¿Eres Boricua?  Are you Puerto Rican? Wondering how to find your roots?

The Irma and Paul Milstein Division of United States History, Local History and Genealogy is happy to announce the launch of our newest research guide: Puerto Rico Genealogy.

Why start your research here at the Library?
Here are three good reasons:
 

1. Your Puerto Rican ancestors are probably listed on the U.S. Census.

Residents of Puerto Rico have been counted in the following Federal Census years: 1910, 1920, 1930, 1940, and 1950–present. There are a few things to remember: first, Puerto Rico's Census records are in Spanish! The Puerto Rico Genealogy Guide provides some helpful translations. Secondly, although it was part of the United States, only U.S. armed forces in Puerto Rico were included on the 1900 Census of the island. And finally, Federal Census records are made publicly available every seventy-two years. Was your tía born in San Juan in 1949? She should be on the 1950 Federal Census, but you will have to wait until 2022 to see that record.

2. Puerto Rico marriage records have more information than you might expect!

Every day in the Milstein Division, we help researchers locate marriage records in the public domain. (We even have a free class devoted to researching vital records!) But marriage records for U. S. states don't hold a candle to the information detailed in a Puerto Rican marriage certificate. Por ejemplo...

In the example marriage certificate from the state of Missouri, one can see details found in many American marriage records. Typically, one will find the bride's and groom's names, ages, date of ceremony, witnesses—but an Acta de Matrimonio record from Puerto Rico (see image) can also provide: 

• Bride's and groom's hometowns
• Bride's and groom's parents' profession(s), current residence(s)
• Witnesses' names, ages, profession(s), current residence(s)

This can be very useful for genealogy research, particularly if you hit a brick wall.

3. You can find resources on Puerto Rico throughout the Library system.

In addition to the genealogy expertise found in the Milstein Division, researchers can also benefit from collections in other research libraries, divisions, and branches.

There are so many different locations where researchers can find materials on Puerto Rico, we devoted an entire page to it in the Guide! Start with the Search Library Collections page, and review tips for searching the Library catalog by subject, learn about Puerto Rico materials in NYPL Digital Collections, peruse suggested databases, and gain insights on how to locate maps of Puerto Rico.

You may also wish to head to the Bronx Library Center, which is home to NYPL's Latino and Puerto Rican Cultural Collection, "circulating and reference bilingual (English/Spanish) collections reflecting both individuals' cultural experiences and the broader Latino experience", along with a noncirculating collection of rare materials in the Heritage Room.

And the Schomburg Center for Research in Black Culture—named for Puerto Rican writer, historian, and bibliophile, Arturo Alfonso Schomburg—may also have materials useful for your research. Begin searching in the Library catalog with these resources available at Schomburg, including the Enciclopedia puertorriqueña ilustrada. The Puerto Rican heritage encyclopedia.

Further Reading

Beyond genealogy and biographical research, you might be interested in learning more about:

• Aguilar Library and its records in the Manuscripts and Archives Division
• Pura Belpré (the first Puerto Rican librarian at the New York public Library), and her papers, as well as her efforts toward bilingual education, and the American Library Association's annual award named in her honor
• Arturo Alfonso Schomburg

About the Puerto Rico Genealogy Guide

The Puerto Rico Genealogy Guide was designed using LibGuides by Springshare, a platform the Library began using to create research and exhibition guides in 2017.

This post also appears on nypl.org/blog in Spanish, Presentando la Guía de Investigación de Genealogía de Puerto Rico.