Early History
Sabana del Palmar, as it was known, had a name change. It is now known as Comerío. June 12, 1826, is the original founding date.
In 1854, nearly 1000 acres (1000 cuerdas) of land were used for agriculture. But, only one sugar and two coffee plantations remained in 1894. During the early 20th century, Comerio residents had a short but legendary territory war with residents of Barranquitas. As this is not something I am familiar with, I am investigating the territory war. Once I find the information, I will write an article and link it here. Make sure you are subscribed to this website. You will receive an email when I post new content.
Districts (Barrios)
Like all municipalities of Puerto Rico, Comerío is subdivided into barrios. They include municipal buildings, a central square, and a sizeable Catholic church. They are located in a small barrio referred to as “el pueblo” near the center of the municipality.
Observations of the Parish Books
Unfortunately, the first four baptismal books are missing. It consists of baptisms until the mid-19th century. This is a loss for a researcher. The first burial records begin in 1832 to1852. Among other valuable documents is one related to the erection of the parish: November 12, 1832. (This is not filmed or available below in the index.)
Dra. Norma Feliberi Adebol, President of the SPG, is very knowledgeable about this town. Therefore, she may know about your family lines if they are from this town. In addition, she has transcribed plenty of marriages and burial books from the 19th century.
Books Indexes cover the years from1832-1940
Baptisms
Pardo/Esclavos Books
| Image | Notes |
|---|---|
| 54 | Book 2 of Pardos has a note in January 1850 about the decree to recombine the “Pardos Libres” with Whites and to begin recording the grandparents. Image 54/folio 47: “Ordena y manda que en lo succesivo se describan en un solo libro todas las partidas de los bautismos de personas blancas y pardas, continuandose solamente en libro diferente las de los esclavos; y asi mismo que en todas y cada una de las partidas se individeron el nombre y apellido de los abuelos paternos y maternos de los bautizados.” (Source; Many thanks to Salli M. for making me aware of this.) |
| Book | YEAR | Image | Index |
|---|---|---|---|
| 3-Missing | 1848 to 1854 | 304 |
All Races
All Races
| Book | Year | Image | Index | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 7 | 1867-1870 | 588 | 562 | |
| 8 | 1871-1874 | 913 | 892 | |
| 9 | 1874-1878 | 1222 | ||
| 10 | 1878-1881 | 1587 | ||
| 11 | 1881-1884 | 1903 | ||
| 12 | 1884-1886 | 4 | ||
| 13 | 1886-1889 | 257 | 233 | |
| 14 | 1889-1893 | 570 | ||
| 15 | 1893-1896 | 923 | 901 | |
| 16 | 1896-1900 | 1355 | ||
| 17 | 1900-1903 | 1238 | ||
| 18 | 1903-1905 | 1466 | ||
| 19 | 1905-1906 | 1555 | ||
| 20 | 1906-1907 | 1775 | ||
| 21 | 1908 | 1880 | ||
| 22 | 1908-1915 | 1986 | ||
| 23 | 1912-1915 | 4 | ||
| 24 | 1915-1918 | 363 | ||
| 25 | 1918-1922 | 617 | ||
| 26 | 1922-1925 | 981 | ||
| 27 | 1925-1927 | 1896 | ||
| 28 | 1927-1928 | 1687 |
Comerio Natimuertos
| Cuadero Especial | Year | Image | Description |
|---|---|---|---|
| Special Entry | 1885-1891 | 2591 | Cuaderno Especial Para las anotaciones de los niños que nacen muertos ó mueren antes de ser inscritos. (For the entries of children who are stillborn or die before being enrolled.) |
Marriages
A transcription is available for book 1A, which covers 1833-1855. Scroll down and click on the blue button.
| Book | Year | Image | Index |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1A | 1833-1855 | 5 | |
| 1B | 1833-1860 | 113 | |
| 2 | 1856-1868 | 172 | |
| 3 | 1868-1881 | 322 | |
| 4 | 1882-1890 | 573 | |
| 5 | 1890-1901 | 708 | 1009 |
| 6 | 1901-1903 | 933 | |
| 7 | 1903-1906 | 1014 | 1008 |
| 8 | 1906-1909 | 1068 | 1224 |
| 9 | 1909-1921 | 1243 | |
| 10 | 1921-1929 | 1429 | |
| 11 | 1929-1940 | 1691 |
Burials
| Book | Year | Race/Notes | Image | Index | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 1832-1852 | 1396 | |||
| 2 | 1852-1862 | 2147 | 2294 | ||
| 3 | 1862-1869 | 4 | The index in this book belongs to Baptisms Book #3, which has not been located. Once it is located, this site will be updated. Therefore, there is no index for this book. | ||
| 4 | 1869-1876 | 330 | |||
| 5 | 1876-1881 | 639 | 818 | This index does not belong to this book. Once the appropriate book is located, this site will be updated. Therefore, there is no index for this book. | |
| 6 | 1887 | 850 | 841 | ||
| 7 | 1887-1895 | 1062 | 1369 | ||
| 8 | 1895-1898 | 1899 | 2294 |
Confirmations
Padrón general de almas de dicho Pueblo
| Census of Indviduals in Sabana de PalmarFilm # 008139927 Archivo General, Juana Díaz | Year | Image |
|---|---|---|
| This is a list of residents listed in 1838 in Sabana del Palmar (Comerio) | 1838 | 2413 |
This is a list of residents listed in 1850 in Sabana del Palmar (Comerio) | 1850 | 2351 |
| Box-12, General Census of Residents | 1860 | 1677 |
| Box-13 | 1858-1860 | 1834 |
| Box-14, Appears to start in 1842 and continues to 1860 | 1842-1860 | 2424 |
| Comerio Censo Caja A-7, Entradas y Salidas | 1842 | 2217 |
Transcriptions
Below is a transcription donated by Virginia Díaz. (Thank you)
Comerio-Marriages-Book-1A-1833-1855-2Below is a transcription donated by Olga A. Figueroa. (Thank you) It is an Excel file. Therefore, it will download automatically.
Comerio Baptism Book 1832-1840Sources
- Wikipedia
- Historical Archives of Puerto Rico, 1964, page 6, Lino Gomez
- Family Search
- A thank you to Carol Dunkleberger for alerting me about issues with the indexes.
Founder of Comerio
“June 12, 1826 • Sabana del Palmar, Comerio, Puerto Rico
Uno de los fundadores del pueblo, Don Gerónimo Rivera Melendez, donó parte de los terrenos que dedicaba a la agricultura en su “Estancia del Palmar” para levantar La Casa del Rey, La Iglesia y la Plaza. Información suministrada por el Municipio de Comerío.”
My 3rd Great Grandfather Geronimo Rivera Melendez and his brother Esteban Rivera Melendez donated part of the land in which Comerio was built after they recieved it thru his Mother Inheritance and also contributed to build the First Catholic Church Santo Cristo de La Salud finalized in 1828.. The other Founders and Contributors were, Jose Rosa Carmona, Eduardo y Alejo Vazquez,Antonio y Domingo Diaz,Bernardo Perez, Pascual Sanchez, Feliciano Matos y Fernando Rodriguez. I have it all documented.
Thank you for the history you posted!
The index for the third death book is actually an index for a baptism book that was from 1848 to 1854.
Thank you, will take a look.
[…] way to the town of Toa Alta. Naranjito is a municipality that sits north of Barranquitas and Comerio but south of Toa Alta. Just west of Naranjito sits Corozal. It is a good idea to search the […]
My Fontanez line has lived there since the 1840s, and I have other lines living there since the 1830s.
Fantastic. How far back have you traced your line to? Who is your oldest Fontanez ancestor?
Around 1715. My oldest Fontanez ancestor is Antonio Fontanez. I found his name in the marriage record of his son in Bayamon with the year listed as 1773..
Love this!