Mountain Province, Philippines

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Mountain Province

Guide to Mountain Province, Philippines Genealogy ancestry,

family history and genealogy: birth records, marriage

Province of Mountain
:
 Philippines Online Genealogy RecordsAsk the
Community

History
Mountain Province became a special province of the Philippines in
1907. It was made up of the sub-provinces of Bontoc-Lepanto,
Amburayan, Apayao, Benguet, Ifugao and Kalinga. The provincial
supervisor was appointed Governor of the province and Bontoc was
then the capital town.

Mountain Province became an independent province on March 25,

1967 when President Ferdinand E. Marcos officially appointed and
inducted into office the first set of provincial officials. On April 7,
1967, the new Mountain Province came into operation.

Research Methods
The vast majority of your family research will be in civil
registration and church records. This article explains different
methods for obtaining these records.

Civil Registration (Registros Civiles)

The recording births, marriages and deaths, provides important
information of events in a person's life and required valid
evidence, making these records very important.

Most vital records from before 1889 come from Catholic parish
and diocesan archives.

In 1889, the Spanish government created the Central Office of

:
 Statistics, which required each parish priest to give the
government a detailed list of the births, marriages, and deaths
in his area.

After the Philippine Revolution of 1898, the church and state

became separate. Within the first few years, officials
responsible for civil registration were appointed in each
municipality.

In 1930, civil registration became mandatory and, in 1932, the

Bureau of Census and Statistics was created to oversee all civil
registration in the Philippines. It was not until 1940 that most
registrations began to be recorded.

Contents:

Births: Child’s name, birth date and place; parents’ names,

residence, and occupation; witnesses’ ages, relationships,
residences.

Marriages: Bride and groom names, ages, residences,

occupations, marriage date and place; sometimes ages
and/or birth dates and places; parents' names; residences,
occupations; witnesses and officer who performed
ceremony; former spouses.

Death registers: Name of deceased, age, death date and

place, occupation, name of surviving spouse, informant’s
name and residence, cause of death, sometimes birth date
:
 and place, parents’ names, children’s names.

Fetal deaths: Record of all stillbirths, includes information

similar to birth and death data shown above.

Population coverage: Before 1922, 20%; after 1922, 90%.

1. Online Civil Registration Records

The following online collections may have records for your town.
There is a small possibility that some of the records for your town
have been indexed. A comprehensive index will search all the
available indexed records of these collections at once: Search
Historical Records. Do not be discouraged if records for your town
are not found in these collections. The next section of this article 2.
Microfilm Copies of Civil Registration Records in the
FamilySearch Catalog, should lead you to many more records.

1706-1911 Mountain, Philippines Civil Registration (Spanish

Period), 1706-1911, images, incomplete.

1888-1986 Philippines Civil Registration (Local), 1888-1986

at FamilySearch — index and images

1888-1984 Philippines Civil Registration (Local), 1888-1984

at FamilySearch — images, incomplete.

1902-1945 Mountain, Philippines Civil Registration (Archives

Division), 1902-1945 at FamilySearch — images, incomplete.

1945-1984 - Philippines Civil Registration (National), 1945-

:
 1984 at FamilySearch — index, incomplete.

1945-1984 - Mountain, Philippines Civil Registration

(National), 1945-1984 at FamilySearch — images, incomplete.

2. Microfilm Copies of Civil Registration Records in

the FamilySearch Catalog

You can also search microfilmed copies of available civil registration

records. If the locality and time period you need are not included in
the online records, the next step is to try to find them in the
microfilm collection of the FamilySearch Library. Currently, they are
being digitized, and plans are to complete that project by 2020.
Check back occasionally to see if your records have become
available. In the meantime, some of them might be available at a
FamilySearch Center near you.

To find a microfilm:

a. Click on this link to see a list of records for

Philippines, Mountain.
b. Click on "Places within Philippines, Mountain"
and a list of towns and cities will open.
c. Click on the town or city you wish to search.
d. Click on "Civil Registration" topic. Click on the
blue links to specific record titles.
e. Choose the correct event and time period for your
ancestor.
f. Some combination of these icons will appear at the
far right of the microfilm listed for the record.
:
 . The magnifying glass indicates that the microfilm is
indexed. Clicking on the magnifying glass will take you
to the index. Clicking on the camera will take you to an
online digital copy of the microfilm.

3.Writing for Records

Civil registry documents that can be obtained from the

Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA), 1945 -.Click here for
detailed instructions for requesting certificates by mail. Click
here to order records online.

Civil registry records from the National Archives, prior to 1945.

See Philippines Civil Registration (Archives Division) collection
listed above under 1. Online Civil Registration Records to find
the starting date for your province. Click here for the Archives
Collection and Access Division. . Here you will find
instructions and forms for ordering records from the National
Archives.

A copy of the records have been retained in local civil registry

offices. Because many records were lost or damaged in the war,
checking both the national office and local office might help
find a surviving record. Click here for a directory of office
telephone numbers, fax numbers, and sometimes e-mail
addresses. To write to them, address your letter to:

City Civil Registry

:
 (postal code--find it here) (City)

Mountain, Philippines

English is the official language of the Philippines. This Letter

Writing Guide will help you with organizing your letter and phrasing
your requests.

Church Records
Church records are very important for family research. Civil
authorities did not consistently register vital events in the
Philippines until the nineteenth century. Church records, on the
other hand, were well kept from 1569 (in accordance with the
directives of the Council of Trent), with some records dating even
earlier. They are generally an excellent source—and many times the
only source—of names, dates, and places of births, marriages, and
deaths. Key records are baptisms/christenings, marriages, and
deaths/burials.

Generally registers exist for the following denominations:

Roman
Catholic Church of
Protestant
(Iglesia Christ
Baptist Episcopal
Católica) (Iglesia ni
1900- 1901-
1579- Cristo)
1914- Methodist United
Philippine
1900- Brethren
Independent Presbyterian
1901-
(Aglipayan) 1899-
1902-
:
 Other religious groups in the Philippines:

Islam (Muslim immigrants and converts 11th-15th centuries,

also called Moros)

Buddhist, Taoist, Confucian (Some Chinese immigrants arrived

in the 16th-19th centuries, but many more arrived in the 20th
century)

Hindu (East Indian immigrants arrived in the 20th century)

Jews (Arrived in the 20th century)

Contents:

Baptismal records: Baptism dates; children’s names; parents’

residence and names (sometimes mother's maiden name is
given); witnesses’ and godparents’ names, and sometimes their
residence and relationship to infants; sometimes grandparents’
names.

Marriage records: Candidates’ names; marriage and/or

proclamation dates; often birth places, residence, witnesses,
former spouses and parents’ names.

Death/burial records: Name of deceased; burial date; often age

and cause of death; residence; spouse’s name, especially for
women; parents’ names for deceased children.

1. Online Church Records

These very limited collections include some church records:

:
 1615-1985 Philippines, Catholic Church Records, 1615-1985
at FamilySearch — How to Use this Collection; index and images
1642-1994 Philippines Births and Baptisms, 1642-1994,
index, incomplete.

1723-1957 Philippines Marriages, 1723-1957, index,

incomplete.

1726-1957 Philippines Deaths and Burials, 1726-1957, index,

incomplete.

The Ancestry.com collections are the same, but their search engine
seems more powerful.

1642-1994 Philippines, Select Births and Baptisms, 1642-

1994, index, incomplete($).

1723-1957 Philippines, Select Marriages, 1723-1957, index,

incomplete($).

1726-1957 Philippines, Select Deaths and Burials, 1726-1957,

index, incomplete($).

The collections are also available on MyHeritage.

1642-1994 Philippines, Births and Baptisms, 1642-1994,

index, incomplete($).

1723-1957 Philippines, Marriages, 1723-1957, index,

incomplete($).

1726-1957 Philippines Deaths and Burials, 1726-1957, index,

incomplete($).
:
 Ancestry.com, Findmypast, and MyHeritage.com can be
searched free of charge at your local FamilySearch Center or the
FamilySearch Library in Salt Lake City, Utah. .

2. Microfilm Copies of Church Records in the

FamilySearch Catalog

You can also search microfilmed copies of available church records.

If the locality and time period you need are not included in the online
records, the next step is to try to find them in the microfilm
collection of the FamilySearch Library. Currently, they are being
digitized, and plans are to complete that project by 2020. Check
back occasionally to see if your records have become available. In
the meantime, some of them might be available at a FamilySearch
Center near you.

To find a microfilm:

a. Click on this link to see a list of records for

Philippines, Mountain.
b. Click on "Places within Philippines, Mountain"
and a list of towns and cities will open.
c. Click on the town or city you wish to search.
d. Click on "Church Records" topic. Click on the blue
links to specific record titles.
e. Choose the correct event and time period for your
ancestor. "Bautismos" are baptisms. Matrimônios
and "Casamentos" are marriages. "Óbitos" and
Defunciones are deaths. "Índice" is the index.
f. Some combination of these icons will appear at the
far right of the microfilm listed for the record.
:
 . The magnifying glass indicates that the microfilm is
indexed. Clicking on the magnifying glass will take you
to the index. Clicking on the camera will take you to an
online digital copy of the microfilm.

3. Writing to Request Records

Unless you know your ancestor was of another religion, begin by

searching Catholic records.

Mountain Province is in the Apostolic Vicariate of Bontoc-Lagawe.

Write or telephone to inquire whether the diocese holds the parish
records:

Apostolic Vicariati of Bontoc-Lagawe Bishop's House Teng-ab

Bontoc, 2616 Mountain Province
Philippines

Telephone: (074)462.4292

Or write directly or call the parish. See The Catholic Directory for
addresses and telephone numbers for parishes.Then use this
address, substituting names:

Parish Priest
(name of parish)
(city), (postal code--find it here), (province)
Philippines

For other religions, Google the denomination and the location.

:
 Many churches maintain websites.

Write, call, or personally visit the parish or church. Ask for

permission to study their records or make arrangements for them to
search for you. It is usual to pay for their help in the form of a
donation to the church. When you write, send the following:

Full name and the gender of the person sought.

Names of the parents, if known.

Approximate date and place of the event.

Your relationship to the person.

Reason for the request (family history, medical, etc.).

Request for a photocopy of the complete original record.

Check or cash for the search fee (usually about $10.00).

English is the official language of the Philippines. This Letter

Writing Guide will help you with organizing your letter and phrasing
your requests.

Reading the Records

Many records are written in Spanish. 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 Learning Center class on reading Spanish handwriting:

Deciphering Spanish Handwriting

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.

Tips for finding your ancestor in the records

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.

:
 Cemeteries
Find a Grave

Cemetery Of Negativism

UCCP Cemetery

Supang cemetery

Maggon cemetery

Baguio Public Cemetery

Websites
Mountain Province Wikipedia

Mountain Province, Philippines

Directory of Cities and Towns in Mountain Province, Philippines

Mountain Province

Mountain Province Map

Mountain Province Mapcarta

ZIP Codes & Phone Area Code of Mountain Province,

Philippines
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