Bolivia Catholic Church Records - FamilySearch Historical Records

Bolivia

What Is in the Collection?
This collection includes baptisms, confirmations, marriages, and burial/deaths from Catholic Church parishes in the country of Bolivia. The text of records is handwritten in Spanish, mostly in narrative form; only in later years the records are handwritten in formatted registers. Generally, these records were written in chronological order. In smaller parishes, one book was used for all the ordinances, such as baptism, marriage, and death. In larger cities, separate books were kept for each of the ordinances. Confirmations were generally written in the baptismal registers.

A list of the cities and parishes included in this collection is found in the Parishes of Bolivia coverage table.

The influence of the Catholic Church in Bolivia had its beginnings somewhere around the mid 1500s, with the arrival of the Spaniards. All the sacramental ordinances were created, registered, and kept by the priest in authority of his parish jurisdiction. The parish jurisdiction may have included sub-parishes from nearby localities. One copy of the records was kept at the parish archive and another copy was sent to the diocesan archive for preservation. As the population and membership increased, the parish jurisdictions were moved and more parishes were created.

The Catholic Church in Spain found it important for priest in Bolivia and other colonies to record the events of baptisms, marriages, and later of burials. Since then priest assigned to a jurisdiction recorded the ordinances, including some personal information, of his parishioners. This was needed for membership statistics and later became a benefit for the parishioners themselves.

Catholic Church parish registers are the primary source for finding genealogical information of birth, death, and marriage prior to 1943, when the civil registration law was enacted in Bolivia.

Copies of originals are also housed in different diocesan archives throughout Bolivia.

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

What Can These Records Tell Me?
The following information is usually found in these records:

How Do I Search the Collection?
You can search the index or view the images or both. Before using this collection it is helpful to know:
 * Your ancestor's given name and surname
 * Identifying information such as residence
 * Estimated marriage or birth year
 * Family relationships

Search the Index
Search by name by visiting the Collection Page.
 * 1) Fill in the search boxes on the Collection Page with the information you have.
 * 2) Click Search to show possible matches.

View the Images
View images in this collection by visiting the Browse Page.
 * 1) Select Department
 * 2) Select City or Town
 * 3) Select Parish
 * 4) Select Record Type and Years to view the images.

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


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

How Do I Analyze the Results?
Compare each result from your search with what you know to determine if there is a match. This may require viewing multiple records or images.

I Found Who I Was Looking For, What Now?

 * Use the parents' birth places to find former residences and to establish a migration pattern for the family.
 * Compile information for every person who has the same surname as your ancestor; this is especially helpful in rural areas or if the surname is unusual.
 * Continue to search the records to identify children, siblings, parents, and other relatives 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.

I Can’t Find The Person I’m Looking For, What Now?

 * If possible, look at the actual image of the record to verify the information found in the online description.
 * 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. Transcription errors could also occur in any handwritten record. And it was not uncommon for an individual be listed under a nickname or an abbreviation of their name. Click here for a list of Spanish name abbreviations
 * A boundary change could have occurred and the record of your ancestor is now in a neighboring area. Search the records and indexes of neighboring cities, provinces, and regions.
 * If you get stuck and can’t read a document or you’re not sure where to go next in your research, you can ask for help through Hispanic Genealogy Research community on Facebook is a page sponsored by FamilySearch and here you may also post a question or upload an image of a document for further assistance. The Hispanic Genealogy Research page is designed especially for those who have Hispanic ancestry but may not be fluent in Spanish. Be sure to click like on the page on your first visit so you can receive information and updates from the page in your news feed.

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.

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Known Issues With This Collection
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