Maureen,

Linda is correct in that confirmation records only list the names of those being confirmed and their Godparents. That was the requirement per the diocese, not by the parish or local priest. In the 1600's, 1700's and the early 1800's it was per the decree of the Spanish court or La cedula real. Usually the bishop would travel to all the parishes to administer the Sacrament of Confirmation. It might take the bishop a few years to make it back to each parish again so you will find confirmation records anywhere from every 2 years to every 7-10 years. In some instances they might have to go to another church to be confirmed other than their own parish if the Bishop could not come to their town. In that case you would look in neighboring parishes for confirmation records but I wouldn't necessarily advise you to do that because the information you glean from that will be minimal.

Alicia,
San Jose, Calif

----- Original Message ----
From: Maureen Bejar
To: research@lists.nuestrosranchos.org
Sent: Tuesday, December 19, 2006 11:46:55 AM
Subject: [Nuestros Ranchos] Confirmations

Dear Linda:
Thanks for the heads up. I can only hope that San Miguel might have more than just names. What a shame. However, the marriage and baptismal records for Mexico are just wonderful. I have sent for Ohio marriage records and all it lists is the bride, groom and date. No way to tell if you have the right ones by matching up the parents names. For Mexico, we have so much more and even grandparents for baptismals as well as sometimes an aunt or uncle as a sponsor for a bonus, then their age too!