Early History
Gurabo dates as far back as the 17th century when it was actually part of Caguas. Then, the area was known as Burabo. By 1700, transportation, medical and economic trouble was crippling the population of the Burabo area; traveling to Caguas’ center for business and medical help was not easy and took hours. This led many Burabos citizens to seek the area to gain autonomy.
It would be long, however, before Gurabo was separated from Caguas. The separation movement was brought forward by an 1812 meeting of all 168 family leaders in Gurabo, who decided to have Luis del Carmen Echevarría lead them in their quest for autonomic independence, based on the large number of residents in Burabo.
- 1815, Gurabo became a municipality.
- 1822, the first Catholic church in town was erected.
- 1903, the first Baptist church opened its doors in Gurabo town.
| Archivo Histórico Municipal de Caguas-Abelardo Díaz AlfaroTítulo: Fundación de Gurabo Fecha Documento Original: 1 de enero de 1814 Alcance y Contenido: Plano titulado: Plano Ideal aunque aproximado de el Terreno llamado Buravo en Caguas. Contiene una (1) hoja. Plano por Juan Manuel de la Cruz. Escala 1:7,000 varas castellanas. |
Gurabo Baptisms-Separated by Race
| Book | Year | Race/Notes | Image | Index |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 4 | 1860-1864 | 1539 | ||
| 5 | 1865-1870 | 1844 | ||
| 6 | 1870-1874 | 2150 | ||
| 6 | 1874-1876 | Continuation of the above book. | 4 | |
| 7 | 1876-1881 | 105 | ||
| 8 | 1881-1887 | 412 | ||
| 9 | 1887-1889 | 725 | 855 | |
| 10 | 1889-1893 | 882 | 1181 | |
| 11 | 1893-1899 | 1186 | ||
| 12 | 1899-1907 | 1599 | 1911 | |
| 13 | 1907-1912 | 1934 | ||
| 13 | 1912-1914 | Continuation of the above book. | 2203 | |
| 13 | 1914-1916 | Continuation of the above book. | 5 | |
| 14 | 1916-1922 | 115 | ||
| 15 | 1922-1928 | 483 | ||
| 16 | 1928-1931 | 760 | ||
| 17 | 1931-1934 | 976 | ||
| 18 | 1934-1938 | 1193 |
Indexes for the above books
I will be connecting these indexes with the records in the above table later today. Check back soon.
- Index for Libros 8 – 12 de Bautismos 1881 – 1907 (Image 1405)
- Index for Libros 13 -15 de Bautismos 1907 – 1928 (Image 1536)