Mexico, Michoacán, Catholic Church Records - FamilySearch Historical Records

What is in This Collection?
This collection of Catholic Church records for the State of Michoacan covers the years 1549 to 1909. These records are written in Spanish. Here is a link to a Spanish Genealogical Word List which may be helpful. Also, see the section For Help Reading These Records for translation helps.

Often in Catholic Church records, separate books were kept for baptisms, confirmations, marriage information documents, marriages, and deaths. However, in smaller areas, all records may be recorded on one register. In larger parishes a separate book was usually maintained for confirmations, while in smaller parishes the confirmations may have been included with the baptisms. In larger parishes, most of the marriage banns (informaciones matrimoniales) may be registered separately. In smaller parishes, these records were included in the marriage entry or the confirmations may have been included with the baptisms or even with marriages. In larger parishes, a separate book of confirmations was usually maintained. These records are in relatively fair condition, with the exception of some older records that may be damaged and, therefore, hard to read or missing some information. Most of the older records are handwritten in narrative style and follow a common text with some variations depending on the style used by the priest. Newer records are handwritten in formatted registers; some are even written in ledger style registers.

For additional details about the history of these records and help using them, see the wiki article Mexico Catholic Church Records (FamilySearch Historical Records).

Sample Images
Baptism or confirmation records may include the following information:


 * Date and place of the baptism or confirmation
 * Child's given name and gender
 * Legitimacy
 * Child's date and place of birth
 * Parents' names and place of birth or residence
 * Names of paternal and maternal grandparents
 * Names of godparents
 * Names of witnesses

Marriage records may include the following information:


 * Place and date of the marriage
 * Name and age of groom and bride
 * Civil status, origin and residence of groom and bride
 * Names and nationality of parents of groom and bride and if deceased
 * Names, age, civil status, and residence of witnesses

Death or burial records may include the following information:


 * Date and place of death or burial
 * Name of deceased
 * Cause of death
 * Civil status, and origin of deceased
 * Parents' names
 * Witnesses' names

How Do I Search the Collection?
Search by name by visiting the Collection Page:

Fill in the requested information in the initial search page. This will return a list of possible matches. Compare the information about the people in the list to what you already know about your ancestors to determine if you have the correct family or person. You may need to compare the information about more than one person in order to find your ancestor.

As with any index, transcription errors could have occurred and not all information may be transcribed. It is recommended you verify the information with the original record.

View images in this collection by visiting the Browse Page  ⇒ Select the "City or Town" ⇒ Select the "Parish" ⇒ Select the "Record Type and Years" which takes you to the images.

For Help Reading These Records
These records are in Spanish. For help reading the records, see the following resources:


 * Mexico Language and Languages
 * Spanish Genealogical Word List
 * BYU Spanish Script Tutorial
 * FamilySearch Learning Center videos:
 * Reading Spanish Handwritten Records, Lesson 1
 * Reading Spanish Handwritten Records, Lesson 2
 * Reading Spanish Handwritten Records, Lesson 3

What Do I Do Next?
The Catholic Church parish records are an excellent source for genealogical research in Mexico. These may also be the only records available for Spanish research before civil registration was implemented in 1871.

I Can’t Find Who I’m Looking For, What Now?
If you were unable to find your ancestor try looking through records in the surrounding localities. Colima is to the west, Jalisco to the northwest, Guanajuato to north, Querétaro to the northeast, Estado de México to the east, and Guerrero to the southeast.

Known Issues with This Collection
For a full list of all known issues associated with this collection see the attached article. If you encounter additional problems, please email them to [mailto:support@familysearch.org support@familysearch.org]. Please include the full path to the link and a description of the problem in your e-mail. Your assistance will help ensure that future reworks will be considered.

Citing This Collection
Citations help you keep track of places you have searched and sources you have found. Identifying your sources helps others find the records you used.


 * Collection Citation:

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