cont/media/www/pag-13888/PaperM%C2%AALuz.pdf </ref> <br>
 
=== Service records (Hojas de Servicios) ===
Service records were created for each individual who joined the military, and detail their service. Generally, you can expect to find the following information in a service record.
*Name
*Date and place of birth
*Names of parents
*List of assignments and/or ranks with dates in chronological order.
*In the bottom part of the page you can find information about the military campaigns in which he served with his military unit.
 
=== Petitions ===
While serving in the military, an individual may fill out a petition for a specific purpose. Petitions are often found within a personal file, or be part of a collection of a specific type of petition in the following categories:
*Academic Files – Files related to petitions regarding education. <br>
*Promotion Files - Files relating to military promotions. <br>
*Marriage Files – Files related to marriage petitions. Often identifies as expedientes matrimoniales. <br>
*Pension Files – Files related to pension petitions. Often identified as expedientes de pension. <br>
 
'''Marriage petitions (expedientes matrimoniales)'''
Marriage petitions generally contain great genealogical value. Created by an individual during their military service, these petitions generally include the following information:
*Name of the couple.
*Proof bride was a faithful Catholic.
**Copies of baptism certificate of bride and groom.
**Copies of the marriage certificates of the parents of the bride and groom.
 
=== Religious Military Orders  ===
 
To learn more about religious military orders we recommend that you read the following article:
[[Religious Military Orders|Religious Military Orders]]
 
== Military Ranks ==
 
=== Military ranks - Army<br>  ===


*Soldado - private  
*Soldado - private  
Line 46: Line 142:
*General – General
*General – General


== Military ranks - Navy<br>  ==
=== Military ranks - Navy<br>  ===


*Marinero - sailor  
*Marinero - sailor  
Line 68: Line 164:
*Capitán General - captain general or commaner in chief<br><br>
*Capitán General - captain general or commaner in chief<br><br>


== Promotions  ==
=== Promotions  ===


There were three ways to advance in rank:  
There were three ways to advance in rank:  
Line 76: Line 172:
*Por antiguedad (By length of service)
*Por antiguedad (By length of service)


Empleo – A position of command or responsibility. A person could have the Rank of a captain but serve in the empleo of a lieutenant.
== Other Online Records ==
 
* [http://www.culturaydeporte.gob.es/militarrepublicano/militarRepublicanoLoadSearchForm.do?layout=mrConsulta&cache=init&language=es Republican Military Service]<br>
== Types of records  ==
* [https://buscar.combatientes.es/ Buscador de represaliados de la Guerra Civil española]
 
=== Service records (Hojas de Servicios) ===
 
*Name
*Date and place of birth
*Names of parents
*List of assignments and/or ranks with dates in chronological order.
*In the bottom part of the page you can find information about the military campaigns in which he served with his military unit.
 
=== Personal files (Expedientes Personales) ===
 
You can find the following types of records:
 
*Petition to be able to marry
*Petition for a promotion. You may find documents demonstrating the man’s worthiness to receive the Rank desired.
*Petition for a pension.
*Petition to have a son attend a military academy. <br>
 
'''''Personal files are divided into sections such as:'''''
 
Academic Files – Files related to petitions regarding education<br>Marriage Files – Files related to marriage petitions<br>Pension Files – Files related to pension petitions
 
'''''Online Records'''''
*'''1835-1940''' {{RecordSearch|2558684|Spain, Soldier Personal Service Files, 1835-1940}} at FamilySearch — index and images
 
=== Marriage files  ===
 
Marriage files generally contain great genealogical value. Normally you can expect to find baptism certificates of the bride and groom as well as the marriage certificates of their parents.
 
=== Military conscription [''Quintas'']  ===
These records are annual lists of those available for military service. They can serve as a census substitute for males that identifies residence and parentage.
 
Charles III introduced a system where every fifth man was selected by lot to serve in the army.  Initially meeting with heaving resistance, its enforcement was suspended at first but ultimately instituted.  Local municipalities were required to make lists of all male citizens from whom the conscripts were selected.  The age at time of conscription was 18-20.
 
Generally these records contain the name of the prospective conscript, age (sometimes birth date), and sometimes names of parents and their residence. About half of the male population, excluding ''hidalgos'', may be found in these records. Records exist from 1773 to 1920 and can be found at municipal and provincial historical archives.
 
=== Religious Military Orders  ===
 
To learn more about religious military orders we recommend that you read the following article:
 
[[Religious Military Orders|Religious Military Orders]]
 
=== Other Online Records ===
*'''1566-1956''' {{RecordSearch|2015355|Spain, Province of Gerona, Municipal Records, 1566-1956}} at FamilySearch — index and images
 
== Bibliography  ==
 
Cadenas y Vicent, Vicente de. Archivos Militares y Civiles Donde se Conservan Fondos de Carácter Castrense Relacionados con Expedientes Personales de Militares. Madrid: Hidalguía, 1963. FHL INTL Book [https://familysearch.org/search/catalog/show?uri=http%3A%2F%2Fcatalog-search-api%3A8080%2Fwww-catalogapi-webservice%2Fitem%2F36825 946 M2c].
 
Ryskamp, George. Tracing Your Hispanic Heritage. Riverside, CA: George R. Ryskamp, 1948. FHL INTL Book [https://familysearch.org/search/catalog/show?uri=http%3A%2F%2Fcatalog-search-api%3A8080%2Fwww-catalogapi-webservice%2Fitem%2F224436 946 D27r].
 
== Internet sites  ==
 
[http://www.portalcultura.mde.es/cultural/archivos/castillaLeon/archivo_150.html General Military Archive of Segovia] <br>  
 
[http://www.mcu.es/archivos/CE/ExpoVisitVirtual/visitas_WAI/simancas.html General Archive of Simancas] <br>
 
[http://www.portalcultura.mde.es/ Portal de Cultura de Defensa]  
 
'''Wiki articles describing online collections are found at:'''<br>  
'''Wiki articles describing online collections are found at:'''<br>  


*[[Spain, Barcelona Province Municipal Records - FamilySearch Historical Records|Spain, Barcelona Province Municipal Records - FamilySearch Historical Records]]<br>  
*[[Spain, Barcelona Province Municipal Records - FamilySearch Historical Records|Spain, Barcelona Province Municipal Records - FamilySearch Historical Records]]<br>  
*[[Spain, Cádiz Province Municipal Records - FamilySearch Historical Records|Spain, Cádiz Province Municipal Records - FamilySearch Historical Records]]<br>  
*[[Spain, Cádiz Province Municipal Records - FamilySearch Historical Records|Spain, Cádiz Province Municipal Records - FamilySearch Historical Records]]<br>  
*[[Spain, Pension Records of Widows and Orphans of Spanish Officials - FamilySearch Historical Records|Spain, Pension Records of Widows and Orphans of Spanish Officials - FamilySearch Historical Records]]
*[[Spain, Pension Records of Widows and Orphans of Spanish Officials - FamilySearch Historical Records|Spain, Pension Records of Widows and Orphans of Spanish Officials - FamilySearch Historical Records]]<br>
*[[Spain, Sevilla Province Municipal Records - FamilySearch Historical Records|Spain, Sevilla Province Municipal Records - FamilySearch Historical Records]]<br>  
*[[Spain, Sevilla Province Municipal Records - FamilySearch Historical Records|Spain, Sevilla Province Municipal Records - FamilySearch Historical Records]]<br>  
*[[Spain, Tarragona Province Municipal Records - FamilySearch Historical Records|Spain, Tarragona Province Municipal Records - FamilySearch Historical Records]]<br>  
*[[Spain, Tarragona Province Municipal Records - FamilySearch Historical Records|Spain, Tarragona Province Municipal Records - FamilySearch Historical Records]]<br>  
*[[Spain, Valencia Miscellaneous Records - FamilySearch Historical Records|Spain, Valencia Miscellaneous Records - FamilySearch Historical Records]]<br>
*[[Spain, Valencia Miscellaneous Records - FamilySearch Historical Records|Spain, Valencia Miscellaneous Records - FamilySearch Historical Records]]<br>


[[es:Registros militares de España]]
==References==
[[pt:Espanha, Registros Militares]]
{{reflist}}
[[Category:Spain Military Records]]
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