El Salvador Church Records

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

1. Baptisms 1631 to date
The baptism records contain:


 * Name or parish
 * Inscription date
 * Names, surnames, and gender
 * Date of birth and baptism, and legitimacy
 * Names and surnames of the parents and godparents
 * Sometimes the parent's residency.

2. Confirmations
The confirmation records contain:


 * Names, surnames, age, place and date of confirmation
 * Parent's names and surnames

3. Matrimonies 1631 to date
The marriage records contain:


 * Names and surnames of the bride and groom
 * Parent's names and surnames
 * Parish name.

NOTE: Recent records also include the civil status and place of birth for the parents as well as the witnesses' names and surnames.

4. Deaths
The death records contain:


 * Names and surnames of the deceased and the parents or spouse
 * Date of death
 * Cause of death and age
 * Place of death and burial.

5. Ecclesiastical Registries 1746 through 1755 and 1802 through 1803
The ecclesiastical registries contain:


 * Residency
 * Date
 * Family members names; and of the children some indication of legitimacy
 * Parent's marriage status

6. Marriage Information 1635 through 1920
The marriage records contain:


 * Names, dates, place of birth and residencies of bride and groom
 * Name of bride and groom's parents
 * (Algunas veces fe de nacimiento y de matrimonio).

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.

Originals
Kept at local parishes; some are at the National Archives and at the Archbishop's Palace in the city of San Salvador.