Puerto Rico Newspapers – Find Your Ancestors in the 1800s and 1900s
One of the places that people do not realize exist in digital format is newspapers. Puerto Rico had more than just local newspapers, they also had the Gazette. The Gazette was known to have information involving government transactions.
It is great that you can locate an ancestor in civil and church records, but it doesn’t tell you how they lived. You can read up on history through records to understand the era, but it does not provide a full view on their way of living. Through the Gazette, local newspapers, and court records, you’ll discover that your ancestor had land and animals.
I found my 4th great grandfather, Miguel Bayala, in the paper with his animals escaping, and the results were that he would receive a fine for it. Apparently, he was not very attentive in ensuring his animals did not escape. However, it also lets me know what types of animals he had. While the newspapers are not full sets, it is better to have something than nothing. So here is what I have found so far.
- Puerto Rico Gazeta 1836 – 1902
- La Correspondencia de Puerto Rico 1890 – 1917
- La Democracia 1891 – 1907
Also, there are limited church records available for the western part of the island, however, there are always other options and we can thank the University of Connecticut for providing an additional resource. Their Thomas J. Dodd Research Center obtained records about the Arecibo appellate court back in 2000 for the towns of Arecibo, Barceloneta, Camuy, Ciales, Hatillo, Manati, Morovis, Quebradillas, and Utuado between the years of 1844 and 1900.
These records include civil cases involving slaves, lands, and livestock. Unfortunately for the General Archives of Puerto Rico, they fought but lost their fight for this collection. For a genealogist, this is quite fortunate as the records have now been made available via archive.org. You can read up more about what occurred by visit the school’s website. The collection is located below.
In addition, there are plans underway to digitized Boletin Mercantil de Puerto Rico that covers years from 1871 to 1915, but as of the publishing of this post, this has not occurred yet.
As I come across more resources, I’ll be more than happy to share in another post. In the meantime, HAPPY RESEARCHING!
Looking for my Aunts Birth Certificate, Family from Barrio Playa, Anasco County Puerto Rico can some one point me in the right Direction if at all possible?
I will like to know more about my ancestor in the island of Puerto Rico. Who my family was?
Hi Filiberto, you should definitely start with the town of where your family lived on the island and then look at civil and church records to help build out your tree.