Trujillo Alto Church Records & Other Resources

Trujillo Alto Church Records & Other Resources

July 7, 2019 0 By Anna Bayala

One of the hardest things is locating family records for Trujillo Alto in Puerto Rico due to the lack of access to books or not all books being filmed by the LDS back in the 1980s. However, that should not stop us from seeking information on what is available. I am currently working on the indexing of the Trujillo Alto 1860 Census and have already over 1,000 completed but it will take some time as I’ll also have to display the information here. In the meantime, I want to assist those that are seeking information.

First, let’s talk about the history of the municipality so that we can understand where we should be looking. Note that when I finally sat down and read a book that was published back in the 1960s, I realized that it had information that I did not realize and felt that I could share it here. The book is out of print and very hard to attain a copy, hence why I will share a summary of the book here. Note that many online references have some of the information incorrect and based on the details provided in the book, I believe the source is more reliable. You can find the book listed in the cited works below.

Trujillo Alto History

Trujillo Alto was founded on January 8, 1801. The sole church that served Trujillo Alto until 1817 was Nuestra Señora de la Caridad y San Miguel in Trujillo Bajo. Known as San Miguel today, it was inaugurated on September 29th, 1800 and was built on a hill of Canta Gallo by the community members. The first priest to be assigned to this church was Don Jose Casimiro Marrero, and on November 3rd, 1806, the community received their first Confirmation.

In 1817, the Exaltación de la Santa Cruz was built and served as the community’s second church. However, on the night of September 26th, 1932, per what had been documented, the northern side wall was destroyed by a hurricane, San Ciprian. The catastrophe that could have occurred was avoided when the Puerto Rican priest, Agustin Rexach, never provided the keys to the church to those who were seeking refuge. In anger, neighbors went to Jose Francisco Principe, pastor of the Baptist Church, who then sheltered everyone at the Protestant church. The next day, the community saw the destruction and what could have been fatal for many. They thanked God and asked for blessings. The church had repairs done in 1933 but was remodeled in 1956. (Viera Diaz)

Keeping in mind what happened at Santa Cruz, we can now talk about what is available covering both churches.

San Miguel – Trujillo Bajo

The following church books exist on FamilySearch. You will have to check with the Archivo Histórico Arquidiócedano in Old San Juan, many are lost due to many reasons.

Baptisms

Confirmations

Marriages

Deaths

Santa Cruz – Trujillo Alto

Baptisms

Confirmations

  • All confirmation books are missing

Marriages

Deaths

The following books are only available at the Archivo Histórico Arquidiócedano in Old San Juan in Cajas 12 and 13 unless marked missing.

  • Book 1 (1816 – 1825) – No Index
  • Book 2 (1825 – 1838) – No Index
  • Book 3 (1838 – 1855) – No Index
  • Book 4 (1855 – 1864) – Missing
  • Book 5 (1864 – 1877) – Index in book
  • Book 6 (1877 – 1890) – Index in book
  • Book 7 (1890 – 1898) – Missing
  • Book 8 (1898 – 1910) – Index in book

References

Viera Diaz, J. F. (1962). Historia Documental de Trujillo Alto. Barcelona: Ediciones Rvmbos.

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