Reynosa Church Baptism Records 1800 – 1912

This book is an index of the Reynosa Church Baptism Records 1800 – 1912 that has over 15,000 entries. The purpose of this book and my hopes for it is that it makes it easier for you to research your ancestors from Reynosa, Tamaulipas, Mexico.

The interest for this index was a desire to research my wife’s ancestors.

A little background information, Reynosa was founded on March 14, 1749, with 297 inhabitants by captain Carlos Cantu under the command of Jose de Escandon y Helguera the Count of Sierra Gorda. From this early date, many people have called Reynosa home and many people on both sides of the Rio Grande River have roots in Reynosa.

Over the years it seems that there has been little genealogy research done about families from Reynosa and I think that this is due to the lack of easily available research material for Reynosa.

Thankfully until several years ago, no widely available genealogical index record books existed for Reynosa. It all changed with the publication of “Libro de Matrimonios de Reynosa 1790-1811” in 2015 by Mario Davila. Then in 2017, Anthony Garza published a more complete index in two volumes “Matrimonios de Reynosa Años 1791-1912: Volume I: Apellidos A-K (Volume 1)” and “Matrimonios de Reynosa Años 1791-1912: Volume II: Apellidos L-Z (Volume 2)”.

Please note that the baptism records for 1810 through 1820 are missing. This index is a transcription of a handwritten index found on microfilm reel #1 of the Frank Cushman Pierce Collection. A copy of this microfilm can be found at the University of Texas Rio Grande Valley in Edinburg, Texas. They can also be consulted at The Brownsville Historical Association’s Market Square Research Center located at 1150 Market Square in Brownsville, Texas 78520.

On that note, I want to thank Gene Fernandez and the management of the Brownsville Historical Associating for recognizing the importance of putting this index on a book form and granting permission to have this work done. This index is over 100 years old and this book is the first transcription and organization of it.

The benefit of this book is that all the baptisms are organized in alphabetical order by the last name of the child and it does not jump around as the original does. It is also very clear to read the names and the researcher does not have to decipher the writing.

Cover of Book Reynosa Church Baptism Records 1800 – 1912

How to Find Copies of Orginal Baptism Records For Reynosa

If you find your ancestors within the pages of this book you can find copies to most baptisms of Reynosa at the University of Texas Rio Grande Valley’s Lower Rio Grande Valley Special Collections in the boxes of
the Reynosa Archives.

To help you out, here is a listing of the baptism records available at the university:

Reynosa Archives Box 1, File Folder 1 contains Baptisms from 1820 – 1836
Reynosa Archives Box 1, File Folder 2 contains Baptisms from 1850 – 1859
Reynosa Archives Box 1, File Folder 3 contains Baptisms from 1859 – 1868
Reynosa Archives Box 1, File Folder 4 contains Baptisms from 1868 – 1870
Reynosa Archives Box 2, File Folder 5 contains Baptisms from 1870 – 1873
Reynosa Archives Box 2, File Folder 6 contains Baptisms from 1873 – 1880
Reynosa Archives Box 2, File Folder 8 contains Baptisms from 1880 – 1884
Reynosa Archives Box 2, File Folder 10 contains Baptisms from 1884 – 1887
Reynosa Archives Box 2, File Folder 11 contains Baptisms from 1887 – 1892

The above list is what I am aware that exists, keep in mind that I have not gone to Reynosa to see what is available and I do not know if there are any other baptism records available anywhere else in the United States.

With a little research, I found a 1913 book titled “Guide to Materials for the History of the United States in the Principal Archives of Mexico” by Herbert E. Bolton we know that the baptism records for Reynosa were available from 1800 – 1913 but with the years 1814 – 1820 missing.

It is unfortunate that the baptism records from the 1750 – 1800 have been lost to time. We are also at the same time very fortunate that Frank Cushman Pierce either created or commissioned someone to index the baptism records available up until 1912 when the index was created.

We are also very fortunate that the Lower Rio Grande Special Collections has in its archives copies of the baptism records covering 1820-1836 and 1850-1892. These copies are available to researchers like you and me.

One can only wish that the missing records for Reynosa, Tamaulipas, Mexico may one day reappear.

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