Observations of the Books
Fajardo, Puerto Rico. The modern archive, from 1860, is well cared for in the parish office. The oldest books are in a cupboard in the sacristy, in conditions which I hope have been improved since my last visit.
The oldest of these books seems to be one where burials made between 1766-1788 are recorded. On the same date, the first book of marriages begins, with the oldest entry dated July 20, 1766, “In the Rivera de Faxardo” by the Franciscan Fr. Salvador Antonio de Lara y Calderon, “who to the present exerso-writes- the office of the interim parish priest in this Church of Our Lady of the Conception .”
In January 1767, Don Francisco Antonio de Berrios also signed items in the “Rivera de Faxardo,” Priest of the church “Our Lady of Conception.” On the date of February 1768, “Pueblo de Santiago de Farjardos” was the updated name of the church. Additionally, he annotates two other marriage books, covering the periods 1789-1807 and 1808-1832.
The Historical Archives of Puerto Rico, by Lino Gomez, 1964, page 66.
Baptisms/Burials
In the series of baptisms, the oldest that I could locate is the second, for whites and browns, which covers from October 1783 to July 1794; there is another for 1798-1803. Towards 1808 he authorizes the creation of the books of whites and browns, and thus we have a book for whites (1808-1813) and another for browns (1809-1814).
The old and damaged book registration of burials mentioned above has its continuation in another book that goes from 1788 to 1800; It is also in terrible condition, missing the first seven sheets. The second book of confirmations, the first of the series that I managed to find, began in 1829.
The parish archive of Fajardo Book one is preserved and the only one designed to settle the confirmation items in this Parish of San Antonio de Padua de la Ceiba, which begins on May 13, 1850, of the Santa Visita Pastoral del Sr. Diocesan Bishop”. Signed in Farjado on November 10, 1871. In Ceiba, he had administered the sacrament of confirmation on November 1, 1871.
The Historical Archives of Puerto Rico, by Lino Gomez, 1964, page 66. This is a translation of a Spanish Version. Changes were made to make it a litle eaier to understand.
Early History of Fajardo
Fajardo was founded in 1760, 1773, or 1774 (depending on the authority) as Santiago de Fajardo. It was one of the locations used by the American troops to invade Puerto Rico. On August 1, 1898, the USS Puritan under the command of Captain Frederic W. Rodgers, was sailing by the coastline of the city of Fajardo, when Rogers noticed the Faro de Las Cabezas de San Juan (Cape San Juan lighthouse) which was supposed to be the landing site for the US Army in Puerto Rico. Rodgers ordered some of his men ashore, which included Puerto Rican volunteers, with the mission of posting the American flag atop the lighthouse.
On November 14, 1824, in what was dubbed the “Foxhardo” Affair, a US Naval Officer named David Porter went ashore in Fajardo with 200 seamen and marines, threatening to destroy Fajardo because one of his men had been arrested in Puerto Rico. For taking this action without US approval, Porter was later court-martialed.[2]
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fajardo,_Puerto_Rico
Personal Observations Reviewing the Fajardo Books
Fajardo is reported to be founded in 1760. However, the books began in 1766. When researching this town, I suggest you also research Ceiba, Luquillo, and Vieques, as many families moved around in these towns. The inscriptions of deaths do commence in 1766. It includes tabs to the Index when available. I do have notes on the condition of the books for those death records not indexed. For the most part, they are in decent shape, some not so.
Fajardo Baptisms Books Indexes
| Book | Year | Image | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 12,13,14,15 | 1850-1876 | 2363 | The images in the index for these books have already been noted below. |
1850 – 1876–Index of Book 12 Baptisms (Image )
1783-1803 Baptisms
1821-1900 Baptisms
| Book | Year | Race | Image | Index | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1821-1825 | Blacks, Enslaved | 1290 | |||
| 1828 – 1833 | Blacks, Mixed Races | 1553 | |||
| 1833 – 1839 | Blacks, Enslaved | 692 | |||
| 1803 – 1809 | Mixed Races | 393 | |||
| 1809 – 1814 | Mixed Races | 222 | |||
| 1815 – 1821 | Mixed Races | 1134 | |||
| 1839 – 1842 | Mixed Races | 2085 | |||
| 1842 – 1848 | Mixed Races | 252 | |||
| 1848 – 1872 | Mixed Races | 2370 | |||
| 6 | 1808 – 1813 | Whites | 878 | ||
| 7 | 1814 – 1820 | Whites | 1010 | ||
| 8 | 1820 – 1829 | 2452 | |||
| 9 | 1830 – 1837 | Whites | 1755 | ||
| 10 | 1837 – 1842 | Whites | 1433 | ||
| 11 | 1842 – 1850 | Whites | 2178 | ||
| 12 | 1850 – 1857 | Whites, Pardos | 2518 | 2364 | |
| 13 | 1857 – 1860 | Whites, Pardos | 2775 | 2378 | |
| 14 | 1860 – 1863 | 6 | 291 | ||
| 15 | 1863 – 1867 | 318 | 604 | ||
| 16 | 1867 – 1871 | 655 | Index | ||
| 17 | 1871 – 1874 | 987 | |||
| 18 | 1874 – 1876 | 1297 | 1557 | ||
| 19 | 1876 – 1879 | 1589 | 1871 | ||
| 20 | 1879 – 1881 | 1899 | 2126 | ||
| 21 | 1881 – 1883 | 2155 | 2359 | ||
| 22 | 1883 – 1885 | 2369 | 2575 | ||
| 23 | 1885 – 1887 | 2601 | 2808 | ||
| 24 | 1887 – 1890 | 4 | 211 | ||
| 25 | 1890 – 1893 | 240 | 552 | ||
| 26 | 1893 – 1896 | 585 | 892 | ||
| 27 | 1896 – 1900 | 920 | 1227 |
1900-1935 Baptisms
| Book | Year | Image | Index | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 28 | 1900-1904 | 1256 | Index | |
| 29 | 1904-1907 | 1812 | Index | |
| 30 | 1907-1910 | 2120 | Index | |
| 31 | 1910-1914 | 2417 | Index | |
| 32 | 1914-1917 | 4 | ||
| 33 | 1917-1921 | 372 | Index | |
| 34 | 1921-1924 | 759 | Index | |
| 34 | 1921-1924 | 4 | Another copy of the above book. (#34) | |
| 35 | 1924-1926 | 1144 | Index | |
| 36 | 1926-1927 | 1430 | Index | |
| 37 | 1928-1929 | 1668 | Index | |
| 38 | 1929-1931 | 1905 | Index | |
| 39 | 1931 | 2158 | Index | |
| 40 | 1935 | 2404 | Index |
Marriages Books
| Book | Year | Race | Image | Index | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 1766-1789 | 391 | |||
| 2 | 1789-1807 | 475 | |||
| 3 | 1808-1832 | 948 | |||
| 4 | 1832-1850 | 1296 | |||
| 2 | 1827-1848 | 1115 | |||
| 5 | 1848-1856 | Whites, Mixed Race | 1441 | ||
| 6 | 1856-1869 | Whites, Mixed Race, Enslaved | 1573 | ||
| 9 | 1869-1882 | 142 | Index | ||
| 10 | 1882-1895 | 5 | Index | ||
| 11 | 1896-1912 | 364 | Index | ||
| 12 | 1912-1935 | 701 | Index |
Inscription of Burials
| Book | Year | Race | Image | Index | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 1766-1789 | 1455 | No Index, Book in fair condition. | ||
| 2 | 1789-1800 | 1561 | No Index, Book in fair condition. | ||
| 3 | 1801-1808 | 1725 | No Index; the Book is in good condition. | ||
| 4 | 1808-1813 | 1860 | No Index, Book in fair condition. | ||
| 5 | 1813-1818 | 2000 | No Index, Book in fair condition | ||
| 6 | 1818-1825 | 2189 | No Index, Book in fair condition. | ||
| 7 | 1826-1831 | 2430 | No Index. Book is in decent condition. | ||
| 9 | 1837-1840 | 2621 | No Index, Damaged Book. | ||
| 10 | 1840-1844 | 2715 | No Index. The book is in decent condition. | ||
| 11 | 1845-1848 | 721 | No Index; the Book is in good condition. | ||
| 12 | 1849-1853 | 4 | No Index; the Book is in good condition. | ||
| 13 | 1853-1859 | 205 | No Index, Damaged Book. | ||
| 14 | 1859-1863 | 490 | Index | Indexed by the first name. | |
| 15 | 1863-1870 | 684 | Index | ||
| 16 | 1870-1875 | 938 | Index | ||
| 17 | 1875-1879 | 1236 | Index | ||
| 18 | 1879-1881 | 1610 | Index | ||
| 19 | 1882-1885 | 1742 | Index | ||
| 20 | 1885-1889 | 1971 | Index | ||
| 21 | 1889-1895 | 2204 | Index | ||
| 22 | 1896-1900 | 2537 | Index |
Confirmations
Additional Documents for Fajardo
These are fragments of records that include, Baptisms, Marriages Marriage Licenses and documents of recognized children (these records are of registered children without their father’s name, also known as “hijos naturales.”)
Fragments of Baptism and wedding records from 1891 – 1923 (Image 1937 through 2112)
Marriage licenses from parents & recognized children (Image 2115)
Marriage licenses from parents & recognized children (Image 2239)
[…] Although a small collection of church records, the collection is complete. Since Ceiba became part of Fajardo in 1899, I suggest you look for your ancestors there. Finally, indexes are available for most books, which is good. (Fajardo Indexes) […]