Mexico Church Records: Difference between revisions

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''For information about records for non-Christian religions in Mexico, go to the [[Mexico Religious Records|Religious Records]] page.''

*[https://www.familysearch.org/help/helpcenter/lesson/1138 '''Mexico Research With the Wiki Part 5 of 11: Mexico Wiki State Pages''']

*[https://www.familysearch.org/help/helpcenter/lesson/1139 '''Mexico Research With the Wiki Part 6 of 11: Reading Mexican Records in Spanish''']

*[https://www.familysearch.org/help/helpcenter/lesson/1143 '''Mexico Research With the Wiki Part 9 (a.k.a. 8a) of 11: Mexico Church Records''']

*[https://www.familysearch.org/help/helpcenter/lesson/1144 '''Mexico Research With the Wiki Part 10 (a.k.a. 8b of 11: A Mexico Church Records Case Study''']

*The vast majority of Mexicans were Catholic and registered in the records of the local parish or diocese, known as registros parroquiales (parish registers). Church records are excellent sources of sufficiently accurate information on names, dates and places of birth/baptism, marriage and death/funeral.  

*They contain records of births, baptisms, confirmations, marriages, marriage information documents, deaths and burials, marriage dispensations, account books, censuses, and communion lists. Often, two or sometimes even three generations are indicated in the registers.  

*Church records are crucial in Mexico since civil authorities did not begin registering vital statistics until after 1859. For civil vital records of births, deaths, and marriages after 1859, see the [[Mexico Civil Registration Records - FamilySearch Historical Records|Mexico Civil Registration Records]] wiki article.

The Catholic Church, which was established in Mexico in 1527, was the primary record keeper for Mexico until civil registration started. In 1563, the Council of Trent formalized record keeping practices that were already being followed in much of the Catholic world. Separate record books were to be maintained for baptisms, confirmations, marriages, and deaths.  Different dioceses usually followed the same standard of writing, so the information found in records are mostly consistent.  

Some church records have been lost or have deteriorated due to natural effects such as humidity, insects and more dramatic events such as fires, floods, and earthquakes. Civil and political strife have also caused the destruction of parish books. Some records were destroyed or damaged because of poor storage. However, many records that are considered lost or destroyed have simply been misplaced or misidentified.  

It is important to note that individual dioceses started documenting life events only after they were established. Each diocese began at different times, here is a list of the years some dioceses were started:  

== Content of Records ==

Children were generally baptized within a few days of birth. Baptismal records usually give the following information:  

*infant’s place and date of baptism  

**family’s place of residence or birthplace of parents  

**If a child died within a few days of baptism, or if a child grew up and married, this information has sometimes been added as a note.

*[[Image:Mexico Chihuahua Church Records Baptisn.jpg|thumb|right]] Click on the image to see a sample record with details identifying the key genealogical information found in the record along with its translation.

*[[Media:Baptism template.pdf|'''Birth/Baptism Extract Form''']]

Confirmation entries normally include the following:  

Marriage information records in Mexico are found in the parish archive.

Marriage registers give the following information:  

*[[Media:Marriage Template.pdf|'''Marriage Extract Form''']]

Burials were recorded in the church record of the parish where the person died. Death registers give the following information:  

*[[Media:Death Template.pdf|'''Death/Burial Extract Form''']]

*[https://www.familysearch.org/search/collection/location/1927078?region=Mexico&englishRegion=Mexico Various Mexico State Church Records] at FamilySearch

*'''1600-1899''' [http://www.guadalajaradispensas.com/p/search-tips.html Guadalajara Marriage Dispensation Index] at Guadalajara Dispensas. Lists of names extracted from the marriage dispensations from the Diocesan Archive of Guadalajara. Images of this collection are found on FamilySearch.

*'''1600-1899''' [https://www.valladoliddispensas.com/ Valladolid Dispensas]. Lists of names extracted from the marriage dispensations from the Diocesan Archive of Valladolid (now Morelia, Michoacan, Mexico). Images of this collection are found on FamilySearch.

*'''1760-1893''' Translated extracts of prenuptial investigations from the Archdiocese of Durango at the Rio Grande Historical Collections in the New Mexico State University Library. Digitized in two parts [https://lib.nmsu.edu/archives/documents/ahadnmpi1.pdf 1760-1799] and [https://lib.nmsu.edu/archives/documents/ahadnmpi2.pdf 1800-1893].

FamilySearch has microfilmed extensive collections of records in Mexico. The best way to locate records filmed by FamilySearch is by doing a [https://www.familysearch.org/search/catalog '''Place Search'''] under the name of the town where the parish and/or municipio is located. Also search under the name of the state, as records beyond parish and civil registers are often identified as only a collection for the entire state and not subdivided, even if they do contain significant information about specific people within towns in the state.  

In some cases records for the entire state have been catalogued under the name of the '''capital city''' because the archive containing those records is found there, so check under the name of the state’s capital city. Also check for the city that is the archdiocese for your ancestral hometown.

Baptism, marriage, and death records may be searched by contacting or visiting local parish or diocese archives in Mexico. Mexico has no single repository of church records. Write your request in Spanish whenever possible. '''''This method is not always reliable. Officials might or might not respond.'''''  

'''Write your request in Spanish whenever possible. For writing your letter in Spanish, use the translated questions and phrases in this [https://familysearch.org/wiki/en/images/a/aa/LWGSpanish.pdf Spanish Letter-writing Guide.]'''

An extensive and rich collection of Catholic Church records in Mexico exists beyond those of the parish. While parish records are recorded by individual parish priests, the role of bishops and archbishops is to oversee the work done at a parish level, including the maintaining of parish records. In addition their acrivities created records which are maintained at a diocesan level.  

General records refer to documents that bishops or archbishops created by the bishop’s courts and administrative agencies within that diocese and preserved in diocesan or archdiocesan archives. Each archive begins with the date of the creation of the diocese and contains records of genealogical significance such as marriage dispensations, censuses, and communion lists. Although many of these records have been filmed, only a limited work—primarily limited to marriage dispensations—has been done to index or even inventory them. One notable exception is the Archivo Historico del Aquidioceses de Durango, which has been microfilmed and indexed by the Rio Grande Hustorical Society located at New Mexico State University in Las Cruces, New Mexico. This index can be purchased [http://lib.nmsu.edu/depts/archives/ahad.shtml New Mexico State University at their website].

*You do not have to be fluent in Spanish to read your documents. Genealogical records usually contain a limited vocabulary. Use this [[Spanish Genealogical Word List|Spanish Genealogical Word List]] to translate the important points in the document.  Handwriting skills are taught in [https://script.byu.edu/Pages/the-spanish-documents-pages/sp-overview(english) BYU Spanish Script Tutorial].

*[https://script.byu.edu/Pages/the-spanish-documents-pages/sp-overview(english) '''The Spanish Documents Script Tutorial'''] also provides lessons and examples.

It was not until the late 19th century before other sects such as the Mennonites and other Protestant denominations began to establish themselves in Mexico. Their records are not easy to access. For more information about the various churches in Mexico, see the articles on [[Mexico Church History]] and [[Mexico History]].