Cayey, Puerto Rico Church Books 1776-1937

Indexes for Baptisms from the 18th & 19th Century

Cayey was founded on August 17, 1773, by Juan Mata Vázquez, who became its first mayor. It is said that Cayey derives its name from the Taino Indian word for “a place of waters.” Its original name was “Cayey de Muesas,” in honor of Miguel de Muesas, the then governor of Puerto Rico. The town is in a valley between Puerto Rico’s Cordillera Central Mountain range and the Sierra de Cayey.

Districts

Like all municipalities of Puerto Rico, Cayey is subdivided into barrios. The municipal buildings, central square, and sizeable Catholic Church are all located in a small barrio referred to as “el pueblo,” near the center of the municipality.

A walk down memory lane.

I remember the day I sat down with my mom and aunt at the kitchen table, sipping on a “Cafe con Leche” on a hot summer day. It seems like it was just yesterday. I’m not sure what inspired the conversation, but I believe we were talking about my grandfather, and my mother mentioned that he had a brother that died as an infant. As I never knew about this, I asked many questions about my family. There was a piece of paper off the side table; I reached for it and asked my mom for a pen. I wrote down my name, my parents’ names, and their parents’ names. Then I looked at her and asked who my great-grandparents were.

One pot of coffee later resulted in a three-generation family tree staring back at me. I decided I needed to find out who my ancestors were. How long have they lived in Puerto Rico, and most importantly, what country did they immigrate from? The genealogy bug bit me. This began my journey that started over thirty-five years ago. And as we all know, genealogy never stops; it never ends!

My connection to Cayey

The pueblo of Cayey is very dear to me. We continue to own the land and still have many relatives living there. I have visited several times and feel like I’m home every time I return.

Pedro Avila, Cayey, this is my parent’s hometown. My dad left when he was seventeen, and my mom was twelve. Assuming that Cayey was the origin of my roots, I was wrong. But maybe not. Here is the reason why. My grandparents were from Barros (Orocovis, Puerto Rico), and my great-grandparents moved to Pedro Avila, Cayey, based on paper trails left behind, in 1929. The more I researched, the more I discovered. Going further back, my ancestors resided in Barranquitas, Aibonito, and Guayama. Coamo was the third-largest settlement established in the 16th century. That means my ancestors are from Coamo, Puerto Rico, initially. They were always there; the borders just changed.

It turns out my ancestors were part of the original founding members of Cayey, Barranquitas, Aibonito, Guayama, and Coamo! I descend from some of the oldest surnames on the island; Aponte, Alvarado, Bonilla, Colon, Berrios, and Torres, to name a few. My 5th great-grandfather, Don Antonio Aponte Ramos, played a significant role in establishing Barranquitas, Puerto Rico. And my Aponte ancestors were part of the founders of Cayey, Puerto Rico. What a fantastic discovery this was for me.

Our Ancestors left us a gift.

Having the ability to find documents from the 18th & 19th centuries is genuinely a gift that our ancestors left us to enjoy and cherish. If it were not for the surviving records, I don’t think I would have been able to research my family lines back to the 1700s. As you know, this is not an easy task. We may need to rely on others for guidance from time to time. I have been very fortunate to meet people who have assisted me immensely throughout the years.

I want to take this moment and thank the following people; Dr. Luis Rodríguez Medina, Dr. Norma Feliberti, doña Jennie Jiminez, Padre Antonio Pabon Oquendo, Dr. David Stark, Dr. José Colón Perez, David Cuesta, doña Teresa D. Sedgwick. Thank you for your guidance and support during this journey.

I continue to meet people who take the time to assist me now, and I want to thank them. They know who they are. They shared their knowledge, materials, and time, so I believe in paying it forward.

Indexing Cayey’s records is a labor of love.

Don Manuel Aponte Rexach is an individual I met a couple of years ago, and I am very grateful to have the opportunity to know him. We have never met in person, as he lives in Australia. Don Manuel is one of those individuals that saved me a great deal of time and energy when locating records in Cayey. When he comes across an Aponte, Bonilla, or another family line, he does not hesitate to send it my way. Most time, they turn out to be family members.

Don Manuel dedicated his valuable time & energy to indexing the church books. He did a phenomenal job putting these PDFs together, and I now have the pleasure and opportunity (with his permission) to share his labor of love with all of you.

Please leave a comment thanking Don Manuel for sharing his documents with us. Also, let me know if you find any of your relatives and need help. Happy Hunting!

Indexes

Below are the indexes for Cayey consisting of books filmed by The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. It consists of burials, marriages, baptisms, and confirmations. I begin the list with the book of burials. (You want to work backward, which is another way of researching.

Burials

Book	Year	Image	Index	Notes
1	1787-1800	1544
2	1801-1813	178
3	1813-1817	660		Transcription is available. See below.
5	1826-1833	2324
6	1834-1849	1671
7	1849-1860	2076
8	1860-1866	4	290
9	1866-1871	309
10	1871-1876	618	907
11	1876-1879	937	1223
12	1879-1883	1242	1528
13	1883-1885	2770	2962
14	1885-1888	1549	1856
15	1888-1892	1877	2187
16	1892-1895	335	640
17	1895-1898	5	314
18	1898-1900	2421	2747
19	1900-1915	2209	2390

Marriages

Book	Year	Race/Notes	Image	Index
	1818-1837	Pardos	1796
	1837-1867	Pardos/Africans	878
1	1776-1809	Whites	1841
2	1810-1813	Whites	2592
3	1813-1819	Whites	745-790
4	1819-1851	Whites	945-1132
5	1851-1858	Whites, marked as Book 6 1851-1877 but ended in 1858.	2261-2718	Transcription is available. PDF
5	1858-1868	Whites, and continuation of the above.	3-123	124
6	1868-1879	Freed Residents, Whites, Pardos	2282-2575	2575
7	1879-1892		2603	2902
8	1892-1909		32	4
9	1909-1919		341	577
10	1919-1925		643	606
11	1925-1930		1090	1358
12	1930-1936		1409	1385

Baptisms; Pardos, BLACKS, EnslaveD

Book	Year	Image	Index	Notes
1	1776-1796	1978
2	1797-1805	2130
3	1806-1810	2539
5	1815-1820	5
6	1820-1826	169
7	1826-1832	790
8	1833-1853	973	1337
8	1844-1871	1362	1581 M-Z 1587-A-Z

Baptisms; Whites

Book	Year	Image	Index	Notes
1	1776-1794	1227
2	1794-1808	1782
3	1808-1817	2367
4	1817-1826	2718
6	1836-1854	361	755	By the first name.

1854 to 1900, Books 7 to 22, (All Races)

Book	Year	Image	Index	Duplicate Copy	Notes
7	1854-1863	50		1605
8	1863-1866	365	657	1911 (Index 2203)
9	1866-1869	708		2223
10	1869-1872	1037		2514
11	1872-1875	1323	1610	4 (Index 292)
12	1875-1877	1628	1916	310
13	1877-1880	1934		621
14	1880-1882	2227	2516	920
15	1882-1884	2598	2534
16	1884-1886	5
17	1886-1887	212	519
18	1888-1891	537
19	1891-1893	849
20	1893-1895	1158	1465
21	1896-1897	1485	1793
22	1898-1900	1815	2120

1900 to 1937, Books 23 to 42; Baptisms-All Races

Book	Year	Image	Index	Notes
23	1900-1903	2144	2449
24	1903-1905	2483	2787
25	1905-1906	4
26	1906-1909	258
27	1909-1911	517
28	1911-1913	785
29	1913-1915	1044
30	1915-1917	1424	1408
31	1918-1920	1784
32	1920-1922	2147
33	1922-1923	2510	2883
33	1923-1924	4
34	1924-1925	263
35	1926-1927	466	727
36	1927-1929	761
37	1929-1930	1132
38	1930-1931	1345
39	1931-1933	1561
40	1933-1934	1773
41	1934-1935	1979
42	1935-1937	2188

Confirmations

Book	Year	Image	Notes
2-1829-1890	July 1829 January 7, 1850 June 2, 1860 May 15, 1864 June 21-24, 1871 Mar 16-19, 1877 April 18,19, 1882 December 19-21, 1890	1136 1228 1316 1371 1401 1453 1497 1525
3	1891-1916	1532

Transcriptions Available