Guatemala Church Records

For information about records for non-Christian religions in Guatemala, go to the Religious Records page.

Definition
Church records (registros parroquiales) are excellent sources for accurate information on names, dates, and places of births, marriages, and deaths. They are often referred to as parish registers or church books. They include records of christenings, sometimes including a birth date; marriages; deaths; and burials. Church records may also include account books, confirmation records, and lists of members (padrones).

Time Coverage
Church records were kept from the mid-1500's to the present. Civil registration began in 1866, after which time you can use both record sources to support each other.

Baptismal Records
Names, surnames; dates and places of birth; date of baptism; names and surnames of parents, grandparents and godparents; sometimes race.

Marriage Records
Names and surnames of both groom and bride with dates and places of birth; residence, publication of admonitions or marriage bands, names and surnames of parents and witnesses; some times race and information of previous marriages.

Death and burial acts
Name and surname of deceased; date of death and place of burial; sometimes date and place of birth; name and surname of parents or spouse, other family.

Confirmation acts
Name, age; name and surname of parents; date and place of confirmation.

Extract Forms
The following extract forms were created by Dr. George Ryskamp, JD, AG. These particular forms are designed to be used for Spanish research; however, they can help in other research areas, such as Italy, France, Portugal, etc. Click on the type of record form you would like to use and print it for your own files.

[[Media:Baptism_template.pdf|Birth/Baptism Extract Form]]

[[Media:Marriage_Template.pdf|Marriage Extract Form]]

[[Media:Death_Template.pdf|Death/Burial Extract Form]]

These forms are designed to help you quickly analyze and organize your documents. They can become a personal index for your family records.

Locating Church Records
Local parishes and ecclesiastical archives: (some in microfilm in the Family History Library); some in the General Archive of Central America, and some in the Archive of the Archbishop, both in the City of Guatemala.

Online
'FamilySearch''
 * , FamilySearch, index and browsable images, incomplete.
 * , index, incomplete.
 * , index, incomplete.
 * , index, incomplete.

Ancestry.com
 * Guatemala, Civil Registration, 1877-1980, Ancestry.com, ($), index and browsable images.
 * Guatemala, Select Baptisms, 1730-1917, ($), index, incomplete.
 * Guatemala, Select Marriages, 1750-1930, ($), index. incomplete.
 * Guatemala, Select Deaths, 1760-1880, ($), index, incomplete.

MyHeritage
 * Guatemala Baptisms, 1730-1917, ($), index, incomplete.
 * Guatemala Marriages, 1750-1930, ($), index, incomplete.
 * Guatemala Deaths, 1760-1880, ($), index, incomplete.

FamilySearch Library Historical Records
Parishes in Guatemala list and links to church records in the parishes.

Reading the Records

 * 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 to translate the important points in the document. Handwriting skills are taught in BYU Spanish Script Tutorial.


 * Online interactive slideshow lessons are available to help you learn to read these records:


 * Reading Spanish Handwritten Records, Lesson 1
 * Reading Spanish Handwritten Records, Lesson 2
 * Reading Spanish Handwritten Records, Lesson 3


 * Detailed instructions for reading Spanish records, examples of common documents, and practice exercises for developing skills in translating them can be found in the Spanish Records Extraction Manual.
 * The Spanish Documents Script Tutorial also provides lessons and examples.

Building a Family Record with a Search Strategy
Many articles on strategy are available on the Wiki, but here is a simple set of steps to guide you
 * Search for the relative or ancestor you selected. When you find his birth/baptism/christening record, then search for the births of his brothers and sisters.
 * Next, search for the marriage of his parents. The marriage record will have information that will often help you find the birth records of the parents, and even the names of their parents.
 * You can estimate the ages of the parents and determine a birth year to search for their birth records.
 * Search the death registers for all known family members.
 * Repeat this process for both the father and the mother, starting with their birth records, then their siblings' births, then their parents' marriages, and so on.
 * If earlier generations (parents, grandparents, etc.) do not appear in the records, search neighboring parishes.