Proof of marriage at Baptisms--Padres no conocidos-- Research Digest, Vol 73, Issue 24

5. Re: "padres no conocidos" (Pat Corbera)

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Message: 5
Date: Fri, 24 Feb 2012 18:29:53 +0000 (UTC)
From: Pat Corbera
To: research@NuestrosRanchos.com
Subject: Re: [Nuestros Ranchos] "padres no conocidos"
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<176888525.1505174.1330108193566.JavaMail.root@sz0116a.emeryville.ca.mail.comcast.net>

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Victoriano,

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Do you know if?married couples were given a duplicate copy of their marriage?record?

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Then when baptizing their children was it required to show proof of their marriage, in order for the child to be registered as "hijo legitima" ?

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Pat Silva Corbera

Tracy CA

Hello Pat,

It was nice meeting you at the last Nueva Galicia meeting in January. I'm not sure about the parents showing proof of their marriage at the time of their offspring's baptisms. It may be possible that in small towns such as the ones my parents grew up in, it was common knowledge. I recall my father telling me that the gentleman (his father's cousin) who recorded Church records knew everybody's business. He could easily recite individuals family history. I imagine he and his predecessors' were the same. I also remember my parents telling me that the child had to be baptized where ever they lived. Exceptions were made if the godparents lived somewhere else.
I have seen that priests or employees of the Church would go back and look for Baptism records to ensure that the betrothed had been Baptized before entering into a Catholic marriage. In these same baptism records, I have seen notations of their marriage date, place and spouse (ALSO if it was a 2nd or 3rd marriage).
I highly doubt in olden times that they would have been given copies of their marriage records. I was confirmed in Mexico at the ripe age of 16, and was never given a copy of my Confirmation, and that wasn't in olden times. :) I do recall that family members would often go to the Church to get copies of marriages, baptisms for matters of immigration, etc., so they weren't given copies at the time of the sacrament.

Irma Gomez Gtz de Lucero
Northern California