Guayanilla Church Records 1841 – 1941

Guayanilla, for those not familiar with the island, sits on Puerto Rico’s southwestern coast between Yauco and Peñuelas. It was once a part of Yauco, so it pays for those researching the region to keep this in mind when trying to locate ancestors in records. Another hint is that Ponce is just 12 miles to the east of Guayanilla. The municipality of Guayanilla was founded in 1831, but church records for Immaculada Concepcion Roman Catholic Church started in 1841.

Another worthy hint is that there are three rivers that run through the municipality, so we have to conclude that travel was not easy; keep this in mind when researching as well and search for routes for the era you are researching to figure out where to look next. Having this information in hand should help most researchers looking into this region. The below records will help any researcher, and hopefully, with the extensive records from Yauco, researchers should be able to locate their ancestors.

In Book 6 of Baptisms, I was shocked to discover an Index for this book as it covers people that were enslaved. I cannot recall ever coming across a church index that solely covered the enslaved in Puerto Rico. This is definitely a great resource for those researching their enslaved ancestors in the region. The available records are as follows.

Baptisms / Bautismos

Pardos & Enslaved Baptism Books

• Book 1A of Baptisms – Pardos Libres & Esclavos 1841 – 1847 (Image 122)
• Book 2 of Baptisms – Pardos Libres & Esclavos 1847 – 1850 (Image 311)
• Book 5 of Baptisms – Esclavos 1850 – 1859 (Image 560)
  • This can also be considered Book 3 as it continues from the above book/year
• Book 6 of Baptisms – 1860 – 1870 (Image 631) with Index in back

Blancos & Pardos Baptism Books

• Book 1 of Baptisms – Blancos 1841 – 1850 (Image 6)
• Book 2 of Baptisms – Blancos & Pardos 1850 – 1854 (Image 393)
  • This book is labeled as Book 4 but also known as Book 2 for Blancos as written on the intro page
• Book 7 of Baptisms – Blancos & Pardos 1854 – 1861 (Image 760) with Index in back
• Book 8 of Baptisms – Blancos & Pardos 1861 – 1865 (Image 1024) with Index in back
• Book 9 of Baptisms – Blancos & Pardos 1865 – 1870 (Image 1362) with Index in back

Books of Baptisms for All Classes

• Book 10 of Baptisms – 1869 – 1874 (Image 1698) with Index in back
• Book 11 of Baptisms – 1874 – 1878 (Image 5) with Index in back
• Book 12 of Baptisms – 1878 – 1882 (Image 343) with Index in back
• Book 13 of Baptisms – 1882 – 1885 (Image 671) with Index in back
• Book 14 of Baptisms – 1885 – 1889 (Image 911) with Index in back
• Book 15 of Baptisms – 1889 – 1892 (Image 1225) with Index in back
• Book 16 of Baptisms – 1892 – 1895 (Image 1561) with Index in back
• Book 17 of Baptisms – 1895 – 1901 (Image 1899) with Index in back
• Book 18 of Baptisms – 1901 – 1903 (Image 2284) continues below
• Book 18 of Baptisms – 1903 -1908 (Image 4) continuation of the above book
  • Book 18 above has an Index listed at the end of the second list above
• Book 19 of Baptisms – 1908 – 1913 (Image 371) with Index in back
• Book 20 of Baptisms – 1913 – 1919 (Image 658) with Index in back
• Book 21 of Baptisms – 1919 – 1925 ( Image 1047) with Index in back

Confirmations / Confirmaciones

• Book 1 of Confirmations 1850 – 1904 (Image 124)
• Book 2 of Confirmation 1904 – 1941 (Image 268)

Marriages / Matrimonios

• Book 1 of Marriages – Blancos – 1841 – 1868 (Image 1334)
• Book 1 of Marriages – Pardos & Esclavos 1841 – 1858 (Image 1377)
• Book 2 of Marriages – Blancos & Pardos 1868 – 1876 (Image 1556) with Index in back
• Book 3 of Marriages – 1876- 1893 (Image 1772) with Index in back
• Book 5 of Marriages – 1893 – 1912 (Image 2087)
  • Although the cover says Book 5, it is actually Book 4
• Book 5 of Marriages 1912 – 1917 (Image 5) with Index in the back
  • This is a continuation of the above book
• Book 6 of Marriage 1917 – 1927 (Image 52) with Index in the back

Deaths / Defunciones

• Book 1 of Deaths – 1841 – 1852 (Image 1437)
• Book 2 of Deaths – 1852 – 1855 (Image 1664)
• Book 3 of Deaths – 1856 – 1866 (Image 1824)
• Book 4 of Deaths – 1866 – 1875 (Image 2125)
• Book 5 of Deaths – 1875 – 1882 (Image 5)
• Book 6 of Deaths – 1882 -1887 (Image 292)
• Book 7 of Deaths – 1887 – 1892 (Image 500)
• Book 8 of Deaths – 1892 -1898 (Image 781)
• Book 9 of Deaths – 1898 – 1901 (Image 1088)
  • On the last two pages of this book, there are some entries added where it looks like the priest ran out of pages in the corresponding years and added them to this book. The entries are two for 1919, one for 1920 and one for 1933.