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Spanish Military Records

More information GUIDE

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.

Guía de archivos militares españoles

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.

Personal files are divided into sections such as:

Academic Files – Files related to petitions regarding education Marriage Files – Files related to marriage petitions Pension Files – Files related to pension petitions

Online Records
 * 1835-1940 - at FamilySearch — index and images

Marriage files (expedientes matrimoniales)
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.
 * Name of couple
 * Proof bride faithful Catholic
 * Copies of baptism certificate of bride and groom
 * Copies of the marriage certificates of the parents of the bride and groom

Military conscription (Quintas)
|http://avile.es/noticias-todas/36-noticias-avile/125-el-servicio-militar-obligatorio-espanol Research use: A census substitute for males that identifies residence and parentage.

Record type: Annual lists of those available for military service.

General: 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.

Time period: 1773-1920.

Contents: Name of the prospective conscript, age (sometimes birth date), and sometimes names of parents and their residence.

Location: Municipal archives and provincial historical archives. DONE BY MUNICIPALITY, SOME ON FS

Population coverage: Male half of the population excluding hidalgos (see paragraph 4.9).

Reliability: High.

Recruitment Files (Cajas de Recluta)
Beginning in 1877, the process for enlisting men in the army transitioned from quintas to recluta, or recruitment files. The transition was completed in 1925. These offices collected a great deal of personal information on the young men who entered military service, which they compiled into enlistment files.

These enlistment files expedientes generales de alistamiento include:
 * The personal file expedientes personales de mozos of the young men,

General Military Archive of Segovia
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:
 * Personal files (Expedientes Personales) from the 15th to the 20th centuries with the majority being from the 18th and 19th century.
 * Index of Personal Files, compiled 1959-1963, 9 volumes
 * Available at the Family History Library LINK
 * Index of Marriage Files (expedientes matrimoniales), compiled WHEN, covers WHEN

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.

Collection Includes Expedientes Personales, 1500s-1900s, most from 1800s-1900s: Personal Files, including petitions for pensions, promotions, marriage. 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. Index of officers, 1700s-1900s: organized alphabetically, gives name, office, and the year they entered the army. It also has lists of military prisoners, pensions, and military hospital records as well as more general documentation of military campaigns.
 * Index of Officers, published in 8 volumes between 1959 and 1963. FHL, late 18th through 19th into 20th for spain and all colonies

MARINA

General Archive of Simancas
While the 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.

Collection 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: 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 colonies. Expedientes personales, 1700s: names of soldiers as well as all documents related to their military service, ordered by last name. The archive also contains files that document military captives, deserters, and prisoners of war throughout the 1700s and early 1800s. The records of those that served in the Americas are found in the General Archive of Simancas. These records include the following places:
 * Index: Hojs de Servicios de America, service records of personnel, (officres) who served in colonies during late 18th century and pre-independence 19th


 * 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)

General Military Archive of Guadalajara
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. Of particular interest to genealogists are the following collections: Recruitment cajas de recluta CAJAS DE RECLUTA has expedientes generales de alistamiento Fechas extremas: 1875 - 2001. Volumen: 9.982 unidades de instalación Some military prisoners

http://www.portalcultura.mde.es/Galerias/cultural/archivos/fichero/2016_04_08_cuadro_AGMG.pdf

Other Archives
Guía de archivos militares españoles

Military ranks - Army

 * Soldado - private
 * Cabo – corporal
 * Alferez – sergeant
 * Sub-teniente – second lieutenant
 * Teniente – Lieutenant
 * Capitan – Captain
 * Comandante – Major
 * Teniente Coronel – Lieutenant Colonel
 * Coronel – Colonel
 * Comandante General – Major General
 * Teniente General – Lieutenant General
 * General – General

Military ranks - Navy

 * Marinero - sailor
 * Marinero de primera clase - seaman first class
 * Cabo - corporal
 * Cabo Primero - corporal first class
 * Sargento - sergeant
 * Sargento Primero - sergeant first class
 * Brigada (grado) - brigadier (grade)
 * Subteniente - sub-lieutenant
 * Suboficial Mayor - senior chief
 * Alférez de Fragata - ensign of a frigate
 * Alférez de Navío - ensign of a ship
 * Teniente de Navío - lieutenant of a ship
 * Capitán de Corbeta - captain of a corvette
 * Capitán de Fragata - captain of a frigate
 * Capitán de Navío - captain of ship
 * Contralmirante - rear admiral
 * Vicealmirante - vice admiral
 * Almirante - admiral
 * Capitán General - captain general or commaner in chief

Promotions
There were three ways to advance in rank:


 * Por elección (by vote)
 * Por gracia general (by general order)
 * Por antiguedad (By length of service)

HOW TO FIND OUT https://www.combatientes.es/Busquedas.htm

Empleo – A position of command or responsibility. A person could have the Rank of a captain but serve in the empleo of a lieutenant.

Religious Military Orders
To learn more about religious military orders we recommend that you read the following article:

Religious Military Orders

Other Online Records
http://www.culturaydeporte.gob.es/cultura/areas/archivos/mc/archivos/cdmh/bases-de-datos/militares-republicanos.html
 * 1566-1956 at FamilySearch — index and images
 * 1936-1939 Republican Military Service

Internet sites
General Military Archive of Segovia

General Archive of Simancas

Portal de Cultura de Defensa

Wiki articles describing online collections are found at:


 * Spain, Barcelona Province Municipal Records - FamilySearch Historical Records
 * Spain, Cádiz Province Municipal Records - FamilySearch Historical Records
 * Spain, Pension Records of Widows and Orphans of Spanish Officials - FamilySearch Historical Records
 * Spain, Sevilla Province Municipal Records - FamilySearch Historical Records
 * Spain, Tarragona Province Municipal Records - FamilySearch Historical Records
 * Spain, Valencia Miscellaneous Records - FamilySearch Historical Records