Aguada, Puerto Rico Church Transcriptions 1804 to 1851

Historical Background of Aguada’s Parish Records

Aguada’s surviving parish records reveal only part of the town’s long history. According to the archival survey summarized here, the parish dates to the late seventeenth century, and San Francisco de la Aguada received the title of villa in 1778. However, when the author¹ examined the archive, the oldest surviving parish book was a baptismal register for Pardos, covering May 30, 1804, through December 26, 1814.

The survey also identified these registers:

Record	Dates covered	Details noted by the author
Baptisms of pardos	May 30, 1804–December 26, 1814	The register bore the number 2; the author did not know when it received that number.
Baptisms	1814–1817	The author found a small label bearing the number 5 among its pages.
Baptisms of white persons	December 12, 1811–April 24, 1814	Described under this historical classification.
Baptisms of white persons, Book 10	January 1, 1834–June 28, 1838	Contained 1,026 entries.
Burials, Book 10	1833–1838	Part of a burial series described as being in good condition.
Burials, Book 11	1838–1842	Followed Burial Book 10.

The author described the archive as needing substantial reorganization, despite the relatively limited number of surviving records.

For genealogical research, 1804 marks the start of the oldest surviving register the author found during his survey. It does not mark the founding of Aguada’s parish or the start of its recordkeeping. The archive no longer held earlier books when the author examined it, and his account does not explain what happened to them.

The terms pardos and “white persons” reflect the historical classifications used in these registers.

Aguada Parish Records and Historical Research

The Aguada parish books referenced here were never filmed. Selected indexes and transcriptions were previously published on a website that is no longer active.

Aguada Genealogy Research Assistance

I can assist with searches in selected historical materials available to me, including archived parish indexes, surviving census records, and handwritten municipal documents examined by researchers decades ago.

Please contact me with the person’s name, approximate dates, and any family information you already have. I will review your request and discuss the research scope and fee before beginning.

Fees cover research time, regardless of the outcome. Available materials may be incomplete, difficult to read, or limited in scope. There is no guarantee that a particular ancestor or record will be found. Contact

Source acknowledgment: Aguada parish-record guide, written by Luis R. Negrón Hernández, credits José Luis Santiago with compiling the record lists.

Coverage of Previously Published Indexes

Book	Year	Historical Classification
Baptisms	1804	Pardos
“	1811-1814	
“	1814-1817	
Marriages	1810-1851	Pardos
Burials	1827	

Don’t forget to check out other Church Indexes available on my website.

Source:

1. Los Archivos Históricos de Puerto Rico, Lino Gomez Canedo, O.F.M. San Juan, Puerto Rico, 1964
2. Source acknowledgment: The Aguada parish-record guide formerly published on PREB.com, written by Luis R. Negrón Hernández, credits José Luis Santiago with compiling the record lists.