Argentina Church Records

For information about records for non-Christian religions in Argentina, go to the Religious Records page. =Online Church Records=
 * 1645-1930 - at FamilySearch — index and images
 * 1711-1911 - at FamilySearch — index and images
 * 1635-1981 - at FamilySearch — index and images
 * 1737-1977 - at FamilySearch — index and images
 * 1724-1971 - at FamilySearch — index and images
 * 1882-1955 - at FamilySearch — index and images
 * 1884-1974 - at FamilySearch — index and images
 * 1557-1974 - at FamilySearch — index and images
 * 1734-1977 - at FamilySearch — index and images
 * 1764-1983 - at FamilySearch — index and images
 * 1662-1975 - at FamilySearch — index and images
 * 1882-1976 - at FamilySearch — index and images
 * 1714-1970 - at FamilySearch — index and images
 * 1665-1975 - at FamilySearch— index and images
 * 1874-1975 - at FamilySearch — index and images
 * 1883-1977 - at FamilySearch — index and images
 * 1880-1977 - at FamilySearch — index and images
 * 1634-1972 - at FamilySearch — index and images
 * 1886-1964 - at FamilySearch — index and images
 * 1655-1975 - at FamilySearch — index and images
 * 1634-1975 - at FamilySearch — index and images
 * 1581-1961 - at FamilySearch — index and images
 * 1894-1950 - at FamilySearch — index and images
 * 1727-1955 - at FamilySearch — index and images

Time Period Coverage

 * Catholic clergy have documented the history of Argentina in their church records from the very start of the exploration of Argentina. There are ecclesiastical documents of an administrative, judicial, financial, and pastoral nature dealing with the work of the church starting in 1557 from the diocese of Cordoba. There are other such records for the early colonial period.
 * In 1563, the Council of Trent formalized record–keeping practices that were already being followed in much of the Catholic world. Separate records books were to be maintained for baptisms, confirmations, marriages, and deaths or burials and the format was standardized. Following the format that the Council of Trent outlined, the Catholic Church was the primary record keeper of Argentina until civil registration started. A large percentage of the populace is listed in these records.

=Information Recorded in the Records= Different denominations, different time periods, and practices of different record keepers will effect how much information can be found in the records. This outline will show the types of details which might be found (best case scenario);

Baptisms
In Catholic and Anglican records, children were usually baptized a few days after birth, and therefore, the baptism record proves date of birth. Other religions, such as Baptists, baptized at other points in the member's life. Baptism registers might give:

Marriages
Marriage registers can give:

Burials
Burial registers may give:

Locating Church Records
In Argentina, Catholic church records are kept in different levels the church. The highest level of government in the Catholic church is the archdiocese [arquidiócesis]. There are three divisions under the archdiocese: prefectures [prefecturas], diocese [diósesis], and apostolic vicarage [vicariatos apostólicos]. The parishes [parroquias] are under the jurisdiction of the diocese. The parishes have jurisdiction over both vice–parishes [vice–parroquias] and chapelries [capillas foraneas]. Parishes are local congregations that may include smaller villages within their boundaries. A large city may contain several parishes. All these jurisdictions have their own records.

In searching for your ancestors you must know the town where they lived. You must also determine the parish to which your ancestor belonged. If he or she came from a large city that has several parishes you will need to know in what section of the town he or she lived to determine to what parish he or she belonged.

However, in a large city such as Buenos Aires you may find that even if you know the home parish there were times that the family would go to the cathedral for the baptism of a child or to the parish where a relative belonged in the same city. If you do not find the complete family in the home parish, search the surrounding parishes of the city. If your family lived in a very small village or ranch that did not have an established parish you will need to check a map and determine which nearby town had a parish.

Parish boundary maps can be extremely helpful when determining what specific parish records to search. They can help you identify neighboring parishes if you need to search through the various parishes in a given region.

Records at the Family History Library
The Family History Library has records from many parishes throughout Argentina to 1930, and in some parishes they go to a later date. The specific holdings of the Family History Library are listed in the FamilySearch Catalog. You can determine whether the library has records for the locality your ancestor came from by checking the locality section of the FamilySearch Catalog. However, if a record was destroyed, was never kept, has not been microfilmed, or is restricted from public access by the laws of the country, the Family History Library does not have a copy.

In the FamilySearch Catalog, look under the name of the town where the parish was, not necessarily the town where your ancestor lived. Look in the FamilySearch Catalog under:

ARGENTINA - CHURCH RECORDS

ARGENTINA, [PROVINCE] - CHURCH RECORDS

ARGENTINA, [PROVINCE], [TOWN] - CHURCH RECORDS

New records are continually added to Family History Library collection from numerous sources. Don't give up if records are not available yet. Check the FamilySearch Catalog again every two or three years for the records you need. Records not at the Family History Library Baptism, marriage, and burial records may be found by contacting or visiting local parishes. Argentina has no single repository of church records. Write your request in Spanish whenever possible.

Writing to a Catholic Priest for Church Records
Baptism, marriage, and death records may be searched by contacting or visiting local parish or diocese archives in Argentina. Argentina has no single repository of church records. Write your request in Spanish whenever possible. 'This method is not always reliable. Officials might or might not respond.'

Write a brief request in Spanish to the proper church using this address as guide replacing the information in parentheses:


 * Reverendo Padre
 * Parroquia de (name of parish) 
 * (postal code), (city), (province)
 * Argentina


 * Find the Argentina postal code here.

When requesting information, send the following:

'''Write your request in Spanish whenever possible. For writing your letter in Spanish, use the translated questions and phrases in this Spanish Letter-writing Guide.]'''
 * Money for the search fee, usually $10.00
 * Full name and the sex of the ancestor sought
 * Names of the ancestor’s parents, if known
 * Approximate date and place of the event
 * Your relationship to the ancestor
 * Reason for the request (family history, medical, and so on)
 * Request for a photocopy of the complete original record

Reading the Records

 * You do not have to be fluent in Spanish to read your documents. Genealogical records usually contain a limited vocabulary. Use this Spanish Genealogical Word List to translate the important points in the document. Handwriting skills are taught in BYU Spanish Script Tutorial.


 * Online interactive slideshow lessons are available to help you learn to read these records:




 * Detailed instructions for reading Spanish records, examples of common documents, and practice exercises for developing skills in translating them can be found in the Spanish Records Extraction Manual.
 * The Spanish Documents Script Tutorial also provides lessons and examples.

Search Strategies
Effective use of church records includes the following strategies.


 * Search for the relative or ancestor you selected. When you find his birth record, search for the births of his brothers and sisters.
 * Next, search for the marriage of his parents. The marriage record will have information that will often help you find the birth records of the parents.
 * You can estimate the ages of the parents and determine a birth year to search for their birth records.
 * Then repeat the process for both the father and the mother.
 * If earlier generations (parents, grandparents, etc.) do not appear in the records, search neighboring parishes.
 * Search the death registers for all known family members.