Argentina, Tucumán, Catholic Church Records - FamilySearch Historical Records

Argentina Tucuman

What is in the Collection?
This collection of church records for the period of 1727 to 1955 includes baptisms, confirmations, marriages, and deaths/burials for the cities of Alderetes, Concepción, Cruz Alta, Famaillá, Graneros, Medinas, Monteros, San Miguel de Tucumán, Tafí del Valle, Trancas, Villa Luján and Villa de Leales in the province of Tucumán.

The parishes contained in the collection are Nuestra Señora del Rosario, Inmaculada Concepción, Santo Cristo, Nuestra Señora del Carmen, Nuestra Señora de La Merced, Nuestra Señora de la Encarnación,San Joaquín and Nuestra Señora de la Candelaria.

The later records were created when the parishes were part of the Diocese of Tucumán, which was created on February 15, 1897 from the Diocese of Salta, and later elevated to archdiocese on February 11, 1957. The earlier records were created when the parishes were part of the Diocese of Salta, created on March 28, 1806 from the Diocese of Santiago del Estero, and had jurisdiction over a wide territory which currently is formed by different provinces including Tucumán. The records before 1806 were created when the parishes were part of the Diocese of Cordoba del Tucumán, which had jurisdiction over Santiago del Estero, Tucumán, Salta, Catamarca, La Rioja, and Jujuy.

These records are written in Spanish; see the section For Help Reading these Records for translation helps.

General Information About Church Records Church records are crucial for genealogical research, since civil authorities did not begin registering vital statistics until after 1886. After this date one should search in both church and civil records as there may be information in one that does not appear in the other. For instance the church records may only list the godparents whereas the civil records may list the grandparents. Church records are the most important records for genealogical research in Argentina. The vast majority of Argentines were Catholic and were registered in the records of the local parish or diocese which are called registros parroquiales (parish registers). These records include entries for baptisms, marriage information, marriages, deaths, and burials. They can help you trace and link families. Often two and sometimes three generations are indicated in the records. In addition, church records may include church censuses, account books, confirmations, and other church-related records.

Some church records have been lost or have deteriorated due to natural effects, such as humidity and insects, and more dramatic events such as fire, floods and earthquakes. Civil and political strife have also caused the destruction of parish books. Some records were destroyed or damaged because of poor storage. However, many records considered lost are simply misplaced or misidentified.

In 1886 the civil government began keeping vital records (civil registration). If you are looking for ancestors who came before this time, then the Catholic Church parish registers are the best records available to identify these individuals, since church records were around for hundreds of years prior to civil registration. For civil vital records of births, deaths, and marriages after 1886, see Argentina Civil Registration (Registro Civil).

For a list of localities currently published in this collection, select the Browse link from the collection landing page.

What Can this Collection Tell Me?
The information in each record may vary by year.

Baptism records usually include the following information:


 * Date of baptism
 * Place of baptism
 * Name
 * Parents’ names
 * Parents’ nationality
 * Parents' occupation
 * Godparents’ names

Confirmation records usually include the following information:


 * Name, age, and gender
 * Parents' names
 * Godparents' names

Marriage records usually include the following information:


 * Date of marriage
 * Place of marriage
 * Name of groom
 * Groom's age, nationality, occupation, and race
 * Groom's parents' names
 * Name of bride
 * Bride's age, nationality, occupation, and race
 * Bride's parents' names
 * Witnesses' names and civil status
 * Sometimes place of birth
 * Parents’ names
 * Sometimes grandparents’ names

Death/burial records usually include the following information:


 * Date
 * Place
 * Name of the deceased (keep in mind that death records for women may be filed under their married name)
 * Age of deceased
 * Parents' names
 * Final resting place

How Do I Search the Collection?
As you are searching it is helpful to know such information as your ancestor’s first name or 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 relative and that your relative may have used nicknames or different names at different times.

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.

If indexes are available, check these for the name first. Indexes are usually located at the beginning of a group of images, at the end or in individual folders. Find your ancestor’s name and look for the locator information next to the name (such as page, entry, or certificate number). This will help you find the record you are looking for in the collection.

'Search by Name by visiting the Collection Page: 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 compare the information about more than one person to find your ancestor.

View images in this collection by visiting the Browse Page: To browse this collection you will need to follow this series of links: ⇒ Select the "Browse" link in the initial page ⇒ Select the “City or Town” category ⇒ Select the “Parish” category ⇒ Select the “Record Type and Years” category which takes you to the images.

Search the collection by image comparing the information with what you already know about your ancestors to determine if the image relates to them. 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.

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
 * Argentina Language and Languages

To learn more about using the information in these records, view these free video tutorials (Videos are in Spanish):


 * Latin America
 * Spain, Latin America, &amp; Mexico

What Do I Do Next?
When you have located your ancestor’s record, carefully evaluate each piece of information given. These pieces of information may give you new biographical details that can lead you to other records about your ancestors. Add this new information to your records of each family. Keep in mind:


 * The information in church records is usually reliable, but depends upon the reliability of the informant.
 * Earlier records may not contain as much information as the records created after the late 1800.
 * There is also some variation in the information given from one record to another

I Found Who I was Looking for, What Now?

 * 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 Argentina Census Argentina, National Census, 1895 (FamilySearch Historical Records) Argentina National Census, 1869 (FamilySearch Historical Records).
 * Use the residence and names of the parents to locate civil records Argentina Civil Registration.
 * 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 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 province. However, ministers may have reported marriages performed in other provinces.
 * 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.
 * Use the marital status to identify previous marriages, that is, whether a divorce or death dissolved a previous marriage.
 * Witnesses often were relatives of the parents.

I Can't Find Who I'm Looking for, What Now?

 * Check for variant spellings of the surnames.
 * Check for a different index. There are often indexes at the beginning of each volume.
 * Search the indexes and records of nearby localities.
 * A boundary change could have occurred and the record of you ancestor is now in a neighboring state or region, or your ancestor immigrated to another country. Search the records of nearby areas or immigration/emigration records Argentina Emigration and Immigration.
 * Civil records are also a good substitute when baptism, marriage, and burial records can’t be found or are unavailable Argentina Civil Registration.

Citing this Collection
Citing your sources makes it easy for others to find and evaluate the records you used. When you copy information from a record, list where you found that information. Here you can find citations already created for the entire collection and for each individual record or image.

Collection citation:

Record citation (or citation for the index entry):

Image citation: