Digitized Church Records for Humacao, Puerto Rico, 1784-1966

Humacao, Puerto Rico

Humacao is a city on Puerto Rico’s eastern coast. It sits north of Yabucoa, south of Naguabo, east of Las Piedras, and west of the Vieques Passage. Today, the city includes 12 barrios and Humacao Pueblo, which serves as the downtown and government center. In addition, Humacao is part of the San Juan–Caguas-Guaynabo metro area.

Long before the Spanish arrived, the Taíno region of Humaka covered part of Puerto Rico’s southeast coast. At that time, cacique Jumacao, also known as Macao, ruled the area. Meanwhile, the Taíno community lived near what people now call the Humacao River.

According to tradition, Jumacao became one of the first Taíno leaders to read and write in Spanish. Because of this skill, he wrote a letter to King Charles I of Spain. In the letter, he complained that the island governor had broken the peace agreement. He also argued that the Spanish treated his people like prisoners. As a result, the story says that King Charles ordered the governor to obey the treaty.

Early Years

During the early 1500s, cattle farmers settled in the region. However, most of them officially lived in San Juan. Therefore, the area did not become an official town at first.

Later, around 1721 to 1722, families formed the first official community. Many families came from the Canary Islands. However, attacks by Caribs, pirates, and other groups forced some families to move farther inland to what later became Las Piedras. Still, other families remained in Humacao. Over time, the community continued to grow.

In 1776, historian Fray Íñigo Abbad y Lasierra visited the area and described the people living there. A few years later, in 1793, church leaders recognized the local church as a parish. Soon afterward, officials officially recognized Humacao as a town.

By 1894, Humacao had grown enough to earn city status. As the population increased, leaders built important structures such as a hospital, theater, and prison. In addition, new homes and businesses appeared throughout the area.

Then, after the United States invaded Puerto Rico during the Spanish–American War, officials joined Las Piedras to Humacao in 1899. However, that arrangement did not last forever. Eventually, in 1914, the Legislative Assembly of Puerto Rico voted to separate the two towns again.

Church Books

The church book indexes follow book order and year order. In general, the pages remain in good condition. In many cases, the books also contain their own indexes.

One section carries the title “Indistintamente.” This category includes people of all races, including pardos, slaves, and white residents.

Today, researchers rarely find church books organized in this way. In fact, very few Puerto Rican towns used this type of record system. In addition, many of these books contain their own indexes, which makes research easier.

Index for Baptisms

Book	Years	Race	Image
1	1793-1870	Enslaved	1071
1	1793-1849	All Races (Indistintamente)	968
1	1793-1880	All Races	1256
2	1880-1895		1641
	1910-1912		1889

Baptisms

Pardos, Blacks, Freed, and Enslaved

Years 1793 to 1870

Book	Years	Image
1	1793-1797	1666
4	1810-1812	2501
5	1812-1815	1899
6	1815-1818	2024
7	1818-1821	2234
8	1821-1825	2594
9	1825-1829	4
10	1829-1835	174
11	1836-1838	361
12	1838-1839	460
13	1839-1843	513
14	1843-1848	705
15	1848-1850	1044
1	1850-1870	906

Indistintamente

Book	Years	Race/Notes	Image	Index
2	1797-1807	(All Races)	2059
3	1807-1809		1973
1	1850-1852		1866
2	1852-1855		1815
3	1855-1858		1152

Book of those labeled as “White.” 1810 to 1875, Books 4 to 9, some not identified.

Book	Years	Race	Image	Index
4	1810-1814	White	2111
5	1814-1823	White	2213
6	1823-1833	White	2425
7	1834-1838	White	2591
8	1838-1840	White	2687
9	1840-1850	White	4
	1858-1860	White	1613
	1860-1863	White	4
	1863-1875	White	2647

1865 to 1901, Books 7 to 22

Book	Years	Race	Image	Index	Notes
7	1865-1868	All Races	212
8	1868-1870		550	526
9	1870-1872		839	1146
10	1872-1874		1199	1176
11	1874-1876		1542	1516
12	1876-1878		1874	1850
13	1878-1880		2204	2181
13	1878-1880		27	5	(duplicate book)
14	1880-1882		2541	2514
14	1880-1882		362	336	(duplicate book)
15	1882-1884		702	675
15	1882-1884		28	4
16	1884-1886		1053	1026
16	1884-1886		375	348	(duplicate book)
17	1886-1888		1368	1674
17	1886-1888		688	996	(duplicate book)
18	1888-1890		1687	1999
19	1890-1892		2032	2339
20	1892-1895		2403	2369
21	1895-1897		29	4
22	1897-1901		375	343

1901 to 1904

Book	Years	Race	Image	Index	Notes
23	1901-1904		686	961	Index out of sequence.
24	1904-1905		995	1200
25	1905-1908		1258	1230
26	1908-1910		1354	N/A	This book is in poor condition.
26	1908-1910		1630	1591	(possible duplicate book)
27	1912*			1950	verifying this book-June 12, 2022.
27	1910-1912*		2195		Possible duplicate book.
28	1913-1915		2450	2808
29	1916-1919		25	4
30	1919-1922		424	390
31	1922-1923		816	791
32?	1923-1924*		2125-2175	2176	1923-1924 Fragments of records.
32	1924-1925		1132	1100/1405	Index in the front and back.
33	1925-1927		1454	1432
27	1964-1966		1917–1949

Marriages in Humacao from 1793 to 1916

Book #	Years	Race	Image	Index	Notes
1	1793-1808	Pardos, Enslaved	1024	Transcribed
2	1808-1816	Pardos	2376
3	1816-1827	Pardos, Blacks, Freed, and Enslaved	1147
5	1838-1843	Pardos, Blacks, Freed, and Enslaved	1313
6	1843-1850	Pardos, Blacks, Freed and Enslaved	1798
3	1823-1850	Whites	1365
2	1862-1875		2335
3	1875-1884		1859	2168	There is only a one-page index for the letter A.
4	1884-1898		1488
5	1899-1916		2171	2451

Burials for Humacao

Burials and Index

• PDF 1787 to 1798, Las Piedras & Humaco Burials. Transcription provided by Sra. Ivonne Santana Ríos.

Book #	Years	Race	Image	Index	Notes
1(5)	1784-1796		2097	551	Two films contain an index for book 22.
2	1796-1810		2192	562
3	1810-1815		1089	573
4	1815-1820		2416	582	This index covers two books, 4 and 5
5	1820-1821		760
6	1821-1826		850	591
7	1826-1829		1264	600
8	1829-1836		2166	610
9	1836-1838		1475	618
10	1839-1843		2604	627
11	1843-1844		1668	636
12	1846-1852		4	642
13	1852-1858		1783	650
14	1858-1864		4	668
	1859-1863		2753		I believe this index is part of Book 14
15	1864-1868		315	700
16	1868-1871		1861	730
17	1871-1875		625	757
18	1875-1878		1248	780
19	1879-1882		1555	800
20	1882-1885		938	825
21	1885-1889		451	854
22	1889-1893		2449	890/902	There are two films that contain an index for book 22.
23	1893-1898		210	931
	1898-1901		290		The last three pages contain records from 1909.

Book of Confirmations for Humacao

Book	Years	Image
2	1829-1860	326
3	1860-1904	2477
4	1904-1923	2785
5	1923-1935	4
6	1935-1961	168

Sources:

• Wikipedia