Early History
Villalba, Puerto Rico. Founded in 1917 by José Ramón Figueroa y Rivera and Walter Mc Jones.* By 1918, there weren’t any highways connecting Villalba to its neighboring towns, but by 1927 there was at least one.
Known as a younger municipality compared to others on the island of Puerto Rico, 1917 was the official founding year as it was once a part of Ponce until 1823, when it became a part of Juana Diaz. It was subsequently divided into Villalba Arriba & V. Abajo in the 19th century.
The church in Villalba known as Nuestra Senora del Carmen, and records for this church start before 1917. They began in 1895. As a reminder to those searching these records, many of these families originate in Juana Diaz. Therefore I suggest you keep that in mind as you advance your research. Please click on Juana Diaz highlighted for those records.
Subdivisions of Villalba, Puerto Rico
Like all municipalities of Puerto Rico, Villalba is subdivided into barrios. The municipal buildings, central square, and sizeable Catholic church are in a barrio called “el pueblo.”
INDEXES FOR BAPTISMS 1,4-6, 10
- 1895 – 1900 BOOK 1 OF BAPTISMS (Image 5)
- 1907 – 1912 BOOK 4 OF BAPTISMS (Image 837)
- 1912 – 1917 BOOK 5 OF BAPTISMS (Image 1137)
- 1917 – 1921 BOOK 6 OF BAPTISMS (Image 1590)
- 1931 – 1934 BOOK 10 OF BAPTISMS (Image 5)
Baptisms
| Book | Year | Race | Image | Index | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 1895-1900 | 46 | 450 | ||
| 2 | 1900-1907 | 486 | 749 | ||
| 4 | 1907-1912 | 877 | |||
| 5 | 1912-1917 | 1181 | 1137 | Another index in the back of the books states it is Book 5, 1912 to 1916. It would be worth looking at this one. Image 1542 | |
| 6 | 1917-1921 | 1632 | |||
| 7 | 1921-1925 | 1957 | 1915 | ||
| 8 | 1925-1928 | 2245 | 2210 | ||
| 9 | 1929-1931 | 2484 | 2452 | ||
| 10 | 1931-1934 | 40 |
MARRIAGES
Indexes available for Marriages, Books 1 to 3
| Book | Year | Image | Index | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1/3 | 1896-1926 | 285 | 258 | |
| 2 | 1926-1937 | 548 | 519 | On Folio 89, Book 2 continues starting from 1937 to 1945 (Image 374) |
Burials
Sources/Notes
- Wikipedia
- By The Eloquent Peasant – Own work based on Puerto Rico municipios locator map. svg by The Eloquent Peasant, CC BY-SA 4.0,
- I will be writing a blog about Walter Mc Jones.