Description

You’ll love this if…

• You’re getting started tracing your ancestors in Puerto Rico
• You want new ideas and resources to get past a Puerto Rico brick wall
• Your genealogy search is focused mainly on Puerto Rico —you don’t need the full State Research Guides collection

Trace your Puerto Rico ancestors with the advice and resources in our State Research Guide! This four-page download includes:

• a how-to article detailing Puerto Rico’s history and records, with helpful advice on tracking your family there
• the best websites, books and other resources for Puerto Rico research, handpicked by our editors and experts
• listings of key libraries, archives and organizations that hold the records you need
• descriptions of the top historic sites for learning about your ancestors’ lives and times, including visitor information
• timeline of key events in the state’s history
• full-color map to put your research in geographical context

Here’s a sampling of the helpful tips you’ll get in the Puerto Rico guide:

• During the latter 1500s, Spain turned San Juan into a military outpost, and the British, French and Dutch began to fight over and settle other Caribbean islands.
• Start your genealogical research by gathering as much information as you can from relatives, then focus on an ancestor whose name, hometown and approximate years of residence you know.
• The Family History Library has registers from 1867 to 1873, the year slavery was abolished in Puerto Rico. The NARA microfilm publication Registro Central de Esclavos, 1872—also available at NARA and on subscription site Ancestry.com—lists slaves’ names, physical descriptions, parents and owners.

Plus, each guide contains active web links for one-click access to every recommended online resource. You can view this PDF on your computer and print pages for reference.