Spain, Province of La Coruña, Municipal Records - FamilySearch Historical Records

Title in the Language of the Record
Registros Municipales de la Provincia de La Coruña, España.

Record Description
This collection includes civil registration, census, passport, immigration, hidalguías (nobility) and military records for the cities and parishes of Betanzos, Ferrol and La Coruña in the province of La Coruña. The text of the records is in Spanish. This collection is being published as images become available.

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

For a list of records by localities, document type and dates currently published in this collection, select the Browselink from the collection landing page.

Record Content
The information found in each record varies by year.

Civil Registration
Civil registration includes birth, marriage, and death records.

Birth Records generally include the following information:
 * Child’s full name and gender
 * Date and place of birth
 * Names and ages of parents
 * Birthplaces of parents
 * Witnesses of birth

Marriage Records may include the following:
 * Names and Ages of groom and bride
 * Date and Place of marriage
 * Birthplaces of groom and bride
 * Names and Ages of groom’s parents
 * Names and Ages of bride’s parents
 * Who performed the marriage
 * Names of Witnesses

Death Records usually include:
 * Deceased’s Name and Age (keep in mind that death records for women may be filed under their married name)
 * Date and Place of death
 * Date and Place of birth
 * Marital Status/Name of spouse
 * Names of Parents
 * Birthplaces of Parents
 * Names of Informant/Witnesses
 * Date and Place of Burial

Census Records
Censuses usually contain the following information:


 * Names of household members
 * Ages
 * Birth Dates of each member
 * Residence
 * Nationality or place of origin

Military Records
This record set may contain draft registrations, deployments, and pensions.

Draft Registrations generally include:
 * Name and age of draftee
 * Birth date and place
 * Closest relation and residence
 * Date and place of registration

Deployments usually include:
 * Name of soldier
 * Regiment/battalion
 * Deployment date
 * Commanding Officer’s name
 * Specific duties

Military Pensions were typically awarded to the spouse and/or children of a fallen soldier. Pension records generally include:
 * Name of person filing for pension (applicant)
 * Date and place of application
 * Name of deceased soldier
 * Applicant’s relationship to soldier
 * Date and place of marriage to soldier
 * Date and place of soldier’s death
 * Date and place of applicant’s birth
 * Applicant’s current residence
 * Number of soldier’s children still living at home
 * Names and ages of those children
 * Date and place of those children’s births

How to Use the Record
To begin your search you should know the following:
 * The person’s name.
 * The approximate location of an event.
 * An approximate time frame of an event.
 * Some record sets have indexes; these indexes were created at the end of the year. Copy errors could have been made in the index, so you want to find the actual record to verify the information is correct. Using the index is a helpful way to find the actual record.

Keep in mind:
 * There may be more than one person in the records with the same name.
 * You may not be sure of your own ancestor’s name.
 * The information in records is usually reliable, but depends upon the knowledge of the informant.
 * Regarding marriage and death records, name changes, shortened names, or nicknames may have been used by your ancestors, so pay attention to other relationships (parents, spouse, siblings, children, etc.) that can confirm whether you have the right person/record.
 * When looking for a person who had a common name, look at all the entries for the name before deciding which is correct.

Search the Collection
Fill in the requested information in the initial search page. This search will return a list of possible matches. Compare the information about the ancestors in the list to what you already know about your ancestors to determine if this is the correct family or person. You may need to look at several images and compare the information about the individuals listed in those images to your ancestors to make this determination.

As you are searching it is helpful to know such information as your ancestor’s given name and surname, some identifying information such as residence and age, and family relationships. Remember that there may be more than one person in the records with the same name as your ancestor and that your ancestor may have used nicknames or different names at different times.

To search the collection you will need to follow this series of links: ⇒ Select the "Browse" link in the initial search page ⇒ Select the "Province" category ⇒ Select the "City or Municipality" category ⇒ Select the "Parish" category ⇒ Select the "Record Type and Years" category which takes you to the images

Look at the images and compare the information with what you already know about your ancestors to determine which one is your ancestor. You may need to compare the information about more than one person to make this determination..

Using the Information

 * Use the marriage date and place as the basis for compiling a new family group or for verifying existing information.
 * Use the birth date or age along with the place of birth of each partner to find a couple's birth records and parents' names.
 * Use the birth date or age along with the place of birth to find the family in census records.
 * Use the residence and names of the parents to locate church and land records.
 * Use the parents' birth places to find former residences and to establish a migration pattern for the family.
 * The name of a marriage officiator is a clue to their religion or area of residence in the county. However, ministers may have reported marriages performed in other counties.
 * Compile the marriage entries for every person who has the same surname as the bride or groom; this is especially helpful in rural areas or if the surname is unusual.
 * Continue to search the marriage records to identify children, siblings, parents, and other relatives of the bride and groom who may have married in the same county or nearby. This can help you identify other generations of your family or even the second marriage of a parent. Repeat this process for each new generation you identify.
 * Use the marital status/marriage number (how many times a person was married) to identify previous marriages.
 * When looking for a person who had a common name, look at all the entries for the name before deciding which is correct.
 * Witnesses often were relatives of the parents.
 * Continue to search the indexes and records to identify children, siblings, parents, and other relatives who may have lived in the same area or a nearby area.

Unable to Find your Ancestor?
A boundary change could have occurred that changed where records were kept. If you are unable to find your ancestor(s) in these civil registers, then try searching in the areas surrounding La Coruña. These provinces neighbor La Coruña:


 * The Atlantic Ocean on the West and in the North,
 * Pontevedra in the South,
 * and Lugo in the East.

Church records are also a good substitute when birth, marriage, and death records can’t be found or are unavailable.


 * Spain Baptisms
 * Spain Catholic Church Records

Or your ancestor immigrated to another country. Search the records of nearby areas or immigration/emigration records:

Spain Emigration and Immigration

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


 * Spanish Genealogical Word List
 * Reading Spanish handwritten records
 * Script tutorial for Spanish

Related Websites
The following is a link to a research outline for Spain: Spain Research Outline It contains information about tracing a family through local records, a letter-writing guide for genealogical requests and their Spanish translations, Spanish and Latin word lists, a list of archives and genealogical societies, and a list of books available at the Family History Library.
 * Galicia Genealogy Websites Website is in English.
 * Hispanic Genealogy Blog is written in English.
 * Blog de Genealogía Hispaña Blog is written in Spanish.
 * Genealogía Española-España GenWeb Website is in Spanish.

Related Wiki Articles

 * La Coruña Civil Registration - Vital Records
 * Spain Civil Registration - Vital Records
 * La Coruña
 * Spain

Citing FamilySearch Historical Collections
Citations for individual image records are available for this collection. Browse through images in this collection and click on the "Show Citation" box: Spain, Province of La Coruña, Municipal Records, 1648-1941

When you copy information from a record, you should list where you found the information. This will help you or others to find the record again. It is also good to keep track of records where you did not find information, including the names of the people you looked for in the records.

A suggested format for keeping track of records that you have searched is found in the wiki article Help:How to Cite FamilySearch Collections.

Citation for This Collection
The following citation refers to the original source of the information published in FamilySearch.org Historical Record collections. Sources include the author, custodian, publisher and archive for the original records.