Puerto Rico Colonial Records

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Puerto Rico

Colonial Records

Spanish Colonization (1493-1898)

Spanish explorer Christopher Columbus landed at Puerto Rico on his second voyage to the Americas in 1493, and he originally named the place San Juan Bautista. In 1508, Juan Ponce de León founded the first Spanish settlement in Puerto Rico. Puerto Rico became recognized as an overseas province of Spain in 1809 in an effort to keep other European nations out. In 1898, following the Spanish-American War, Puerto Rico was ceded to the United States along with Guam and the Philippines. This went into effect in 1899.

Record collection	Years covered	Record type	Language	Who is in the records
Puerto Rico, Civil Registration, 1805-2001	1805-2001	Civil Registration		Civil records from 1805 to 2001 from the 78 municipalities of Puerto Rico
Extranjeros (Foreigners in Puerto Rico), ca 1807-1880	ca. 1807-1880	Records of foreigners in Puerto Rico	Spanish and French	Foreigners in Puerto Rico
Puerto Rico, Catholic Church Records, 1645-1969	1645-1969	Baptisms, confirmations, parish censuses, marriages, deaths, and indexes
Puerto Rico Records of Foreign Residents, 1815-1845 -images only	1815-1845	Requests by foreigners for permission to reside in Puerto Rico, some correspondence, lists of foreigners residing in Puerto Rico, and a few copies of final naturalization papers	Spanish	Foreigners in Puerto Rico
Matrimonios, 1811-1874 - images only	1811-1874	Marriage	Spanish
Pasaportes, 1795-1889 - images, and a few indexed	1795-1811	Nineteenth-century Puerto Rican emigration records, including passports; documents in the "Gobernadores Españoles" collection of the Puerto Rico General Archive.	Spanish	Puerto Rican emigration records
Puerto Rico, Registro Central de Esclavos, 1872 at Ancestry - index & images	1872	Slave registers	Spanish	Enslaved people in Puerto Rico
Puerto Rico, Records of Foreign Residents, 1815-1845 at Ancestry - images	1815-1845	Naturalization records	Spanish	Foreigners living in Puerto Rico
Puerto Rico, Records of Foreigners, 1815-1845 Ancestry.com - images	1815-1845	Naturalization records	Spanish	Foreigners living in Puerto Rico

United States (1898-present)

Ceded to the United States following the Spanish-American War, in 1898, Puerto Rico is an unincorporated territory of the United States.

Record collection	Years covered	Record type	Language	Who is in the records
Puerto Rico, Civil Registration, 1805-2001	1805-2001	Civil Registration		Civil records from 1805 to 2001 from the 78 municipalities of Puerto Rico
Puerto Rico, Catholic Church Records, 1645-1969	1645-1969	Baptisms, confirmations, parish censuses, marriages, deaths, and indexes
Puerto Rico, Civil Registrations, 1885-2001 at Ancestry ($) - index & images	1885-2001	Births, marriages and deaths	Spanish	Puerto Ricans
Puerto Rico, Passenger and Crew Lists, 1901-1962 at Ancestry ($) - index & images	1901-1962	Immigration records	Spanish	People who immigrated or traveled to Puerto Rico
Puerto Rico, Social and Population Schedules, 1935-1936 at Ancestry ($) - index & images	1935-1936	Census	Spanish	Residents of Puerto Rico
Puerto Rico, Special Censuses, Agriculture Schedules, 1935 at Ancestry ($) - index & images	1935	Census	Spanish	Puerto Rican farmers
U.S. Federal Censuses - links to all major databases	1900-1940	Census	Spanish and English	Residents of Puerto Rico
U.S. World War II Navy Muster Rolls, 1938-1949 at Ancestry ($) - index & images	1938-1949	Muster rolls	English	Puerto Ricans, who served in the Navy during WWII
U.S., World War II Draft Registration Cards, 1942 at Ancestry ($) - index & images	1942	Draft registration cards	English	Puerto Rican men between 18 and 65
U.S., Returns from Military Posts, 1806-1916 at Ancestry ($) - index & images	1806-1916	Military records	English	Members of the U.S. military
U.S., Applications for Seaman's Protection Certificates, 1916-1940 at Ancestry ($) - index & images	1916-1940	Passports	English	Seamen
United States, Officer Down Memorials, 1791-2014 at Ancestry ($) - index	1791-2014	Police records	English	Police officers who were killed in the line of duty

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