Spaniards’ Request To Travel to Puerto Rico

Introduction

Spaniards’ requests to travel to Puerto Rico appeared in the Official Gazette of the province of Santander (1833–1892). These records contain passport requests and boarding license files, also known in Spanish as Expedientes de licencias de embarque. Furthermore, these valuable historical documents provide researchers and genealogists with important migration information connected to Puerto Rico during the nineteenth century. In many cases, the records identify individuals who later settled in Puerto Rico and established families across the island. Therefore, these documents may help descendants reconnect with their ancestral origins in Spain. Additionally, they may provide clues unavailable in traditional church or civil records. Moreover, these migration documents may reveal social and economic connections between Spain and Puerto Rico during the nineteenth century.

Historical Background

The particular records included in this collection date from 1846 through 1885. In addition, this list contains several actual passport records that provide detailed genealogical information, including names, ages, places of origin, parents, ships, and ports of departure. Consequently, these documents can help researchers trace Spanish ancestors who immigrated to Puerto Rico. Moreover, the records may reveal migration patterns between Spain and the Caribbean during the nineteenth century. For example, some individuals traveled first to Cuba or Mexico before eventually settling in Puerto Rico.

Likewise, these records occasionally provide details unavailable in parish or civil registrations. Meanwhile, other entries may only contain brief travel notices published in the Santander Gazette. Nevertheless, even short notices may contain important genealogical clues. Furthermore, some records identify ships and departure ports that may assist researchers in reconstructing migration timelines. Similarly, researchers may discover relatives who traveled together or settled in the same Puerto Rican communities.

Migration Records for Cuba and Mexico

Although only ten passports are currently included for Puerto Rico, the remaining entries consist of official requests published in the Santander Gazette. Meanwhile, researchers may also find related migration records for Cuba and Mexico, which appear to contain significantly larger collections. As a result, individuals researching Spanish migration throughout the Caribbean and Latin America may discover relatives who traveled between multiple Spanish colonies. Additionally, these records may assist descendants seeking to identify ancestral hometowns in Spain. Similarly, the records can help establish timelines for immigration and settlement patterns. Furthermore, researchers may discover relatives who migrated multiple times throughout the Spanish Caribbean. In contrast, some individuals may appear only once in the records, making each entry especially important. Finally, researchers should carefully review every entry because even brief notices may contain valuable genealogical clues.

Spanish Passport Applications to Puerto Rico

The following alphabetical index includes individuals connected to passport applications and travel authorizations to Puerto Rico. In addition, some entries contain direct passport issuance information, departure dates, ship names, and places of origin. Therefore, researchers should review each record carefully. Furthermore, spelling variations and multiple surname formats may appear throughout the records. Consequently, genealogists should search for alternate spellings when tracing Spanish ancestors connected to Puerto Rico. Likewise, researchers should compare these records with Puerto Rico church records, civil registrations, census records, and notarial collections. As a result, descendants may uncover additional details about migration routes, occupations, and family connections. Additionally, some entries may provide enough information to identify exact hometowns in Spain. Meanwhile, other entries may confirm family traditions previously unsupported by documentary evidence.

Genealogical Importance of These Records

These passport applications and boarding license files are extremely valuable for genealogical research. In many cases, the records identify parents, places of origin, ships, ages, and intended destinations. Consequently, they can help researchers connect Spanish immigrants to families later found in Puerto Rico civil and church records. Additionally, these documents may provide clues that are unavailable in traditional parish or civil registrations. Therefore, researchers should carefully review every entry, even when only limited information appears in the published notices. Furthermore, these records may complement church, census, military, and notarial records already used in Puerto Rican genealogical research. Likewise, they may assist researchers attempting to identify ancestral towns in Spain. Ultimately, these records provide an important resource for studying Spanish migration to Puerto Rico during the nineteenth century. Moreover, they may help descendants better understand the journeys and origins of their Spanish ancestors.

Country	Link	Number of Records
Cuba	Click	766
Mexico	Click	1725
Puerto Rico	See table below	10

Indexes

A to B

A, B, C	Name	Note	Year
A	Alles, Julián de	Passport application published in the Official Gazette of Santander to travel to Puerto Rico	1854
	Aro Cuesta, José	“	1862
B	Balmori Somohano, Francisco	Francisco Balmori Somohano, a native of San Roque del Acebal and resident of La Portilla, municipality of Llanes, Baptism date: December 15, 1828, in the parish church of Santa María de Llanes. Father: Marcelino Balmori Mother: Isidora Somohano
	Bárcenas, Francisco de las	Passport application published in the Official Gazette of Santander to travel to Puerto Rico	1851
	Bárcenas, Francisco de las	Passport issuance record date: June 18, 1851 Age: 15 years Leaves to Puerto Rico on the Spanish ship Joven Fermín Port of departure: Santander	1851
	Bustamante y Cerra, Emilio	Passport application published in the Official Gazette of Santander to travel to Puerto Rico	1862

C

A, B, C	Name	Note	Year
C	Cacho Mathe, Joaquín	“	1859
	Caldas Sánchez, Mariano	“	1861
	Caldas y Caldas, José de	“	1861
	Caldas, José de	“	1852
	Caldas, Pedro	Passport issuance record date: January 21, 1849 Port of departure: Santander Leaves to Puerto Rico on the ship Josefita	1849
	Caldas, Ramón Antonio	Passport application published in the Official Gazette of Santander to travel to Puerto Rico	1850
	Caldas, Tomás de	“	1850
	Campos, Silverio	“	1857
	Cano, Alejo	“	1855
	Caso Rodríguez, Gabriel de	“	1860
	Chávarri y Pando, Tomasa Rosa de	“	1858
	Concha, Ruperto de la	“	1854
	Cotera Fernández, Manuel de la	“	1858
	Cuebas, Francisco de las	“	1854
	Cuebas, Santiago de las	“	1852
	Cuesta Alonso, Agustín de la	“	1862
	Cuesta, Manuel	“	1853
	Cuevas, Marcelo	“	1856

E to G

E, F, G	Name	Note	Year
E	Echavarri y Liendo, Robustiano Manuel	Passport application published in the Official Gazette of Santander to travel to Puerto Rico	1857
	Echevarría, María	“	1849
	Eguen Otazabal, Adolfo Graciano	On July 26, 1893, Mr. José Joaquín Eguen, a resident of Bustio (Ribadedeva, Asturias), appeared to consent and authorize his son Adolfo Graciano Eguen Otazabal, 16 years old, natural, and domiciled in Bustio so that he may travel.
	Escandón Pérez, Adolfo	Passport application published in the Official Gazette of Santander to travel to Puerto Rico	23-2-1885
F	Fernández del Solar, Nicolás	“	1858
	Fernández, Francisco	“	1857
	Francisco Sánchez, Braulio	“	1854
G	Gandarillas, Aniceto	“	1861
	Gandarillas, Gregorio	“	1852
	Gandarillas, Pedro	“	1861
	Garma y Castañondo, Marcelino de la	“	1858
	Goicoria y Matos, José Antonio de	“	1862
	Gómez González, Primo Feliciano	“	1861
	Gómez Herrero, Manuel	“	1854
	Gómez Madrid, Faustino	“	1854
	González Pérez, Marcelino	“	1858
	González y González, José Antonio	“	1862

H to M

H, L, M	Name	Note	Year
H	Helguera y Sorrondegui, Gumersindo de la	Passport application published in the Official Gazette of Santander to travel to Puerto Rico	1862
	Helguera, Francisco Zacarías de la	“	1855
L	Lastra, Juan José de la	“	1846
M	Mac-Mahón, Isidro	“	1853
	Mardones, Gaspar	“	1856
	María Sáez, Antonio	“	1852
	Marina, Justa de	“	1847
	Mazas Peña, José de	“	1854

P to T

P, R, S, T	Name	Note	Year
P	Prieto, José	Passport application published in the Official Gazette of Santander to travel to Puerto Rico	1862
R	Ruiz Cariga, Manuel	“	1849
	Ruiz Obregón, Vicente	“	1855
	Ruiz y Quevedo, Isidro Manuel	“	1859
	Ruiz, Vitoriano	“	1850
S	Sainz de la Sierra, José	“	1861
	Saiz, Maximino	“	1862
	Saiz, Vicente	Passport issuance record date: October 22, 1849 Age: 15 years, Leaves for Puerto Rico on the ship Begoña, Port of departure: Santander	1849
	Sánchez Cortines, Francisco	Passport application published in the Official Gazette of Santander to travel to Puerto Rico	1861
	Sánchez, Ezequiel	“	1861
	Santirso, Manuel	“	1855
	Sierra, Aureliano de la	“	1862
	Sota, Ángel de la	“	1853
T	Tresgallo, Saturnino	“	1858
	Trueba, Celedonio	“	1854

Source

• The digital copy is distributed under the “attribution 4.0 International” license. The use, transformation, reproduction, and redistribution of this digital work is allowed, even for commercial purposes, provided that the source of origin is mentioned (Virtual Library of Historical Press. Ministry of Culture and Sports. Spain): http://navegante.es/index.php/actor/browse

Subscribe to my website to be updated with new posts

• Don’t forget to follow me.
• Visit my section on Cuban records available online.
• Puerto Rico Church Records and Indexes