History
Toa Baja: The term “toa” means mother, and this word is the aboriginal name of the Río de la Plata, which rises at the heights of the Cayey region and flows into the north coast of the Atlantic.
According to some historians, the foundation of Toa Baja took place in 1747, and according to others, shortly after. On the banks of the Toa, today the River Plate, Juan Ponce de León established the Farm of the King. This location is the area of Santa Elena, where Cacique Aramaná, along with his tribe, provided labor. History states it was the first experimental agricultural station on the island.
During the 16th century, this region attracted numerous settlers due to the richness of its alluvial lands and the production of the so-called “fishing corrals” located in the river of pre-Columbian origin. Its first settlers were families from the Canary Islands with the surnames Marrero, Salgado, and Martínez.
In 1776, there were six large herds for raising cattle and twelve farms for sugar cane and other crops, which produced sugar, melao, brandy, corn, rice, and a little coffee. In addition, tobacco began to be harvested in the following century. But despite the increase in production, the flooding of the river every year caused severe damage, for which the neighbors often could not pay the municipal taxes.
Authorization to move to Altos de Dorado
In 1841, the crisis was such that a group of neighbors requested authorization from the government to move to Altos de Dorado, but most of them opposed the move. The following year, the municipality of Dorado was created with the neighborhoods of this name, Espinosa, Higuillar (then spelled Yguillar), Maguayo, and Río Lajas. 1749, a new church dedicated to Our Lady of the Conception and Saints Pedro, Pablo, and Matías was erected. It was built on an elevation facing the town. Shortly after, it moved from its original location to a higher place behind the church, which is why today it presents its front towards the river and back towards Toa Baja.
In 1902, the Legislative Assembly of Puerto Rico approved the law for the Consolidation of Certain Municipal Terms, by which the municipality of Toa Baja was eliminated. Instead, its neighborhoods and officials were incorporated into Bayamon. The Assembly repealed this law in 1905, and Toa Baja was restored to its status as an independent municipality with the same neighborhoods that made it up in 1902.
Observation of Parish Books
Parish Books of Toa Baja begins with the series of baptismal books with pardos and enslaved people, 1830-1835. Book number 9 contains baptism records of the enslaved (1843-1850). In 1843 also begins the oldest book of burials. On the other hand, the first marriages cover from 1815 to 1863.
On June 14, 1824, the lieutenant priest Fray Florencio Navarro married Don Francisco Tovar, a native of the city of Caracas in Costafirme and a resident of Vega Baja. He is the legitimate son of Don Martin Melchor and Dona Agueda Fernandez, from Cuba, both deceased. And second marriage to Dona Maria Nicolasa Negron and Dona Micaela Salgado, from this neighborhood, legitimate daughter of Don Manuel and Dona Maria Roman (folio 31).
Father Florencio Navarro was a Puerto Rican Franciscan who, in 1819, was elected guardian of the Coro convent; Because of the disturbances in those provinces, he asked to be exonerated from his position and to be allowed to return to Puerto Rico.
Los archivos historicos de Puerto Rico, 1964, Gomez, chapter 51, page 121.
Toa Baja Church Books-Ermita Nuestra Señora de la Candelaria el Plantaje
Baptisms
| Book | Year | Race | Image | Index | Notes | Transcription |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| * | Feb. 1803 to Aug. 1803 | 6 | The one marked with the * is a film located in Aguadilla. Film # 004553732. I broke down the film for you because the years are out of sequence. | |||
| * | 1792 to 1859 | 6 | 1803 on image 9 | |||
| * | Feb. 8, 1797 | 12 | ||||
| * | 1803 to 1829 | 13 | ||||
| * | 1802 to 1837, continues to 1843 | 56 | Feb. 20, 1803, to Aug. 28, 1803 | |||
| * | 1807, 1808, 1815, 1828, then picks up on 1843 on image 91 | 91 | Be aware of the multiple years. | |||
| * | 1844 to 1859 | 92 | A few records are indexed as 1749 instead of 1849 on image 105. | |||
| May 20, 1856 | 147 | Santa Visita (visit from the Bishop) | ||||
| 1779 to 1862 | 5 | It’s a duplicate book. | ||||
| 7 | 1830 to 1835 | Pardos, Enslaved | 358 | |||
| 8 | 1835 to1843 | 616 | ||||
| 9 | 1843 to 1850 | Enslaved | 931 | |||
| 10a | 1849 to1870 | Enslaved, Whites | 1137 | |||
| 10a | 1849 to 1870 | Enslaved, Whites | 1361 | It is a duplicate book. | ||
| 10b | 1852 to 1858 | Whites | 5 | |||
| 11 | 1859 to 1870 | 124 | 1026 | |||
| 12 | 1870 to 1878 | 453 | 1055 | |||
| 13 | 1878 to 1891 | 747 | 1079 |
Confirmations
| Book | Year | Image | Transcription |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 1760 to 1793 | 1108 | PDF (Provided by Annette Ramirez and covers from 1760 to 1787) There is one for 1813 (the last image. ) |
Marriages
| Book | Year | Race | Image | Index | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1781, 1782, 1783, 1787 | Mixed | 150-153 | A few fragments of wedding records | ||
| 1 | Sep. 1815 to Jan. 1863 | Whites | 6 | 195 | This appears to be a book of Blancos. |
Burials
| Book | Year | Race | Image | Index | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 8 | 1843 to 1850 | 222 | |||
| 9 | Feb. 1857 to Jan. 1863 | 1134 | |||
| 10 | 1863 to Dec. 1875 | 483 | |||
| 11 | 1876 to 1911 | 773 | 1076 |
Notes:
- According to what I read about the history of this town, I would continue my research in Dorado and Bayamon.
- I would research Cataño – Palo Seco. Click here. There are transcriptions available for a few books.
- I am grateful to Ivonne Santana Ríos for providing the transcriptions she wanted to share with everyone.