Spain, Diocese of Ávila, Catholic Church Records - FamilySearch Historical Records

Foreign Language Title
Registros Parroquiales de la Iglesia Católica de Ávila, España.

Collection Time Period
The Family History Library collection of the Roman Catholic Church parish records of the Diocese of Avila, Spain covers the years from 1502 to 1978.

Record History
Parish priests performed the baptisms, marriages, deaths, burials, and other holy sacraments in their assigned parish or parishes. All the original parish records were kept in the parish archive; however, the older records were centralized in the diocesan archive, as it is done currently. Catholic parish records cover 95 to 100% of a city’s population. This collection only includes the parish records that were centralized into the diocesan archive.

Why This Record Was Created
Spanish Catholic parish registers were created to record the church sacraments of baptism, marriage, deaths, burials, and other ordinances.

Record Reliability
Catholic Church parish records are a reliable source for doing Spanish genealogical research.

Record Description
Some of the parish records from Avila have been preserved well, but some others have lots of damage. Usually separate registers were maintained for baptisms, marriages, and deaths. However, in localities with a small population the records of baptisms, marriages, and burials were recorded in the same register. Confirmations were usually recorded with the baptismal registers, but can also be found with deaths and marriages. Generally, entries were created in chronological order. Early registers may have some ecclesiastical documents written in Latin.

Record Content
Important genealogical information found in Catholic Church baptismal records include: 


 * Date and place of the event
 * Name of person baptized
 * When and where the child was born or age at time of baptism
 * If legitimate or illegitimate
 * Parents names, their residence or place of birth
 * Names of maternal/paternal grandparents and names of godparents

Important genealogical information found in Catholic Church marriage records include:


 * Date and place of the event
 * Complete maiden name of the bride and groom
 * Civil status (widowed, single, divorce) at the time of the event
 * Place and date of birth of the couple (natural of)
 * Occupation
 * Parents names, their residence or place of birth (natural of)
 * Sometimes, the parent’s civil status
 * Names of witnesses

Important genealogical information found in Catholic Church death records include:


 * Date and place where the person died
 * Name of the deceased, age or date and place of birth
 * Cause of death (illness, accident, senility, etc.)
 * Residence of the deceased
 * Sometimes it will also mention the deceased parent's names and where they were naturally from.
 * Testament information (If he/she left a testament it will include the name of the children, deceased civil status (widowed, single, divorce), name and place of birth of the spouse)

How to Use the Record
The Catholic parish records are an excellent source for genealogical research in Spain. These may also be the only records available for Spanish research before civil registration was implemented in 1871.

Related Websites
This section of the article is incomplete. You can help FamilySearch Wiki by supplying links to related websites here.

Related Wiki Articles
Spain Catholic Church Records

Citing FamilySearch Historical Collections
When you copy information from the record, you should also list where you found the information. This will help you or others to find th record again. It is also good to keep track of records where you do 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 in found in the Wiki Article: How to Create Source Citations for FamilySearch Historical Records Collections

Examples of Source Citations for a Record in this Collection

 * “Delaware Marriage Records,” index and images, FamilySearch (https://www.familysearch.org: accessed 4 March 2011), entry for William Anderson and Elizabeth Baynard Henry, married 23 November 1913; citing marriage certificate no. 859; FHL microfilm 2,025,063; Delaware Bureau of Archives and Records Management, Dover.


 * “El Salvador Civil Registration,” index and images, FamilySearch (https://www.familysearch.org: accessed 21 March 2011), entry for Jose Maria Antonio del Carmen, born 9 April 1880; citing La Libertad, San Juan Opico, Nacimientos 1879-1893, image 50; Ministerio Archivo Civil de la Alcaldia Municipal de San Salvador.

Sources of This Collection
"Spain, Catholic Church Records", database, FamilySearch; Parish records from Diócesis de Ávila, Spain.