Puerto Rican Genealogy/Hispanic Genealogy
Before embarking on a search for your ancestors from Puerto Rico, it is very important to have a good background in the history and culture of Puerto Rico. Most birth, marriage and death records are kept at the local or town level so it is crucial to know the town(s) your ancestors came from. Additionally, it is important to know that the Catholic Church played a large role in Puerto Rican Society. Church records, also kept at the local level, provide valuable information about baptisms, marriages, First Communions, Confirmations, etc. A solid understanding of the roots of Hispanic surnames or family names is necessary because on official records, both the maternal and paternal surnames were used. Having an understanding of these names will help in the record deciphering process. Below is a list of books that cover much of the background understanding that will aid in a successful genealogy search. There are also a number of websites which are great sources for searching records and all of the websites listed below have detailed explanations and directions about how to best go about a search.
Image source: http://robertospuertorico.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/10/PR-Topo-1886-with-regions-in-color-225.jpg
Compiled 2019
Enciclopedia Puertorriquea Ilustrada. The Puerto Rican Heritage Encyclopedia.
By Ribes Tovar, Federico.
Publication Information:
San Juan, P.R., Plus Ultra Educational Publishers [1970]
Physical Description:
3 volumes illustrations, facisms., maps, portraits 26 cm.
General Note:
Parallel text: Spanish/English.
Geographic Term:
Puerto Rico -- Encyclopedias.
Puerto Rico -- History.
Call Number: F1958.R5 REF
Library: Downtown Library
Puerto Rico: Memorias de mi Isla
By Rodriguez, Eli S.
Publication Information:
Hartford, Conn.: T.J. Quirk Students’ Pub. Co., 1989.
Physical Description:
18 pages: ill., 23cm.
Geographic Term:
Puerto Rico
Call Number: F1958.5.R6 1989
Library: Downtown Library (Hartford History Center), Park Library
Puerto Rico: What Everyone Needs to Know
By Duany, Jorge.
Physical Description:
Xiv, 189 pages; 21cm.
Series:
What Everyone Needs to Know.
Contents:
Subject Term:
Cultural Pluralism – Puerto Rico.
Puerto Ricans – Migration
Geographic Term:
Puerto Rico – History.
Puerto Rico – Colonization.
Puerto Rico – Relations – United States.
United States – Relations – Puerto Rico.
Puerto Rico – Politics and Government.
Call Number: F1971.D83 2017
Library: Camp Field Library, Downtown Library, Park Library, Dwight Library
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Puerto Rico Past and Present: An Encyclopedia
by Fernandez, Ronald.
Publication Information:
Westport, Conn.: Greenwood Press, 1998.
Physical Description:
xxxii, 375 pages : illustrations ; 24 cm.
Geographic Term:
Puerto Rico -- Encyclopedias.
Call Number: F1954.F47 1998 REF
Library: Albany, Barbour, Camp Field, Dwight, Park
Historia de los Pueblos de Puerto Rico
By Toro Sugraes, Jos A.
Publication Information:
Rio Piedras, P.R.: Editorial Edil, c1995.
Physical Description:
429 p: col. Ill.; 22cm
Subject Term:
Cities and towns – Puerto Rico – History.
Geographic Term:
Puerto Rico – History, Local.
Call Number: F1971.T65 1995 REF
Library: Downtown Library
Memoria Corta: Una Breve Historia de Puerto Rico, 1800 a 2008
By Cruz-Ricart, Juan
Physical Description:
254 pages: illustrations; 22cm.
General Note:
Includes index
Geographic Term:
Puerto Rico – History – 19th Century.
Puerto Rico – History – 20th Century.
Puerto Rico – History – 21st Century.
Call Number: F1971 C78 2010
Library: Downtown, Dwight, Park
Finding Your Hispanic Roots
By Ryskamp, George R.
Publication Information:
Baltimore, MD: Genealogical Pub. Co., c1997.
Physical Description:
xv, 290 pages: illustrations; 23cm.
General Note:
Includes Index.
Subject Term:
Genealogy – Spain – Handbooks, manuals, etc.
Genealogy – Portugal – Handbooks, manuals, etc.
Genealogy – Latin America – Handbooks, manuals, etc.
Call Number: CS943.R97 1997
Library: Downtown Library
Hispanic Surnames and Family History
By Platt, Lyman De.
Publication Information:
Baltimore, MD: Genealogical Pub. Co., 1996.
Physical Description:
349 pages; 23cm.
Subject Term:
Names, Personal – Spanish.
Hispanic Americans – Genealogy – Bibliography.
Geographic Term:
Latin America – Genealogy – Bibliography.
Call Number: CS2745.P55 1996 REF
Library: Downtown Library
Bird of Paradise: How I Became Latina
By Cepeda, Raquel.
Edition:
First Atria Books hardcover edition
Publication Information:
New York: Atria Books, c2013.
Physical Description:
315 pages; 24cm.
General Note:
Includes index.
Personal Subject:
Cepeda, Raquel.
Cepeda, Raquel-Family.
Subject Term:
Hispanic American Women – Biography.
Hispanic American Women – Ethnic Identity.
Hispanic Americans – Biography.
Hispanic Americans – Ethnic Identity.
Genetic Genealogy.
Call Number: CT275.C383 A3 2013
Library: Albany, Camp Field, Downtown Library, Park
Puerto Rican Genealogy
Hispanic Genealogy
Before embarking on a search for your ancestors from Puerto Rico, it is very important to have a good background in the history and culture of Puerto Rico. Most birth, marriage and death records are kept at the local or town level so it is crucial to know the town(s) your ancestors came from. Additionally, it is important to know that the Catholic Church played a large role in Puerto Rican Society. Church records, also kept at the local level, provide valuable information about baptisms, marriages, First Communions, Confirmations, etc. A solid understanding of the roots of Hispanic surnames or family names is necessary because on official records, both the maternal and paternal surnames were used. Having an understanding of these names will help in the record deciphering process. Below is a list of books that cover much of the background understanding that will aid in a successful genealogy search. There are also a number of websites which are great sources for searching records and all of the websites listed below have detailed explanations and directions about how to best go about a search.
Familysearch is a nonprofit organization operated by the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints. Its offers the largest database of free genealogical records and family trees:
https://www.familysearch.org/wiki/en/Puerto_Rico_Genealogy
Puerto Rican Genealogy is a website that provides guidance about how to begin a search for ancestors using Puerto Rican records. There is detailed information about surnames, towns, and how to decipher church and town records:
https://puertoricangenealogy.weebly.com/
The New York Public Library set up a Puerto Rican Genealogy Guide in 2018. It is a tremendous resource with instructions and links about how to get started:
https://www.nypl.org/blog/2018/08/31/puerto-rico-genealogy-guide-reasons-research
The Library of Congress provides a great list of books and resources for further reading about Puerto Rican Genealogy:
https://www.loc.gov/rr/genealogy/bib_guid/hispanic/puertorico.html
US Census
Puerto Rico has been included in the US Census since 1910. The census records are in Spanish and include records from the 1910, 1920, 1930, 1940 Censuses. The records for the 1950 census will be released in 2022.
Image by Nicolas Raymond (http://freestock.ca/flags_maps_g80-puerto_rico_grunge_flag_p1109.html)
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