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Help with translation of old baptismal records.
Information provided by Robert Mcalear (Mucho gracias Robert)
Baptism formats are probably going to be very similar from one parish to another.
The basic baptism format for General Cepeda, Coahuila, Mexico goes like this:
a. An opening statement providing the jurisdiction and name of priest.
Here you will see Patos (former name for General Cepeda) or Santa Maria or Santiago Apostol,
etc. followed by name of priest and an identifying phrase of some kind.
b. date of event
c. name and sex of child
d. age of child at baptism or sometimes exact date of birth of child
e. place of birth of child
f. whether legitimate or natural (note: I think this needs to be explained)
g. name of parents (or mother only in case of "natural" status)
h. names of paternal grandparents (will not be given for "natural"status)
i. names of maternal grandparents
j. names of godparents
k. priest's admonition to godparents regarding spiritual support, etc. for child
It is our hopes that the following will benefit researchers who know no Spanish:
Example: An original baptism record translated from spanish to english.
En la Vice-Parroquia de San Francisco de Patos á nueve de Marzo de
mil ochocientos setenta y tres yo el
In the vice parish of San Francisoc de Patos on the ninth of March of 1873 I the
infrascrito presbitero encargado de la misma bautizé solemnemente y
puse el santo oleo y sagrado crisma a
undersigned priest in charge
solemnly baptized and annointed with holy oil
una niña á quien llamé María Ramona nacida á
veintiocho del próximo pasado en El Chiflon, hija legítima de
a female child whom I named María Ramona born on the 28 of last month at
El Chiflon, legitimatechild of
Timoteo Herrera y Leonides Serda. Son los abuelos paternos Ysabel
Herrera y Victoriana Ruiz y los
Timoteo Herrera & Leonides Serda.
Paternal grandparents are Ysabel Herrera & Victoriana Ruiz &
the
maternos Francisco Serda y Paula Sandoval. Fueron padrinos
Miguel e Ynocencia Zepeda á quienes advertí
maternal are Francisco Serca
& Paula Sandoval. Godparents are Miquel & Ynocencia Zepeda whom I
advised of
su obligación y parentesco. Y por ser así lo firmo--
their obligation
and family relationship. I therefore sign,
These records tend to follow a rather prescribed format. If one were to
visually scan the record, there are some very elementary vocabulary items that
one would need to know:
1. the months
2. the numbers preceding the
months (i.e., 9 March)
3. the years which are almost always written out:
one thousand
eight hundred
seventy
three
4. the word for
"baptized" because the child's name will follow
5. [sometimes the
actual date of birth is recorded]
6. legitimate or natural, followed by
7. the names of the parents (or mother only if the parents had not been
married in the Catholic Church)
8. the names of the paternal grandparents
9. the names of the maternal grandparents
10. the names of the
godparents or sponsors.
This is the general format. So, vocabulary needed would be:
1. the twelve
months of the year: enero, febrero, marzo, abril, mayo, junio, julio, agosto,
septiembre, octubre, noviembre, diciembre. Sometime these are abbreviated; eno,
febr, mar, abr, jun, jul, ago, sepbre, octbre, novbre, dicbre. (occasionally the
last four are abbreviated 7bre, 8bre, 9bre, 10bre)
2. once the month is
determined, look at the preceding word for the day. (some times these are
written as 9 etc., but usually spelled out:
1 = primero
2 = dos
3 = tres
4 = cuatro (sometimes spelled quatro)
5 = cinco
6 = seis
7 = siete
8 = ocho
9 = nueve (sometimes spelled nuebe)
10 = diez
11 = once
12 = doce
13 = trece
14 = catorce
15 = quince
16 = dieciseis (or diez y seis)
17
= diecisiete (or diez y siete)
18 = dieciocho (or diez y
ocho)
19 = diecinueve (or diez y nueve)
20 = veinte (sometimes spelled beinte)
21 = veintiuno (or veinte y uno)
22 = veintidos (veinte y dos)
23 = veintitres (veinte y
tres)
24 = veinticuatro (veinte y cuatro)
25 = veinticinco (veinte y cinco)
26 = veintiseis (veinte y seis)
27 = veintisiete (veinte
y siete)
28 = veintiocho (veinte y ocho)
29 = veintinueve (veinte y nueve)
30 = treinta
31 = treinta y uno
3. the years:
1000 = mil
500 = quinientos
600 = seiscientos
700 = setecientos
800 = ochocientos
900 = novecientos
for the "tens" and "ones" see
above. others are:
40 = cuarenta
50 = cincuenta
60 = sesenta
70 = setenta
80 = ochenta
90 = noventa
The following date, written out as
diecinueve de 7bre de mil
setecientos ochenta y seis
would be: 19 Sep 1786
4. bauticé (sometimes spelled bautizé) = I baptized
una niña = a female child
un niño = a male child
llamé = I named
nacido = born (for
a male child)
nacida = born (for a female child)
5.
legítimo = legitimate (for a male child)
legítima =
legitimate (for a female child)
natural = natural
6. abuelos paternos = paternal grandparents
7. abuelos maternos (or only
maternos) = maternal grandparents.
8. padrinos = godparents or sponsors
Baptismal Names:
The priest gave the child the name of his (or the town's) patron saint.
I would say Maria and Jose are the most common.
Others would include Joseph, Ana, Juana and Juan.
I'm sure there are many more.
Example:
Parents name their child: Francisca Ramirez.
The Priest Baptizes the child: Maria Francisca Ramirez (Maria is often abbreviated Ma.)
Later the baptismal name was usually dropped.
Here are some of the more common terms the priest would write into the record:
1. "español" or Spanish. This was a person born in Spain and obviously "white."
However, it seems like priests used this term even in the 1700s and 1800s when the person
hadn't been born in Spain but was of pure Spanish blood. See #2.
These were the land owners, highest government officials, etc.
2."criollo" or creole. Originally, this was a person born in the New World of Spanish parents.
They held the less important government jobs, etc. I have seen this term used, but I think
it generally was replaced by the term "español."
3. "indio" or Indian were of course the native inhabitants. This was the lowest social class;
i.e., dark skin, illiterate, etc. This was the labor force.
4. "mestizo" or mixed race. This was the blending of the español or criollo with the indio.
The "white" saw this as a mongrelization of the Spanish race; the indio saw it as a
whitening of his race and therefore a step up in society. Still the labor force,
but with a few more advantages.
5. "negro" or Afro-Mexican. Negro slaves began to be brought into Mexico by the mid-1500s.
These slaves were mostly men brought to work in the mines. Many enslaved black men sought
Indian wives. (lightening of the skin). Interestingly, under Spanish law, freedom
followed the mother's line, so the children of an enslaved man and free Indian or
mestiza woman would be freeborn. There were settlements of escaped slaves.
These settlements,known as palenques, were found near Acapulco, Veracruz, and to a lesser
degree in Coahuila and Zacatecas. I have personally seen descendants of these slaves in
Acapulco.
6. "mulato" or mulatto is a mix of Spanish (or Creole) and Negro.
What gets really confusing about all of this, is the "degree" of mestizo and indian mix.
Example: there's a term for the offspring of a (male) mestizo and (female)mulata;
another term for the offspring of a (female) mestiza and a (male) mulato; etc.
it gets very complicated and I do not recall ever seeing the other classifications in the
records. Also, priests were known to incorrectly (deliberately or not) record the status.
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