Introduction to Puerto Rico Genealogy: Other Resources

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Library of Congress

The National Archives and Records Administration (NARA) Though individuals born in Puerto Rico are American citizens, some residents of Puerto Rico have become naturalized U. S. citizens, Some copies of naturalization records have been transferred to regional offices.

The National Archives at New York City holds "permanent records created by Federal agencies and courts" in Puerto Rico, including naturalization records. For more information, review the Guide to Puerto Rico Records in the National Archives New York City. 

Maps in the Perry-Castaneda Collection at the University of Texas at Austin collections include digitized historical, city, pilotage, mineral, and political maps of Puerto Rico.

WorldCat

Birth record (Acta de Nacimiento), 1907 [detail], Ancestry Library Edition. (accessed April 2018)

Births in Puerto Rico often occurred at home. A parent or other relative would have to register the birth at a municipal office, and this is where we get the "Acta de nacimiento", or birth register. Below is a glossary of the terms and phrases shown in these documents:

The beginning of the birth register should indicate in what municipality/town the birth was registered. Depending on where your ancestor was born, their birth record might show a different municipality than their adult home address.

The text of the birth register document reads as follows:

Register of Birth

In the [name of municipality/town], at [numerical hour of the day] on the [numerical day] of the [month] of the [year spelled out in words], before [name of Judge], Judge of the Municipal District of [name of District], and [name of Secretary], Secretary, appeared [name of declarant], of [hometown (country, if not Puerto Rico)], adult, of [marital status], [profession], and resident of [street address and number], in order to register a [daughter / son], and to do that as [relationship to child]:

That said [daughter / son] was born at the home of the declarant on [xx day of xx month].

That this child is the [legitimate / acknowledged / illegitimate] child of the declarant and [information about other parent; this section might include information on grandparents, as well].

That this child is [granddaughter/grandson] of [paternal grandfather's name], [aged xx years / deceased], and [maternal grandfather's name], [aged xx years / deceased].

And that this child has been given the name [name of child].

All of which was been witnessed by [names and titles of witnesses].

Sealed by the Municipal Court Judge, declarant, and witnesses.

Some useful phrases in translation:

mil novecientos = 19__ (rarely, "mil ochocientos" = 18__)

comparecio = appears

legitimo = legitimate

natural = illegitimate

ya difunto = deceased

de __ años de edad = is __ years old

Some records also list the race of the child, which literally translate as: blanca/o = white; mestiza/o = literally "mixed", typically refers to a person of Spanish and Native American ancestry; mulata/o = a person with one parent of African descent and one parent of European descent; negra/o = black; parda/o = brown; triqueña/o = "three cultures".

Forums and Groups:

Taino Resources:

Taino are indigenous people of the Caribbean, and inhabited the island (then called Boriken) for centuries before Christopher Columbus' arrival in 1493.

1930 Federal Census [detail], Ancestry Library Edition. (accessed April 2018)

Residents of Puerto Rico are counted in the following Federal Census years:

• 1910
• 1920
• 1930
• 1940
• 1950–Present*

In 1900, only U.S. armed forces in Puerto Rico were included.

A Social and Population Schedule was conducted in Puerto Rico in 1935 and 1936, and an Agricultural Schedule in 1935. From Ancestry Library Edition:

"Agricultural schedules are useful for both historians and family historians, providing an overall view of the agricultural state of the nation. These schedules recorded statistics on farms, plantations, and market gardens, listing the names of owners, agents, and managers. The type of statistics recorded included the total acreage of land, the value of the farm, machinery and livestock, amount of staples (wool, cotton, grain, etc.) produced, and the value of animals slaughtered, etc."

*Census records are made publicly available after seventy-two years.

Under Spanish rule and through the American era (1898–Present), Catholicism has been the dominant religion of the island. Most genealogists may therefore find useful information in Catholic church records.

Guides to Records at NARA NYC:

Other Puerto Rico Records at NARA

The National Archives catalog can be searched online at catalog.archives.gov. In addition to maps, photographs, moving images, and sound recordings, NARA holds records pertaining to Puerto Rico, including:

• The Puerto Rico Reconstruction Administration
• Records of the Spanish Governors of Puerto Rico