San Juan Church Records, find your ancestors.

History of the city of San Juan

Before I write about the San Juan Church records and how to find your ancestors, let me explain a little history on why we lack documents.

On November 19, 1493, Puerto Rico Europeans arrived on our island. According to history, Italian explorer and colonizer Christopher Columbus was the first on his second voyage westwards. However, it was not until August 1508 that Juan Ponce de León discovered the San Juan Bay, naming it Puerto Rico. 

San Juan was fortified after multiple raids by French pirates along the coast and various insurrections against the Spanish by the local Taínos in the following decades.

The Fort, also known as the “Morro”

Erected in 1537, La Fortaleza is not in an advantageous location. It provides no protection to the port’s mouth and only protects the new town of San Juan from the south, where the assumption was the attackers were already in San Juan Bay. The poor placement of La Fortaleza and growing fears of British and Dutch pirates instigated Castillo San Felipe del Morro (El Morro) in 1539. San Juan did no further fortifications or general growth until 1582, when Captain-General Menéndez de Valdés arrived to govern the newly upgraded presidio or military encampment. Menéndez de Valdés added to El Morro added some of the city’s walls and created the Boquerón Battery (now Fort San Gerónimo del Boquerón).

These new additions were tested when in 1595, British privateer Sir Francis Drake attacked San Juan. Drake was unsuccessful because of some tactical errors and the well-prepared Spanish military. Not only had Menéndez de Valdés added new fortifications, but a fleet of frigates sitting in San Juan Bay and sunken hulls blocked the bay’s entrance.

British Attack

In 1598 the British attacked again, sending Sir George Clifford to capture San Juan. Clifford intended not to repeat Drake’s mistakes and seized the islet in the east by the Boquerón Battery and San Antonio Bridge. 

No significant fortifications existed between the Boquerón Battery and El Morro, and Clifford could march directly to El Morro. After cutting supplies to El Morro, he successfully acquired a Spanish surrender. Still, the tropical heat and diseases overwhelmed the British troops and forced them to retreat and leave the island. In response to these attacks, the Spanish rebuilt parts of San Juan throughout the following decade, reinforced El Morro and the Boquerón Battery, and built a wooden fort, San Juan de la Cruz, on El Cañuelo Island. This fort would prove helpful as the firepower at El Morro could no longer be avoided without engaging San Juan de la Cruz. And this fort also protected the mouth of the Bayamón River.

At the beginning of the 17th century, the Dutch West India Company sold enslaved people knives, mirrors, cloth, and flour in exchange for tobacco, sugar, dyewoods, and hides. In 1625, these Dutch privateers under Boudewijn Hendricksz attacked San Juan hoping to hold a more secure hold in the Caribbean. Hendricksz faced little resistance as the civilians fled due to the existing untrained soldiers of a volunteer reserve. However, Hendrickzs failed to capture San Juan for the Dutch. Meanwhile, as Hendrickzs attacked El Morro, smaller militias attacked the Dutch. Knowing it was futile, Hendrickzs collected all the wealth from the civilian homes and burned San Juan to the ground before leaving San Juan for good.

The lack of church records for the 17th and 16th centuries

A majority of church records during this period do not exist. Some discoveries of documents have survived from the 17th century, but not many. What we do have will allow some researchers to investigate their ancestors. If you are one of the lucky descendants, you may even make a connection to your ancestor’s homeland.

As a researcher for over 25 years, I still come across statements by individuals who claim to have traced their families to the 1500s in Puerto Rico. Or when they indicate they have traced their ancestor to a Specific Taino. I really would like to see their paper trail. My research has taken me to the early 17th century with some of my family lines. But due to a lack of records, I have not been able to link anyone outside the island. 

Researching neighboring towns

As you research the records in San Juan, remember that your ancestor could have lived in a neighboring town but traveled to San Juan to register their children. For example, I have a line residing in a village in Aibonito, Puerto Rico. Consequently, their records are in Coamo. The same could be valid with San Juan and Rio Piedras. So remember, pull out a map and pay special attention to the record.

In most cases, the priest will indicate the town they reside. With that information, see which church was closest to their residence. In this article, I have combined the records transcribed by two volunteers. Their work is invaluable for a researcher and will save you hours of research. 

Available Church Records for San Juan:

Family Search

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Marriage Index, Nuesta Señora de Remedios

• This Article contains all the Indexes, transcriptions, and observations of all the Parish Baptism books in the films for FamilySearch in San Juan, Puerto Rico. Click

Burials Indexes, Nuesta Señora de Remedios

• This Article contains all the Indexes, transcriptions, and observations of all the Parish Baptism books in the films for FamilySearch in San Juan, Puerto Rico. Click

San Mateo de Cangrejos, Santurce, San Juan Transcribed Records

• Additional baptisms transcription.
• While researching, I found many people in these books that I did not find in the San Juan records.

Enslaved Baptism records

Marriages for San Mateo