Philippines Finding Town of Origin

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Philippines

Finding Town of Origin

Finding the Town of Origin

In order to research your family in Philippines, it is essential that you have identified the place where they came from. You must know the city, town, or parish that they came from. it will be difficult to identify the place of origin by going directly to dutch sources. Therefore, you will need to search in United States (or other country of arrival) sources first.

Important Tips

Before you can begin to search in the records of Philippines you must find that one record that gives the name of his or her hometown. You must also know enough about the ancestor to positively identify him in the records. Dates (even if they are approximate), places, and familial connections are key to helping you decide if a person you find, who has the same name as your ancestor, really is your ancestor.

• Do you know the name of his/her parents?
• Do you know his/her birth, marriage, or death date or can you calculate an approximate range of years to search for his/her birth, marriage, or death?
• Do you know the name of the spouse? Did they marry before or after coming to the United States?
• Do you know the names of any of his/her siblings?

• Do you know the names of any children born in Philippines?

Documents in the Home

Often the document you need to pinpoint the place of origin of your ancestor from Philippines is already found at home. These might include the following:

• Birth certificates
• Marriage certificates or licenses
• Death certificates
• Obituaries
• Funeral cards
• Journals
• Photographs
• Letters
• Family Bible
• Naturalization papers
• Citizenship papers
• Military service records

Emigration Questions to Ask Relatives

Find the oldest living relatives that you can and ask them:

1. What do you know about our first ancestor to come from Philippines? (open-ended)
2. Have you ever heard mention of towns in Philippines where the family lived?
3. Do you have contact with any relatives in Philippines?
4. . Do you have contact with other branches of the family in the U.S.?
5. . When _____________ came from Philippines, did he travel with other family members?
6. . Do you know when _________________ arrived and which port city?
7. Did _______________ever become a citizen?
8. Did_________________fight in World War I or II?
9. When they first came, were there already family members here who they joined?
10. Did_______________ever mention their parents in Philippines?
11. Were they Catholic or some other religion?
12. Do you have any old letters or postcards from your Philippines family?
13. Do you have any pictures of family members in Philippines?

Search Genealogies Compiled by Others

• Collecting Previous Research by Others Part Two: Online Family Tree Collections
• Collecting Previous Research by Others Part Three: Digitized Books
• Collecting Previous Research by Others Part Four: FamilySearch Wiki Tools

Philippines Records Databases to Try

• Philippines Civil Registration, government birth, marriage, and death records are available online for many provinces from the early 1800s to the early or mid-1900s. These records can name grandparents in addition to parents, and towns for residence and/or birth for both.
• There are several Philippines Church Records online.
• See Philippines Emigration and Immigration for records of Filipinos immigrating, including some online digitized records and indexes.
• See Philippines Online Genealogy Records for other databases that might hold clues.

Records of the Country of Destination

• Church Records: If your ancestor immigrated to a European or a South American/Hispanic country, church records can be detailed enough to identify a former residence or birthplace in the home country. These countries, unlike the United States, had state churches. In many countries, these state churches were used by the country to keep birth, marriage, and death records. Even though your ancestor was born in his former country, he may have married, and certainly died in his new country. Marriage and death records can state birthplace.
• Civil Registration: Eventually, most governments began keeping birth, marriage, and death records. These tend to be quite detailed. Again, if your ancestor was possibly married and certainly died in their new country, those records can state birthplace.
• Citizenship Records: If your ancestor became a full citizen, those records probably name birthplace and former residence.
• Online Genealogy Records: See Online Genealogy Records by Location and find the online genealogy record page for your country to see other indexed collections that can be consulted.

By Country

• Filipinos in the United States