Early History
Guanica; Juan Ponce de Leon landed in the Guánica harbor on August 12, 1508, and founded a town called Guaynía, a word derived from the Taíno language that is popularly said to mean “Here is a place with water.” The city considered the first capital of the island of Puerto Rico (which was at that time named Isla de San Juan Bautista), was destroyed during the indigenous uprising in 1511. Europeans abandoned the area for some years when San Juan (formerly called Puerto Rico) became the island’s capital.
On July 25, 1898, American forces (including the young poet-writer Carl Sandburg led by General Nelson A. Miles) landed in Guánica as part of the Puerto Rican Campaign in the Spanish–American War.
This city is rich in history. If your family has its origin in Guanica, I recommend reading about it as you may find fascinating historical accounts. Who knows, maybe one of your ancestors had made an essential contribution to this city.
Map and Barrrios of Guanica
As you can see in the map above, I wanted to show you where Guanica is. Yauco is on the east, Lajas on the west, and Sabana Grande on the north. Therefore if you didn’t locate a record in the 1800s, I would identify the barrio they settled in and then look for the closest city for those records. For example, if your ancestor resided in Arena and you cannot find a document in Guancia, look at Laja’s books or Sabana Grande. Yauco would also be a place to research as well. While Guanica became a municipality in 1914, the records started in 1888.
Guanica Baptisms-Guanica Puerto Rico Church Indexes 1885 to 1944
| Book | Year | Image | Index |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 1888-1898 | 4 | Index |
| 2 | 1908-1909 | 241 | Index |
| 3 | 1910-1917 | 313 | Index |
| 4 | 1917-1924 | 575 | Index |
| 5 | 1924-1929 | 1105 | Index |
| 6 | 1929-1933 | 1373 | Index |
Duplicate Books for Baptisms-Guanica Puerto Rico Church Indexes 1885 to 1944
| Year | Image Start | Image Ends | Indexed |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1888-1898 | 150 | 353 | Index |
| 1908-1909 | 385 | 433 | Index |
| 1910-1917 | 460 | 729 | None |
| 1917-1924 | 732 | 1102 | None |
Marriage Books
| Book | Year | Image | Index | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1885-1885 | 931 | Index | There are fragments of marriage records before the book starts recording for 1885 (Image 931 to 945.) The index for those records is on (Image 1183 on the left before the index for A.) | |
| 1888-1933 | 1611 | Yes | ||
| 1909-1933 | 969 | Index |
Burials
Confirmation Books
| Year | Image |
|---|---|
| 1914-1941 | 1882 |
