Church Records of Mexico
The Roman Catholic Church has been the predominant church and record keeping authority in Mexico for many centuries. During much of this time, detailed sacramental registers have been kept by the different parishes throughout Mexico. Parish registers will probably play the most important role in tracing your family history.
The Family History Library holds a vast collection of parish registers, or registros parroquiales. Most of the time, if record destruction has not occurred, these registers extend back to the 1600s and sometimes even earlier! The kinds of details that will be recorded in the records will vary from parish to parish. However, you can generally expect to find the following events:
Baptisms (Bautismos)
A child was often baptized within a few days of birth. However, sometimes parents did not have the ordinance performed for months or even years after the fact. A baptism entry will list the name of the infant, the date and place of baptism and the parents’ names. The records were also supposed to include the names of godparents and even grandparents’ names, but this was not always done. Sometimes the birth date will also be provided. Sometimes a parish priest would go back through the baptismal registers and make cross-reference notations to death and marriage details next to the entry. This is an added bonus that you may run across from time to time!
Marriages (Matrimonios)
Generally, marriage records will provide the names of the bride and groom, their ages, occupations and places of residence. Often, however, you may even find parents’ and even grandparents’ names recorded, along with the date and place of the marriage. There may also be a variety of other information about the details surrounding the marriage such as banns, which were opportunities for people to come forth and object to the marriage.
Deaths, Burials (Defunciones, Entierros)
Death and burial registers will vary greatly from parish to parish. Typically, however, you will find the name of the decent, the date of death and/or burial, their age and occupation, but sometimes additional information is given. If the entry refers to a child, the parents’ names will likely be listed. Sometimes, however, parents’ names were recorded for every person who died, which can be a tremendous help when piecing generations together.
Confirmations (Confirmaciones)
Confirmation records are generally not used as much as other entries. They will list the name of the individual, the godparents and usually the parents’ names.
