Argentina, National Census, 1869 - FamilySearch Historical Records

Argentina

What is in the Collection?
This Collection includes records for 1869.

The census enumerations were recorded in registers with legal size papers in landscape orientation. Each book (libreto) is separated by a title page, which includes the name of the province, the section, and the type of population covered. It is followed by the enumeration sheets containing surname and names of the inhabitants, age, gender, civil status, nationality, place of birth, occupation, literacy, and special conditions. At the end of each book is a global summary page of the register.

The First National Census of the Argentine Republic was executed in the whole country simultaneously in three days, September 15-17 of 1869, under the presidency of the nation’s then president Mr. Domingo F. Sarmiento. For the census, the country was divided into five areas: North, South, East, West, and the National Territories. Each area was divided into provinces, which were then divided into sections or districts (partidos); in some cases the barracks are also mentioned. The city of Buenos Aires was the only one divided into police sections (secciones de policía).

These census enumeration registers were well preserved. It was created for demographic and statistical purposes in relation to the growth of the nation.

This census covers about 1,800,000 inhabitants, but these records contain inaccuracies and should only be used when civil or church records are not available. The officials that wrote the census were ordinary civilians. Some were careless in spelling and wrote down phonetic versions of what they heard, so it is important to search for different spellings of your ancestors' names. The people were not required to provide proof for the information given (such as birth date and place), therefore some information may have been given from memory and may be wrong.

The original records can still be found at the Archivo General de la Nación in Buenos Aires.

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

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

Sample Images
Argentina 1869 Census

What Can this Collection Tell Me?
Information found in the 1869 census records may include:


 * Name, age, gender, marital status and nationality
 * Birth place (Province if Argentine)
 * Occupation
 * Statistical summary of the special conditions, such as legitimacy, race, disabilities, students, and others

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.

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: ⇒Select the "Browse" link in the initial search page ⇒Select the "Province" category ⇒Select the "Department" category ⇒Select the "Town, District, or Section" 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 which one is your ancestor. You may need to compare the information about more than one person 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

I Found Who I was Looking for, Now What?

 * 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 birth date or age along with the place of birth to find the family in census records.
 * Use the residence and names of the parents to locate church and land records.
 * Occupations listed can lead you to other types of records such as employment or military records.
 * Use the parents' birth places to find former residences and to establish a migration pattern for the family.
 * The name of the officiator is a clue to their religion or area of residence in the county. However, ministers may have reported marriages performed in other counties.
 * 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.
 * Continue to search the marriage records to identify children, siblings, parents, and other relatives of the bride and groom who may have married 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.
 * Use the marriage number to identify previous marriages.
 * When looking for a person who had a common name, look at all the entries for the name before deciding which is correct.

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

 * Check for variant spellings of the surnames.
 * Search the records of nearby localities.

Known Issues with This Collection
For a full list of all known issues associated with this collection see the attached article. If you encounter additional problems, please email them to [mailto:support@familysearch.org support@familysearch.org]. Please include the full path to the link and a description of the problem in your e-mail. Your assistance will help ensure that future reworks will be considered.

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: