Prisons in Puerto Rico in the 1800s and 1900s

While we are searching for ancestors, we never want to think the worst of them. We base our beliefs on how law are written today, but knowing in the back of our mind that they were different then. The way some of the laws were written in the 1800s, it makes you wonder who were the real criminals. For example, you were assumed guilty and needed to prove your innocence. Also, corruption ran rampant during the era with military controlled prisons. Laws that were based on an ideology that we frown upon today, such as slavery. People were incarcerated for trying to escape by any means necessary.

Today, we call it, defending ourselves to gain our human rights. This being said, you will find many that were incarcerated for just fighting for their right to be free or having different political views. At the same time, we also had serious criminals just like we do today, people murdering others, assaults, stealing, robberies, and taking advantage of others.

One of the prisons on the island of Puerto Rico in the 1800s was La Princesa in San Juan. Today is used as the office of tourism of Puerto Rico.

The following records are about the many prisoners that died while incarcerated on the island of Puerto Rico starting in the year 1800. It seems that as I go through some of the records, prisoners were likely to die behind a prison wall, including those with only six months sentences for minor infractions.

Below is a collection of hundreds of prison records of those that died behind prison walls across the island. The records include the name of the prisoner, their parents if known, the crime they committed, the date of the crime, the jail they were sent to, the date they were to be released, and the date of death. Some even include images. Below is one such image.

Prison (Carcel) Records Available Online

• 1800 – 1900 – Cajas 151 through 153
• 1800 – 1900 – Cajas 154 and 155
• 1800 – 1900 – Cajas 156 through 159
• 1800 – 1900 – Cajas 160 through 162
• 1800 – 1900 – Cajas 163 through 165
• 1900 – 1927 – Cajas 166 through 169
• 1901 – 1912 & 1933 – 1951 – Cajas 170 through 172
• 1933 – 1951 & 1861 – 1907 – Cajas 173 through 175
• 1866 – 1897, 1901 – 1911, & 1869 – 1900 Cajas 175 through 178
• 1900 – 1930 & 1903 – 1928 Cajas 179 through 182
• 1903 – 1923 Cajas 183 & 184 & 1930 – 1950 Cajas 219 through 221
• 1930 – 1950 Cajas 222 through 226
• 1930 – 1950 Cajas 226 through 227 & 1930 – 1950 Cajas 238 and 239
• 1901, 1906, & 1910 – 1920 Cajas 185 through 188
• 1897, 1903, 1910 – 1920, 1924, 1925 Cajas 188 through 193
• 1910 – 1920, 1902, 1917, 1925 Cajas 194 through 198
• 1903, 1910 – 1920, 1921, 1922 Cajas 199 through 203
• 1886, 1891, 1900, 1910 – 1920, 1897 – 1917, 1900 – 1922 Cajas 204 through 208
• 1895 – 1924 Cajas 209 through 212
• 1900 – 1925 Cajas 212 through 215
• 1902 – 1922 Cajas 206 through 218 & 1902 – 1950 Caja 228
• 1919 – 1925 Cajas 229 through 232
• 1919 – 1936 Cajas 232 through 236
• 1912, 1925 – 1936 Cajas 236 and 237; 1925 – 1940, 1894, 1912, 1893, 1945 Cajas 240 through 242
• 1930 – 1943 Cajas 243 through 245 & 1800 – 1810, 1827 Caja 1
• 1810 – 1859 Cajas 2 through 5
• 1850 – 1868, 1884 Cajas 5 through 9
• 1867 – 1869 Cajas 9 through 12
• 1869 – 1873 Cajas 12 throught 16
• 1886, 1891, 1894, 1896, 1898 Cajas 58 through 61
• 1891 – 1892 Cajas 61 through 64
• 1892 – 1893, 1894, 1900, 1912 Cajas 65 through 68
• 1893 – 1894 Cajas 69 through 72
• 1889, 1894 – 1895 Cajas 73 through 75
• 1896, 1898, 1902 Cajas 76 through 78
• 1896 – 1897 Cajas 79 through 82
• 1897 Cajas 82 through 85
• 1897 – 1899 Cajas 85 through 89
• 1899 Cajas 89 through 89c
• 1899 – 1901 Cajas 89d through 92
• 1901 – 1902 Cajas 93 through 96
• 1902 – 1903 Cajas 96 through 100
• 1903 – 1904 Cajas 100 through 103 & 1858 – 1927 Caja 216

Prison (Carcel) Records Available at FHC

• 1873 – 1877, 1892 Cajas 16 through 19
• 1875 – 1878, 1890 Cajas 19 through 22
• 1878 – 1880 Cajas 22 through 26
• 1880 – 1881, 1884 Cajas 26 through 29
• 1881 – 1882, 1883, 1884, 1887, 1892 Cajas 30 through 33
• 1882 – 1883, 1884, 1886,1892 Cajas 33 through 36
• 1883 – 1884, 1892 Cajas 37 through 40
• 1884 – 1887, 1889 Cajas 40 through 43
• 1885 – 1889, 1891, 1893, 1895 Cajas 44 through 47
• 1887 – 1888 Cajas 47 through 50
• 1888 – 1889, 1885, 1886, 1891, 1895, 1899 – 1920 Cajas 50 through 54
• 1885, 1886, 1889 – 1890, 1895, 1897 Cajas 54 through 57
• 1892 Cajas 64 and 65

References

Puerto Rico Historic Buildings Drawings Society. (2019, July 14). Antiigua Prision La Princesa. Retrieved from Puerto Rico Historic Buildings Drawings Society: https://www.prhbds.org/san-juan/2014/7/23/antigua-prisin-la-princesa