UTAH VALLEY FHC

CUBA

Ga~ERAl RESEARCH GUIDE

by

Dr. lyman De Platt

IGHL Research Series, Volume 17

044-001

Instituto Geneal6logico e Hist6rico Latino~ericano

P.O. Box 2650Salt lake City, Utah 84110-2650

1989

TABLE OF CctffEtfTS

Political History ••

Civil Registration

Ecclesiastical History

Parish Registers

Fani Iy Sources

Census Records

Notarial Records

Land Records •• •

Military Records

Fanily Histories

Other Genealogical Records

Cemetery •• • • • • • • •

lrnmigration-Enigration~igration

Civil-Criminal Cases •.•••.

Latin American Research Series

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,. POLlTlCAL HISTORY

Christopher Columbus touched the land mass of Cuba during themonth of November 1492, but it was not until seventeen yearslater that Diego Velazquez de Cu~llar colonized the island. Thefirst settlements were begun in 1511. The city of La Habana wasestabl ished in 1519.

The island was divided into two gobiernos in 1620. These were LaHabana and Santiago de Cuba.

Cuba was under the jurisdiction of the vjceroyalty of Hew Spaininitially. In 1762 the English captured La Habana but it wasrestored to Spain the following year. In 1777 Cuba was elevatedto a captaincy general within the colonial civil structure ofLatin fRerica.

In IB27 the Spanish government divided the island into civildepartments under which it was adninistered until IB78.

Between 1868 and 187B there was a revolution on the island, butit finally ended without resolving anything. There was a lot ofdestruction caused by this revolution, both in lives and records.

On June 9, 187B the island was divided into six provinces whichwere Oriente, Canaguey, Las Villas, Matanzas, La Habana, andPinar del Rio. In 1893 the island becane one province again,with a captain general as the governor, and it was divided intofour gobiernos or lieutenancies which were further sub-dividedinto thirty one political districts. Once again, in 1895, therebegan another uprising which resulted in the Spanish-American Warof 1898. In 1901 Cuba adopted a constitution which relegated itto a protectorate of the United States. It finally declared itsindependence in 1940.

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In 1975 the old 1878 provinces were sub-divided as follows:Oriente (Guantanano, Santiago de Cuba, Holguin, Granma, and LasTunas), Canaguey (Canaguey, Ciego de Avila), Las Villas (SanctiSpiritus, Cienfuegos, Santa Clara, and Villa). The otherprovinces remained undivided. Within all of these provinces, theareas are divided into municipalities.

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Ci~il Registration

On July 31, 1889, the Spanish civil code, which was promulgatedin 1888, was put into operation in Cuba. Since that time ci~il

registration has technically been in effect throughout theisland. Many areas, hOAever, have suffered severe losses becauseof the civil wars and revolutions waged on the island.

Copies of birth, marriage, and death certificates can be obtainedby writing to Cuban municipal officials. The cost is i60.00 U.S.for each certificate. Correspondence has to be directed to theCuban Mission in Washington, D.C.

ECCLESIASTICAL HISTORY

The bapti~al transcriptions gi~e the n~e of the child, the dateof baptism, some birthplaces of parents, n~es of parents, andthe source of the reference. The marriage transcriptions givethe nanes of the spouses, their parents, former marriage infor­mation, the date of marriage and the source reference. Sometimesplaces of origin are also ~iven. The burial transcriptions aremostly for adults and give the death date, to wh~ the deceasedwas married, s~e birthplaces and nanes of parents and the sourcereference. Most of the records are recorded by parish, in semi­alphabetical order (by letter of principal surnane), butoccasionally they have been extracted in chronological sequence.

For the Cathedral of Havana and the church of Espiritu Santo(Sancti-Spiritus), c~plete runs of marriage books ha~e beenidentified in these papers, although all entries were notextracted in the original transcriptions.

The follOAing is a list of the parishes for which there are sometr anscr ipti ons.

The Diocese of 8aracoa, formed February II, 1517, was establishedat Baracoa, but by April 28, 1522, it was changed to a new head­quarters at Santigo de Cuba. The new diocese was suffragan toSeville until 1547 when it passed under the newly-organizedArchdiocese of Santo D~ingo.

On September 10, 1787, the second diocese of Cuba was establishedat La Habana. On No~ember 24, 1804, the bishopric of Santiago deCuba was elevated to the status of an archdiocese.

Initially in Cuba there were four parishes including thepresent cathedral parish called San Crist6bal de la Havana,Remedios" Trinidad and Sancti Spiritus. Guanabacoa became aparish in 1607. Matanzas was founded in 1693, Cienfuegos in1819. Histories of all of the parishes of Cuba are beingprepared by the CGS staff. HOAever, most records prior to 1700ha~e ceased to exist for a ~ariety of reasons.

Parish Registers

Transcriptions of the working papers of Francisco Xavier de SantaCruz y Mall~n include some parish register entries of bapti~s,

marriages, and burials fr~ a number of parishes in Cuba. Thesepapers cane about through the work of a number of indi~iduals

(see CGS Revista 1:9-10).

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tWiE OF PARISH

C~aguey:

Cathedral

Soledad

Cardenas

Cienfuegos

Guanabacoa

La Habana:

Cal~ario

Cathedral(f i1m

I1162426)

RECORD TYPE(S) YEARS ClNERED Ql.WfflTY

Marr i ages 1-9 1668-1874 1500Wi lis 1620-1850 ca. 3000

Marriages 1-8 1703-1852 1200

Marriages 1805-1860 100

Marriages 1827-1902 100

Nixed 1680-1790 100

Marriages, v.2 1775-1856 10

Bapt isms 1705-1785 1300Marriages 1622-1874 2000Burials 1619-1867 2250

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Volulle nUllbers are not given for the burial records after volulle3, but the records are transcripted through 1871. lhese recordsfor the Cathedral of Havana are all contained on microfilll1,162,426 at the Fanily History Library.

lhe records for the Cathedral of Havana contained in thecollection are not cOllplete for the early period. lhe firstbook of baptiSlls and marriages (baptisns 1590-1600; lIarriages1584-1622>, was published by Hidalgufa in Madrid in 1974 inalphabetical order. It is available on microfilll 973,150, itell6 at the FaRily History Library. lhe Santa Cruz collactioncontains the foll~ing transcriptions:

Vol. 7 1771-1794Vol. B 1794-1B12Vol. 9 IB12-1B20Vol. 10 IB20-1840Vol. 11 IB40-1B55Vol. 12 1856-1874

Vol. 3 1679-

1773-17BI17B1-17B617B6-17921792-17951795-IBOO

Vol. 14Vol. 15Vol. 16Vol. 17Vol. 18

BAP1I St1SVol. B 1705-1715Vol. 9 1716-1744Vol. 10 1745-1752Vol. 11 1753-1763Vol. 12 1764-1770Vol. 13 1771-1772

BURIALSVol. 1 1619-1649Vol. 2 1649-1679

~RRIAGES

Vol. 1 1622-164BVol. 2 1649-166BVol. 3 1668-1708Vol. 4 1709-1724Vol. 5 1724-1753Vol. 6 1754-1771

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Guadalupe Harriages 1850-1890 150

Jesds del Hontf Hi xed 1750-1870 200

Honserratf Mixed 1700s-1800s Index

Santo Ange I Harr iages 1694-1712 Index

Marianao Harriages 1871-1886 9

Hatanzas Harrriages 1689-1850 400Hi xed 1700-1850 500

Relledios Marriages 1684-1751 300

Santa Clara Marriages 1690-IB80 400

Santiago de Cuba Harr i age notfs 1688-1715 4008urials 1678-18BO 100

Sancti Spiritus Marriages 1-8 1674-1B91 750

lhere is a ledger for Sancti-Spiritus foll~ing the samealphabetical sequence of the records above, which includesgenealogical notes on births, lIarriages, burials, and civil,ecclesiastical and military positions held, listed by age, year,plaCf, etc.

lhe lIarriage records for Sancti Spiritus are a c~plete run as tovolulles, even though all the records are not included. lhey are:

Vol. 1 1674-1724 Vol. 9 1814-1829Vol. 2 1729-1744 Vol. 10 1829-1838Vol. 3 1744-1760 Vol. 11 183B-IB49Vol. 4 1760-1772 Vol. 12 IB4B-1859Vol. 5 1772-1783 Vol. 13 IB59-1B72Vol. 6 17B3-1794 Vol. 14 IB72-18B3Vol. 7 1794-1803 Vol. 15 IB83-1B91Vol. B IB03-1B14

F{flILYSOURCES

As genealogy is a study of faRily units, it stands to reason thatthe hOlle of the nuclear faRily and the hOlIes of children andgrandchildren of the nuclear couple, should contain the 1I0stextensive lIaterials available pertaining to the farnily's gene­alogy and history.

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A carefu1 inves ti ga t ion will uncover sone, j f not all, of thefoll~ing types of genealogical and family history material:

Alnost every family has sonething of value to give to thediligent researcher. Care should be taken in the approach thatis used, h~ever. 11any individuals, in an effort to obtain in­formation, and before establishing trustworthy relationships withnewly-met or 1ittle-kn~n relatives, have asked questions whichare too personal, or asked to borr~ pictures, letters, docu­ments, etc., that are very valuable to the owner. Apreviouslyestablish~d rapport through lett~rs, phone calls, or visits, manytimes provides treasures of information that otherwise would haveremained hidden, and then destroyed or thr~ away at the death ofthat individual. Even kinship is not a pre-requisite to successin this area, if proper deference to and respect for age iscultivated.

In Cuba, th~ b~st plac~ to b~gin all g~n~alogical inv~stiga­

tions is ~ith th~ old~r family n~nb~rs and r~latives, and ifth~se ar~ dec~as~d, at th~ plac~(s) ~here they liv~d if possible.Fran this research it is usually possible to get sone names,dates, and family traditions or stories, sane of which nay extendback as nuch as five generations. Invariably nuch of thisinfornation will b~ found in no other place and when it is lostl! l! gone forever. Even though an ancestor nay have been deadfor twenty to fifty years, it is still a good policy to go towhere they lived and find out what still exists in the ninds ofothers about then and their family. Because so nany of Cuba'sliving citizens have been displaced and are presently in theUnited States, it is inp~rative that the older g~neration recordwhat it kn~s concerning ancestral places of residence, familytraditions, names, dates, etc.

vital recordschurch recordsphotographspicture albumsbiographiescitizenship papersdi ar ies

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legal papersmilitary documentsschool recordswork recordsdiplonasnewspaper clippingsfanlily histories

If these materials are unavailable in the hone in question, thenthe hones of friends, neighbors, and relatives should be visited,as should local libraries, archives, and museums.

Further information on this area of research can be found in thei fo11~ing pub1ications:

Platt, Lyman De. Genealogical Historical Guide 1Q Latin Anerica.Detroit, Michigan, 197B. Spanish edition: Una Gula Geneal6gico­Hist6rica d~ Latinoan~rica. Ramona, California, 1978.

In Chapter 1 of this book, entitled ·Res~arch Standards,· thereis a section on Family Sources which identifies these sources anddescribes them in detail.

Ryskamp, George R. Tracing Your Hispanic Heritage. Riverside,California, 1984.

Section I of this book, entitled ·Techniques and Principles·includes several areas of interest to family research.

These books also contain detailed information on sone of therecords listed in the sections below.

CENSUS RECORDS

The civil census records of Cuba are on~ of its richest archi­val treasur~s that has been lost for the most part. As far ascan be determined the 1899 and 1907 censuses taken by the Unit~d

States were destroyed by an act of congress. Later censuses maystill exist in Cuba. At the national archives, there are atleast thirty-one bundles of census records under Censos for thecolonial p~riod.

NOTARIAL RECORDS

After the records already mentioned, the notarial records are themost informative and important. Public or legal naterial pertain­ing to individuals that was recorded during the colonial periodusually found its way into the notarial books. These books(called protoc010s) include wills, land transactions, dowry in­formation, contracts, bonds, p~ers, mortgages, complaints,charges, and parnents.

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•Some notarial records have been destroyed for a variety ofreasons, but for the nost part they are still available in theoriginal archives of the notary that created then, in a specialnotarial archives, in the provincial archives, or in the ArchivoNacional in Havana.

Although some of the more conscientious notaries made indexes totheir protocolos, most did not. More of these records began tobe indexed following the independence period, however, as localofficials realized the absolute value of the infornationcontained therein.

The nost-looked-for document in notarial records is the will andfor this reason some believe that wills are only found innotarial records, but this is not true. They are also found inecclesiastical archives, nunicipal archives and if they areholographic (written in the hand of the testator), they may be infanily archives, museuns, and other public archives.

In the National Archive there is an index to the 284 bundles ofprotocol os for the years 1842-1890 housed at the Archive. Thisindex was published in the Bolet1n of the National Archives involumes 8-11, but included only 275 of the 284 bundles.

At Canaguey, there is a card index in private hands of over onemillion cards, for the notarial collection there. Many of theserecords have been transcripted and are in the hands of CGS andare being published in the Revista.

lAND RECORD

Of all the records best suited to genealogical and historicalreseach in Cuba, those that deal with land are found in moreassorted places than any other.

At the National Archives in Havana there is a collection ofrecords called Realtngos, consisting of ninety-eight bundles forthe years 1782-1850. The material is concerned with the adninis­tration of royal lands. In the Bolet1n, volumes 8-12, there isan alphabetical I ist of properties and persons concerned withthis set of documents.

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•Also. at the Nation~l Archives is a section called Tierras tPropledaded. It IS probably sinilar to other archivalcollections in Latin Anerica and will contain information oncolonial land distribution and ownership. There is also acollection called Solicitudes de Tierras.

In the book by J.C. Prince, entitled Cuba Illustrated, (New York,1893, 6th edition), pages 125-174, there is a list of sugarplantations in alphabetical order, noting where they were locatedon the island, and the nane and address of the owner of each.

MILITARY RECORDS

There was no standing army as such in Cuba until the mid-1700s.During the early colonial period, the major mil itary effortsconsisted of protection provided by militia units conscriptedfrom the estates and various Spanish settlements.

There were four nain groups of nilitary personnel included in thedesignation of "military." These groups were: 1) veteran Spanishsoldiers assigned for short duration throughout the viceroyaltYj2) veteran Spanish troops assigned permanently to a given areaj3) provincial nilitia unitsj and 4) urban militia units.

Military records for the colonial period are found in severalarchives under varying classifications, the nost connon of whichare: 1) troop lists, 2) connission records, 3) service records,4) conscription records, 5) reginental register sheets, 6)petitions of soldiers for permission to narry, and 7) petitionsfor pensions.

At the National Archives in Havana there is a collection calledComisiones militares, consisting of 133 bundles for the years1825-1869. The biographical information contained in theserecords is about nilitary nen receving connissions on the islandduring that time.

There are many nilitary records on Cuban officials and soldiersin Spain at the Archivo Militar in Segovia and at Simancas.8ecause Cuba was a province of Spain much longer than other LatinAmerican countries, this is a particularly valuable source.

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•Films 1,156,324 through 1,156,329 at th~ Family History librarycontain service records for Spanish and Cuban military men from1786-1800. An index to thes~ r~cords is avai Jable in:

Patronato Nacional de Archivos Hist6ricos. CatAlogo XXII delArchivo de Simancas, Secretarla de Guerra (siglo XVIII> ,Hojas de Servicios de America. Valladolid, Spain: Patronato,1958.

Military records for all of the regiments at Havana, Bayamo,Cuatro Villas, Matanzas, Puerto Principe, Santiago de Cuba, andTrinidad are included.

F#\IlY HISTORIES

IGHl Research Series, Volume 15, entitled latin American FamilyRecords, has over 3,500 family histories and genealogies listedin it. Over 300 of th~s~ are for Cuban families. B~sid~s thes~

individual titl~s to specific surname histories, the followingpublications hav~ be~n indexed by CGS and IGHl that pertain inwhole or in part to Cuba.

AlmeJa, Juan. Guh de Persona~ m cult ivan l! Historia deAmerica.

Burkholder, Hark A. Biographical Dictionary of Audi~ncia Minis­ters In 1hi Americas, 1687-1821.

Calcagno, Francisco. Diccionario BioQrifico Cubano.

Cuban Genealogical Society. Revista.

Lohmann, Guillermo. los Americanos ~ l!i Ordenes Nobiliarias.

Mahy, Jos~ Antonio. Testamentos de Camaguey.

Nieto, Rafael. Dignidades Nobiliarias en Cuba.

Peraza, Fermin. Diccionario BiogrAfico Cubano.

Rodriguez, Emilio. Familias Hispanoam~ricanas.

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•Santa Cruz, Francisco X. Historia de Fanilias Cubanas.

Viller~, Sidney Louis. The Canary Islands Migration to louisiana,1778-1783. This book is mostly about those who left louisianafor Cuba.

The end result of the family history project of IGHl and CGS isto compile an index to all of the family histories that have b~en

publish~d. There is so much that is available in th~se historiesthat cannot be us~d by most individuals simply becaus~ it is notind~xed. Ther~ are many int~rr~lat~d famili~s in Cuba that aredupl icating research efforts, and in som~ cases this duplicationextends to oth~r latin America countri~s. It was not unusual foran emigrant family to spilt up and go into th~ various countriesof South America, C~ntral America, Mexico, and th~ Caribbean,~stablishing branches of the fanily that lost contact with eachother.

OTHER GENEALOGICAL RECORDS

There are many other records besides the ones mentioned pre­viously, that have value in doing genealogy or family res~arch.

The following are some of the more important ones.

Cemetery Records

On Harch I, 1784, King Charles IV. ordered the establishment ofcemeteries in the urban areas of the main cities of the

i latin America. This was follwed by an order of April 3, 1787outlining that cemeteries were also to be constructed in theoutside environs of the cities. With this order all churchcemeteries were supposedly closed. However, the order was re­issued in 1804, shwing the resistence of the parish priests.

Many tombstone inscriptions and some cemetery burial books existand can provide additional information not found in church orcivil death records.

Immigration-Emigration-Migration Records

There were strict rules for controlling population movementsduring most of the colonial period. All persons traveling to

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•Cuba technically had to be cleared by the Casa de la Contratacionin Seville.

The AGI in Seville is publishing the early passenger lists toLatin America. These exist irom 1509-1790 at AGI, Contrataci6n.Seven volumes oi these lists have now been published ior theearly colonial period.

The archives oi Spain are iull oi proois oi massive innigrationto the Viceroyalty oi New Spain. The records dealing with thissubject are scattered in the notarial archives, in passports, inpadrones de hidalguta, and so iorth.

Civil-Criminal Cases

At the National Archives in Havana there are 14,000 bundles ofthese records i~r the colonial and modern time periods. Althoughthey are not indexed or well-cataloged, they contain a valuabletreasure oi iniormation on many individuals.

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i

IGHL RESEARCH SERIES

Vol. 1 Genealogical Research in Latin AmericaVol. 2 Nexico, General Guide: Political DivisionsVol. 3 Nexico, General Guide: Ecclesiastical DivisionsVol. 4 Mexico, General Research GuideVol. 5 Mexico, Census RecordsVol. 6 Research in Mexico CityVol. 7 Genealogical Gazetteer oi MexicoVol. B Central America, General Research GuideVol. 9 Caribbean, General Research GuideVol. 10 Genealogical Gazetteer oi Central America and the

CaribbeanVol. 11 South America, General Research GuideVol. 12 Genealogical Gazetteer oi South AmericaVol. 13 Latin American Census RecordsVol. 14 Latin American Military RecordsVol. 15 Latin American Family RecordsVol. 16 Puerto Rico, General Research GuideVol. 17 Cuba, General Research GuideVol. IB Dominican Republic, General Research GuideVol. 19 Chile, General Research GuideVol. 20 Argentina, General Research GuideVol. 21 Peru, General Research GuideVol. 22 Guatemala, General Research GuideVol. 23 Colombia, General Research GuideVol. 24 Ecuador, General Research GuideVol. 25 Bolivia, General Research GuideVol. 26 Costa Rica, General Research GuideVol. 27 EI Salvador, General Research GuideVol. 2B Honduras, General Research GuideVol. 29 Nicaragua, General Research GuideVol. 30 Panama, General Research GuideVol. 31 Paraguay, General Research GuideVol. 32 Uruguay, General Research GuideVol. 33 Venezuela, General Research GuideVol. 34 Research in Buenos AiresVol. 35 Research in LimaVol. 36 Spain, General Guide: Political DivisionsVol. 37 Spain, General Guide: Ecclesiastical DivisionsVol. 38 Spain, General Research Guide

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• •SERlE DE JtfJESlJ6ACJIliES GEtIAlOGJCAS DEL JGHL COOENJDO

Casos elvll.slcri~lnales ••••••••••• • • • • •• 15

Hlstoria Politic•••••••••••••••••••••••• 4

Historlas Fmtillu.s • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • •• 13

Censos y Padron.s • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • •• 10

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. .InligraeI6n-Enlgrlci6n~igraci6n •••••••••••

C~enterlos ••••••••••••

EI R.gistro Civil • I •••••••••••••••••••• 5

Reglstros Parroqulales • • • • • • • • • • •• • •••

Otros R.glstros 6en'116glcos •••••••••••••••• 14

Reglstros Notarlales •••• • • • • • • • • • • • • • • •• 10

Registros Hilitares ••••••••• • •••••

Reglstros de Tierras •••••••••••••••••••• II

~Istoria Ecleslistlca ••••••••••• • •••• • •

Fu.nt.s Fmtillares •••••••••••••

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Vol. 1 Jnv.stigaciones 6.nea16gicas.n Latinoil'ricaVol. 2 H'xico, Gula General: Divisiones PollticasVol. 3 H'xico, Gufa 6.neral: Division.s Ecl.siistlcasVol. 4 H'xico, 6ufa d. Inv.stigacilD's 6.neal6gicasVol. 5 H'xico, Censos y PadronesVol. 6 Jnv.stigltlon.s 6.n.al6gieas .n la Cludad de H'xieoVol. 7 6Iz.t.ro 6.o.al6gito d. H'xieoVol. 8 Clntroil'rlca, Gula dl Jnv.stlgaeion.s 6.o.aI6gieasVol. 9 Caribe, 6ula dl lovestigaciooes Geolal6gieasVol. 10 6az.t.ro 8101116gico d. C.ntroll'rica y .1 Carib.Vol. 11 Sudam'rlca, Gula de Jov.stitation.s 6eoeal6gica5Vol. 12 6az.t.ro 6eo.a16gieo de Sudil'ricaVol. 13 C.osos y Padrones d. LatioOil'ricaVol. 14 Registros Hilitar., de latinoll'ricaVol. 15 Historils Famlliarls de latinoam'ricaVol. 16 Pu.rto Rico, Gula de lovestigaclon.s G.neal6gicasVol. 17 Cuba, 6ula de Investigaciooes 6eneal6gicasVol. 18 Rep6blica Dominicaoa, Gufa de lovestigaciones

Geneal6gicasVol. 19 Chll., Gufa de Invistigacion.s 6.o.aI6gicalVol. 20 Argentina, Gufa de Inv.stigacion.s G.o.aI6gicasVol. 21 Per6, Gula dl Inv.stigacion.s G.neal6glcasVol. 22 Guat.~ala, Gufa de Jnv.stigacion.s 6ln.al6gicasVol. 23 Colombia, 6ula de Jnvestigaciones Geneal6gicasVol. 24 Ecuador, Gufa de Investigacion.s 6eo.al6gicasVol. 25 Bolivia, 6ufa de Jnvestigaciones Gen.al6gitasVol. 26 Costa Rica, Gula de Jnv.stigaciones Geneal6gicasVol. 27 EI Salvador, Gufa dt Invtstlgaclon.s Geneal6gicasVol. 28 Honduras, 6ula de Investigaclon.s Gtntal6gicisVol. 29 Nicaragua, Gula de Investigaciones Gen.al6gicasVol. 30 Panam' , 6ula de lovestigaciones Geneal6gicasVol. 31 Paraguay, Gula d. Investigacion.s Gen.al6gicasVol. 32 Uruguay, 6ula d. Jnvlstigacion.s Gen.al6gicasVol. 33 Venezutla, 6ula de Investigaciones 6en.al6gicasVol. 34 Invtstlgaclones Gental6gicas.n II Ciudad de Butnos

AiresVol. 35 Investigacionts Geneal6gicas .n la Cludad dt Li~aVol. 34 Espala, 6ula General: Divisiones PollticasVol. 37 Espala, 6ufa General: Divisiones Eclesi'sticasVol. 38 Espala, Gula de Jnvestigaciones Geneal6gicas

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HISTORIA POLJTJCA

Crist6bal Col6n II.g6 a la isla de Cuba durante el aes denovieabre de 1492, pero no fu. hasta dieelsiet. alos despuls queDiego V,lizquez de Culilar eoloniz6 a la isla. La prigerapoblaei6n se hizo en 1511. La eiudad de La Habana fue estableeidaen 1519.

La isla .staba dividida .n dos gobiernos en 1620. Estos .ran LaHabana y Santiago de Cuba.

Cuba estaba baJo la jurisdieei6n del Virr.inato de Nu.va Espanainlcialaent.. En 1162 los Ingl.ses Invadi.ron a La Habana p.rofue restaurada a Espafta el ano siguiente En 1117 Cuba fu. elevadaa capitanla gen.ral dentro de la .structura colonial civil deLatinoaillriu

En 1821 el gobl.rno espanol dividi6 la isla en depart.entosciviles bajo 105 cual.s fue adlipistrado hasta 1878.

Entre 1868 y 1818 habla una revoluci6n sobre la isla que finaliz6sin resolver nada. Habla Rucha destrucei6n eausada por larevoluci6n, en vidas y registros.

En 9 de junio de 1818 la Isla fue dividida en s.is provlnciasque eran Oriente, C.aguey, Las Villas, Hatanzas, La Habana, yPinar del Rio. En 1893 la Isla II.g6 a ser una provincia otravez con capitin g'Reral CORO el gobernador, y fue dlvidida encuatro gobi.rnos or t.nenclas que fu.ron sub-divididas en treintay un distritos politicos. Una vez gis, en 1895, habla otrarlbeli6n qUI result6 en la Guerra HispanoaRericana de 1898. En1901 Cuba adopt6 una constltucl6n que la releg6 a un prottctoradode los Estados Unidos. Finalaente, declar6 su independencia en1940.

En 1915 las provincias antiguas de 1818 fueron sub-divididas enla forga siguiente: Oriente (Guantanallo, Santiago de Cuba,Holguin, GraRRa, y Las Tunas), Callaguey (C.aguey, Ciego deAvila), Las Villas (Sanctl Spiritus, Cienfuegos, Santa Clara, yVilla). las otras provincias quedaron sin dividirs•• En todasestas provincias, los territorios estaban sub-divididos enlIunlcipios.

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Rl!gistro Civil

En 31 dt julio dt 1889, tl. c6dlgo civil npatlol, qut futpr~ulgado tn 1888, st hizo tftctlvo tn Cuba. D.sd. 'ntonc.s tlregistro civil hi tstado operatlvo par toda II Isla tecnlcal­lIente. Sin flbargo, lIuchos lugar.s has sufrldo pfrdidas por causade las guerras civiles y las revolucionl!s que han destrozada laIsh.

Cop 115 of c.rtiflcados dt nacillil!ntos, latrillonios, y defunciontsse pUl!dl!n obttnl!r al Iscriblr al Embassy of thl! CZl!choslovakSocialist Rl!publlc, Cuban Intl!rl!sts Section, 2639 16th Strl!l!t,N.W. Washington, D.C., 20009. El costa es dt t60.00 U.S. paracada certlflcado.

HISTORJA ECLESIASTJCA

La Di6cesls de Baracoa, foraada In II de fl!brtro de 1511, fueestabltclda en Baracoa, pero tn 28 d. abrll de 1522, canbl6 sucabeetra a Santlgo dt Cuba. La nUl!va dl6cl!sis fue sufraginea aSevilla hasta 1541 cuando pas6 a II nueva Arquidi6cesls de SantoOmingo.

En 10 de setlflbre de 1187, la segunda dl6cesls de Cuba fUI!establecida en La Habana. En 24 de novitllbre dl! 1804, elobispado de Santiago dt Cuba fue II.vlda a arquidl6cesls.

Iniclallent. en Cubl habfan cuatro parroquias incluytndo laprts.ntt eattdra1 dt San Crlst6bal de la Havana, Regl!dlos,Trinidad y Sanctl Spiritus. Guanabacoa III!g6 a sl!r parroquia en1607. Hatlnzas fue fundada I!n 1693, Cienfuegos en 1819.Historlas de todas las parroquias de Cuba se estin preparando porCGS. Sin tRbargo, la mayorfa de los reglltros de las parroquialde Cuba han cesado dl! exlstlr antes d! 1700 por una variedad derazonn.

Registros Parroqulalts

Transcripciones de los papeles de Francisco Xavier de Santa Cruzy Hal1fn incluyen algunos r.glstros parroquilles: bautismos,natrlnonlos, y d.funclones d' varlas parroquias de Cuba. Estolpapeles fueron e!crltos por un n~ero dl! Individuos. (vlasl! CGSRevlsta 1:9-10).

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-----------------------------------------------------------------CilIaglltY:

Las' transcrlptclones bautlsmales dan el nombre delillo, la fechadel bautlsmo, los nombre de 105 padres, a veces sus lugares denaclalento, y la fuente de referencia. las transcripclones deaatrilonio dan los nombres de los contrayent'I" sus padres,inforRacion sobre Ratrimoniol anteriores, la fecha de .atrilonio,y la fuente de referencia. AVICtS lugares de origin tambi.nestin incluidos. Las transcriptiones de Intlerro'son en 5U

.ayorta de adultos y dan la fecba de .uerte, a quien.1 Ruertoera casado, a veees lugares de naciml.nto y los nombres de padrlsy la fuente de referencia. La layorta de los rlgistros .stinorganizado por parroqula, in orden 5eli-alfab.tlco (por letra delapellido principal>, p.ro a veces .xtraldas en ord.n crono16gico.

De la Catedral de La Habana, y la iglesia del Sanctl-Spiritus,txtraetos d. latriRonio cubren .1 titapo completo indicado abajo.

MRROOUIA llPO DE RE6JSTRO AlOS CUBJERlOS CftlTlDAD

PARROOUIA TIPO DE REGISTRO AIDS CUOIERlOS rmTIDAD-----------------------------------------------------------------

HOM.rrat. Hlxtos 17005-10005 Indict

I Santo Angel Hatr Ilion 105 1694-1712 Indin

Harlanao Hatrlnonio 1071-18B6 9

"ahnzu Hatr I"on i05 1689-1850 400Hlxtos 1700-1850 500

ReR,dios Hatr htolli os 1684-1751 300

Sanh Clara Hatr h'on I05 1690-1880 400

Santiago d, Cuba Hatr. (notls> 1688-1715 400Entiuros 1678-1880 100

Saneti Spiritus Hatrh'onlos 1-8 1674-1891 750

Cat.dnl

Sohdad

CArd.nas

Clenfuegos

Guanabacoa

Hatr ilIon ios 1-9 1668-1874 1.500T.stamentos 1620-1850 ca. 3.000HatriRonios 1-8 1703-IB52 1.200

Hatriraonios 1805-1860 100

Hatr ilIon ios lB27-1902 100

Hixtos 1680-1790 100

Hay un 1,gaJo d, Sanetl Spiritus sigui,ndo .1 "ismo ordenaltabltieo d, 105 otr05 registros, que ineluy, notas gen,a16glea5de naci"iento, "atri"onio, enti,rro, posicion" "ilitar,s, y.elesi'stleas, por orden de ,dad, alo, lugar, etc.tera.

los latri"oniol de Sanctl Spiritus ineluyen referencias paratodos los alos aunquI no todas las partidas est'n ineluidas.Son:

La Habanu

Calvario

Catedral(filllina

1162426)

Guadalupe

J. d.l Honte

Hatrh.onios v.2

Bautismo5HatriRonlosEntierros

HatriRonios

Hixtos

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Vol. I 1674-1724 Vol. 9' 1814-1829Vol. 2 1729-1744 Vol. 10 1829-1838

1775-1856 10 Vol. 3 1744-1760 Vol. 11 1838-1849Vol. 4 1760-1772 Vol. 12 1848-1859

1705-1785 1.300 Vol. 5 1772-1783 Vol. 13 1859-18721622-1874 2.000 Vol. 6 1783-1794 Vol. 14 1872-18831619-1867 2.250 Vol. 7 1794-1803 Vol. 15 1883-1891

Vol. 8 1803-18141850-1890 150

1750-1870 200

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Los rlgistros para la Catedral dl La Habana contlnidas en lacolecci6n no Ist'n completas para el perlodo inicial. EI primerlibro dl bautiSRos y matrimoniol (bautiSRos 1590-1600; matrimo­nios 1584-1622), fue publicado por Hidalgufa In Hadrid In 1974 enorden alfabltico. Est' en micropllfcula 973,150, itlm 6 en laBiblioteca de Historia Familiar. La collcci6n dl Santa Cruzcontiene las transcripciones siguientes:

BAUTl5tlOSVol. 8 1705-1715 Vol. 14 1773-1781Vol. 9 1716-1744 Vol. 15 1781-1786Vol. 10 1745-1752 Vol. 16 1786-1792Vol. II 1753-1763 Vol. 17 1792-1795Vo1. 12 1764-1770 Vol. 18 1795-1800Vol. 13 1771-1772

HATRIH~IOS

Vol. 1 1622-1648 Vo1. 7 1771-1794Vol. 2 1649-1668 Vo1. B 1794-1812Vol. 3 1668-1708 Vo1. 9 1812-1820Vol. 4 1709-1724 Vol. 10 1820-1840Vol. 5 1724-1753 Vol. 11 1840-1855Vol. 6 1754-1771 Vol. 12 1856-1874

EHTIERROSVol. 1 1619-1649 Vol • 3 1679-Vol. 2 1649-1679

Los ndmeros dl vol6Renel del los entierros no se dan despuls delvol6Ren tres, plro los registros est'n transcritos hasta 1871.Estos registros de la Catedral de La Habana est!n todos en lamlcropelfcula 1,162,426 en la 8iblioteca de Historia Familiar.

En Cuba, el mejor lugar donde cOlenzar las investigacionesgenea16gicas IS con los mie.bros y parientes mis viejos de lafamilia, y si Istos est'n muertos, en los lugares donde vivieron.De Istas investigaciones usualmente es posible sacar algunosnombres, datos, y tradiciones 0 historias familiares, quiz'sIlevando uno hasta cinco generaciones atr!s. Invariablementemucha de esta informaci6n no se encontrar' en otro lugar y cuandose pierde 11 !! para siempre. Aunque un antepasado haya estadomuerto por veintl a cinquenta ·aftos, es bUlna costURbre ir dondevivla para ver 10 qUI todavfa Ixiste acerca de ellos y susfamiliares en las mentes dl otros. Porque tantos de 105ciudadanos de Cuba han salido del pais y viven en 105 EstadosUnidos, 15 sURilente importantl que la generaci6n vieja registra10 que sabe de los lugares ancestrales de residencia,nacimientos, matrimonio, defuncion; de tradiciones familiares,nombres, fechas, .tc.tera.

Casi cada familia ti.nl algo d. valor para dar al investigadordiligentl. Sin embargo 51 debl usar mucho cuidado en COlOclXlienn. Huchos individuos, al iniciar h pequiu, y sin antesestablecer amiltades de conflanza con reciln conocidos, 0parlentes poco conocidos, han hecho prlguntas muy personales, 0han pedido prestar fotos, cartas, docURentos, etcltera, que tienemucho valor para su dueno. Es bueno establecer un ambientemediante Ilamadas telef6nicas, cartas, 0 vlsitas, y este funda­mento muchas veces proveeri tesoros de Informaci6n qUI de otromodo hubiera quedado escondidos, y entonces destruidas 0 echadasa la basura con la muertl del aquel individuo. A6n el parentescono es un pr.-rlquisito al 'xito dl este modo, si el debidorespeto a la edad y situaciones del individuos se tlXlan en cuenta.

Una investigaci6n cuidadosa delcubrir' algunos, Ii no todos, delos siguientes tipos de material genea16gico y familiar.

FUEHTES FANILIARES

Siendo que la genealogfa es ,I estudio de familias, es obvlo que,1 hogar de la familia nucl,ar y los hogar,s de los hljos ynietos de la pareja nuclear, deben contlner el material misIxtensivo que existe sobre esa familia en cuanto a su geneal091a, historia.

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registros vitalesr.gistros eclesi'sticosfotogriffu'lbURes de fotolbiograffaspapeles de ciudadanladlirios

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papeles legalesdocURentos militaresregistros escolaresregistros de trabajodipllXlurecortes de peri6dicolhistorlas familiares

SI IstOs aaterialls no 51 Inculntran en II hogar nucllar,entoncis los hogarls dl IIIg05, vicino', Y pariente, debenvisltarse, camo tambitn blbliotlcas, archlvos y lU510S locales.

Infomaci6n adic lonal sobre uta foraa dl buscar puede. Incon­trarse en las publicaclones sigulentes.

Platt, LYllan Dt. GennloQical Historical Guide to Latin (uerica.Detroit, Michigan, 1978. Edici6n en espalol: Una GuiaGenea16glco-Hist6rlca de latlnoaltrica. Rllona, California, 1978.

En e' capitulo uno de este Ilbro entltulado 'Horaa deInvestigaciones Genla16gicas,' hay una seccl6n sobre Fuentesfaliliares que identlfica nis detalladllente a estas fuentesflliliarts.

Ryskllp, George R. lracing ~ Hlstanic Heritagt. Rivenide,California, 1984.

Secel6n J de este libro entitulada 'lechnlques and Principles'incluye varios puntos de interls' las Investigacionesglneal6gicas.

Estos Ilbros tamblln contienen infornacl6n nis detallada sobrealgunos de los otros reglstros descrltos ., segulr.

CENSUS RECORDS

El censo civil de Cuba IS uno de sus tlsoros archivflcos aisricos qUI 51 ha perdido en 5U nayoria. De 10 qUI se puededeteminar, ·105 censos dl 1899 y 1907 tamados por los Es\adosUnldos fueron destruldos por acta del congrlso dl 105 EstadoUnldos. Clnsos tamados nls tard,s todavia puedan Ixlstlr enCuba. En II archlvo national, hay por 10 nenos trelnta y unllgajos de c,nsos bajo~ para la Ipoca colonial.

RE6JSlROS N01ARJALES .

Desputs dl los registros ya Istudiados, los registros notarlalesson los nls InforRatlvos e IRportantls. lodo dl naturalezap6blica 0 legal p,rtenecilntl a Indlviuduos, qu, fu, rlgistrado

- 10 -

i

durante la epoca colonial, usualaent. se Incuentra en los librosnotariales. Estos libros (ilalados ,rototolol) incluyen testa­mentos, codicilios, tutelas, cartas de dote, ventas de bienesrafces y otras propiedades, hipotecas, poderes, pagos, etcftera.

Algunos registros notarial.s han sido destruidos par uRa variedadde razones, pero .n su layorfa estin aSlquibles y en buenascondiciones en los archivos originalls dl los notlrios qUI loscrearon, In un archivo notarial especial, en los archivDsprovinciales, 0 en el Archivo Nacional In La Habana.

Aunque algunos de los notarios mis concienzudos hicierDn fndicesa sus protocolos, la nayorfa no 101 hicierDn. Sin embargo, nis~e estos. rlgistros rlcibilron indices desputs de laIndependencla, cuando oficlalts localls realizaron el valorabsoluto de la Informaci6n contlnida en ellos.

EI documento·.is buscado .n los rlgistros notarialls IS .1 testa­mento y por .sa raz6n algunos han cr'ido qUI los testamentossolamente se !ncuentran In los rlgistros notarialls, pero no esver~a~ •. TiRbl'~ Sl Inculntran In archivos de la iglesia, losmunlclplos Y Sl son hologriflcos (escrito In la mano deltlstador), pu,dln Istar to archlvos p6blicos 0 con la familia.

En el Archivo Nacional hay un fndici a 284 legaJos dl protocolosarchivado allf para los aftos 1842-1890. Estl fndice fuepublicado In ,I Boletfn del Archivo Nacional en los vol6Renes 8­II, plro incluia solamentl 275 de los 284 IlgaJos.

En Camaguey, hay un fndie. tn lanOl prlvadas de nis de un ail160de tarjetas, de los r.glstros notarial.s del Cilaguey. Muehos deestos r.gistros se han transerlto y Istin en nanos de CGS y 51

estin publicando en su Revista.

RE6ISTROS DE TIERRAS

De todos los rlgistros usados IA la glnealogfa y las investi­gaciones hist6ritas d, Cuba, los dl tilrras 51 Incu,ntran en mlslugares de cualquier otro.

En el Archivo Nacional dt La Habana hay una coleccl6n derlgistros 11amados ·11&1'lgDI, conslltiendo de novtnta y ocho

- II -

legaJos para los aIDs 1782-1850. El nat,rlal s, trata d, laadlinlstraei6n de tierra reales. En ,1 Bole\ln, vol6menes 8-12,hay un Indiee alfabltleo de las propledades y personas que estinIneluidas en es\OI docu.entos.

Tmblln en el Arehivo Naclonal hay una seeel6n nlllada Tlerras IPropledaded. Es probable que 'I slnllar a otras eol,etlones enLatinolllrica y contendr' Inforlael6n sobre la dlstrlbuel6n yduelos de tlerras coloniales. Hay tamblln una eolecei6n lilladaSolicitudes de Tlerras.

En el llbro de J.e. Prince, entitulado Cuba Illustrated, (NfWYork, 1893, 6a edleI6n), piglnas 125-174, hay una llsta deplantaelones de azdear en orden alfabltlco, notando donde eadauno est' en la Isla, y el nambr' y dlreeei6n del duelo de eadauna.

REGISTROS HILITARES

No habia un ejtrelto eamo tal tn Cuba hasta nedlados del slglodiecloeho. Durante la epoea colonial, las necesldades nllitareseonslstleron de proteeel6n nilielana empleadas de las haciendas yvarlas poblaelones espalolas.

Hubleron euatro grupos prlnclpales de personal Ineluldas en ladeslgnael6n de militar. Estos grupos faeron: 1) soldadosveteranos espalol,s asignados por duraelones eortas alvlrreinato; 2) soldados veteranos espaftoles asignados pernanente­n,nt, a un lugar espeelfieo; 3} nil lela provincial; y 4) nilieiaurbana.

Reglstros nllitares para la epoca colonial se ,ncuentran ennuchos archlvos baJo varlas claslflcaclones, las nis camunesslendo: 1) llstas de tropas, 2) reglstros de eamlslones, 3) hoJasde s,rvlclo, 4) r,gistros de eonscrlpelones, 5) hoja,reglnentales, 6) petielones de soldados para casarse, Y 7)petlciones de p,nsl6n.

En el Archivo Naclonal de La Habana hay una col,ccl6n llamadaCamisiones nilltares, conslstlendo de 133 legajos para los aIDs1825-1869. La Infornacl6n blogrifica contenida en estos

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registros coneierne a nilitares reelbi.ndo ealisiones en la isladurante los aIDs indicados.

Hay auchos rlgistros nilitar.s de ofieiales y soldados Cubanos enEspafta .n .1 Archivo "illtar de Segovia y en Sinancas. A causad. que Cuba fue provincia de Espafta por un ti,npo nucho ais largoque otros paises Latinomericanos, esta fuente .s particularnentede valor a Cuba.

Hicropellculas .,156,324 al 1,156,329 en la Biblioteca deHistoria Fmillar contl.n.n hojas dt servlclo para los nllitaresde Espafta y Cuba que slrvleron en Cuba durante 1786-1800. UnIndlce a estos r.glstros 51 .ncuentra ,n:

Patronato Nacional de Archivol Histdrlcos. Cat"ooo XXII dtlArchlvo de Slaancas, S.cnhrh d. Guerra (siglo XVI1J>. Hojas deServlclos de Amtrica. Valladolld, Espafta: Patronato, 1958.

Registros ailitares para los regialentos estaclonados tn Havana,Baymo, Cuatro Villas, Hatanzas, Puerto Principe, Santiago deCuba, y Trinidad estian incluldos.

HISTORIAS FAHILIARES

La Serle de Investigaciones Genea16gicas del IGHl, voldRen IS,Historlas Filillares ~ Latlnoll4rlca, contiene ais de 3.500historias fmillares y genealoglas. Huchas d, Istas son defmilias Cubanas. Adeais de Istos tltulos a historias deapeliidos tspeclficos, las siguitntes publicacion,s han sido,studlado por CGS y 16Hl y un Indice hecho de elias.

Alnela, Juan. Gula ~ P,rsonas !!! cultivan l! Historia deMerica.

Burkholder, Hark A. Biographical DictionarY of Audiencla Hinis­t,rs in !h! An,ricas, 1687-1821.

Calcagno, Francisco. Dicclonario Biogrifico Cubano.

Cuban Genealogical Society. R,vista.

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LomanR, 6ullltmo. Los tneritlnos !! hs Ordenes Noblliarlas.

Haby, Jolt Antonio. lest.entos de C.aoun.

Nieto, Rafael. Olonidades Nobillarlas!! Cuba.

Peraza, FerRtn. Dlcclonarlo Blogriflco Cubano.

Rodrtguez, ~illo. Filillas Hlspano.erlcanas.

Sanh Cruz, Francisco X. Hhtorla de Fanillas Cublnas.

Villtr', Sidney Louis. Tbe Canary Islands Higratlon to Louisiana,1778-1783. Este libro trata dt fllilias que salieron dl luisianapara Cuba.

El resultado final del proyecto de hlstoria familiar del JGHl yCGS es compllar un tndice de todas las blstorlas fanillares qUIse han publlcado. Hay tanto que Ixlstl ,n Istas hlstorlas qUI noIsti aSlquible al Indlvlduo slaplementl porqul no hay tndlcl a1110. Hay Ruchas fllilias Intlrrllacionadas In Cuba y In losEstados Unidos de rafces cubanas , que tstin trabaJando,dupllcando sus esfuerzos, y en algunos casos esta dupllcacl6n stextlende a otros patses latlnollericanos. No es fuera del nOMlalpara una fllllia emigrantl de Espafta aandar hlJos I Sudlltrlca,Centroamtrica, y H'xico, estableclendo ast ramas de 11 flliliaque plerden contacto II uno al otro tras las generaclones.

OTROS REGISTROS GENEAlOGJCOS

Hay auchos otros reglstros fuerl de los yl aencionldos, queti,n,n valor para la genealogta 0 la histurla fllillar. losslguient,s son algunos d, los ais Inportantes.

Reglstros de Pante6n

En primero de narzo de 1784, el Rey Carlos IV, ordenO ,1estableclalento de cenentlrios en ireas urbanas de las cludadesprincipales de Cuba. Esto fue s,guldo con orden del tres deabrll de 1787 Instruyendo que estos c'Renterlos d,berlanconstrulrse In las afueras de las cludades. Con este orden todoslos cemet,rios d, las Iglesias deberlan cerrarse. Sin enbargo,

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11 ordln fUI publitldo de nUlvo In 1804, mostrlndo que hlbflresistentia de los padres parroqulalls.

Huthls instriptlon,s dl lipidls y Ruthos Ilbros de entierro detlRenterios ,xist,n y pu,den prOYIlr InforRlcI6n adicional que nose ,ncu,ntra en la Iglesia ni In los certlficados tivills dedefunt i6ll.

Registros de IRRigrati6n-Ellgraci6n~igraci6n

Hubieron reglas .strictas plrl controllr 11 Rovi.iento de IIpobllci6n durant. 11 mayor plrte del perfodo colonial. Todlp.rsona viajando a Cuba debertan tener permiso de 11 Clsa deContrataci6n en Sevilla.

El AGI en Sevilla Isti publicando lis listls de plsajeros alatinoamfrici. Estos Ixisten de 1509-1790 en AGI, Contrataci6n.Sietl vol6mtnes de Istas Ilstls han sido publicados para la epocacolonial.

los archivos de Espafta estin Ilenas de pruebls de eRigraci6naasiva a Cuba. los registros tratando este asunto se hillan enarchivos notariales, In palaportes, In padronls de hidalgufa, yen Ruchos Ills.

Casos Civiles-Crillinal,s

En .'1 Archivo Nacional d. La Habana hay 14.000 ',gajos de estosreglstros trantindose d, los tilmpos colonialls y modernos.AunquI no tientn fnditl ni Istin bien cltalogados contitnen unttsoro d, informaci6n sabre luchos individuos. '

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LOCALITY ANALYSIS FOR CUBA

By George R. Ryskamp, JD, AGBYU Department of History

Locality analysis plays an essential part in detennining the objectives for family historyresearch. It should be done as soon as a specific new place of origin or residence is identified,and, of course, must be completed before step two of the records analysis can be completed.

Locality Analysis involves two processes. The first is to locate the exact place or placesfrom which one's ancestors came and detennine the various jurisdictions to which that placebelonged. (This is, in effect, an answer to one of the initial questions asked in the PeopleAnalysis: Where did the ancestor live?) The second goal of Locality Analysis is to learn asmuch about that particular place as one can. This includes not only the physical location andthe geographical features of the place, but, to better understand the life of the ancestor, alsorequires a knowledge of its history and physical appearance.

Modern Atlases and Maps

Atlas de Cuba. La Habana : Instituto Cubano de Geodesia y Cartografia, 1978. ( G 1605.15 1978) (FHL film 1162487 item 2)

Nuevo atlas nacional de Cuba. La Habana : Instituto de Geografia de la Academia deCiencias de Cuba, 1989. (BYU Maps G 1605 .N83x 1989)

Gazetteers

Gazetteer of Cuba, Vol I &11. 3rd ed. Washington, D.C.: Defense Mapping Agency,1991. (F 1754 .G39 1991)

Locality guide for Cuba. compiled by Mayra F. Sanchez-Johnson. Salt Lake CityCuban Genealogical Society, 1992. (FHL)

Historical Atlases, Maps and Materials

Atlas of ports, cities, and localities of the island of Cuba. Washington, D.C. : NorrisPeters Co., 1898. (BYU G 1605 .U5 1898)

Atlas geografico de Espana, islas adyacentes y posesiones espanoles de ultramar. Madrid: Gaspar y Roig, 1864. (FHL film 0897114 item 1)

Ecclesiastical Directories

Apuntes para la historia eclesiatica de Cuba by Juan Martin Leisaca. Habana: Talleres

Tipograficas de Carana, 1938. (U. of Florida 282.72 L532)

Encyclopedias

La Enciclopedia de Cuba. por Vicente Baez, ed. Madrid: Playor, S. A., Santa Polonia,1973.

These are examples available from six major categories of books that can be valuable incompleting a locality analysis for this country.

1. Atlases and Maps. Individual atlases that exist for most Hispanic countries can helplocate ancestral towns and establish the proximity of ancestral towns to other towns found duringthe research. Typical of these is one for Mexico, Nuevo Atlas Porma de la Republica Mexicana(Editorial Porrua: Mexico, D.F., 1980), available in many local libraries. This small volumecontains maps of each state, historical maps, ad a general country-wide index, as well as variousgeographical entity lists. Maps in these should be in a scale of at least 1:250,000.

Another useful geographical tool for the Latin American genealogist will be the Indexto the Map of Hispanic America, published by the American Geographical Society.(Washington: 1945). As this is an index to a collection of maps, scale 1: 1,000,000, it willgenerally only be found in a large public or university library. It covers all Latin Americancountries in good detail.

Also of value for locating especially small hamlets and for recreating geographical detailsof local life are the Untied States Army Map Service Select Series and Topographical Mapsproduced for all of these countries. Any place, no matter how small, will appear on thesedetailed maps (scale 1:50,000). Unfortunately, these maps have no direct index, and locatingplaces can only be accomplished by using latitude and longitude references in the gazetteers suchas those published by the U.S. Office of Geography. (See the following section on gazeteers).

Maps and atlases are being digitalized for computer storage at an incredible rate. As that processcontinues these will become increasingly available on CDROM and on the Internet and WorldWide Web. Currently, for example, the University of Texas at Austin Perry Castaneda LibraryMap Collection has placed many atlases and maps from the CIA on the Computer Internet.Check with the library for the current address and the countries available.

2. Gazetteers. Gazetteers are long lists of place names with a minimal amount ofinformation to identify and locate each particular place. Since many of these gazetteers listgeographical subdivisions smaller than the parish or municipality, and other features such asrivers and mountains, they can be of great help when the particular place to be located does notappear in the atlases or geographical dictionaries available to the researcher. Many countries alsopublish postal guides and political divisions guides.

Gazetteers, such as the Untied States Board on Geographical Names Gazetteer, preparedby the Office of Geography of the Department of the Interior, are frequently more readily

obtained in the United States than local geographical dictionaries and detailed atlases of Hispaniccountries. The Hispanic countries covered by the U. S. Board on Geographical Names series andtheir numbers in that series are:

Argentina, 103Bolivia, 4Brazil, 71Chile, 6Costa Rica, 7Cuba, 30Dominican Republic, 33Ecuador, 36EI Salvador, 26Guatemala

Honduras, 27Mexico, 15Nicaragua, 10Panama, 110Paraguay, 35Puerto Rico, 38Spain and Andorra, 51Spanish Sahara, 108Uruguay, 21Venezuela, 56

For a number of Hispanic countries there are updated versions of these gazeteers published bythe Defense Mapping Agency (DMA). These are included under each country in the last sectionof this chapter. These gazeteers have now been placed by the DMA (in collaboration with theU.S. Board of Geographic Names on the computer Internet ubder the title GEOnet NamesServer.

3. Geographical dictionaries. These vary in size, from one and two volume dictionariesto large series containing sixteen to twenty volumes. In the United States, those coveringHispanic countries are generally found in the Family History Library Catalog or in large publicor university libraries which have map collections. Nearly every country has at least one suchdictionary, although these can vary dramatically in the amount of detail they contain. Some ofthe large countries such as Mexico even have state or regional geographic dictionaries. Whethernational or regional these are most helpful in locating a particular town, and usually provide awritten description of the town, or other geographical unit. These descriptions, as well asindividual place name entries, can be used to identify the larger geographical unit (where recordswould usually be found) to which a smaller unit, whose name is the only one the familyremembers, belongs. Figure 7- ,a page from Volume I of the Diccionario geografico deGuatemala, illustrates this principle, showing the caserios of Guatemala. These dictionaries alsooften provide information in developing the history of the ancestral locality as a background tothe family history.

4. Ecclesiastical guides and directories. Many Catholic dioceses, publish directorieslisting the various parishes, seminaries, and convents which make up the diocese. Thesedirectories always include the names of local parishes and the priests who serve there. Theyalso may contain maps and other aids, and interesting and pertinent information about localhistory, including even local jurisdictional changes. Many of these are available through theLDS Family History Centers and in libraries having the CIDOC Collection of Latin AmericanChurch documents on microfilm. For at least four countries, Spain, Puerto Rico, Mexico, andArgentina, such guides exist which also indicate at least the beginning date for parish registersin nearly every parish in the country.

5. Historical Atlases, Maps and Materials. In the chart in the last section of this chaptera special category has been created for geographic reference tools that were printed before 1900but are still widely available or were written to deal with geography during an historical period,most often the collonial period. The use and format of these materials parallels that of theircontemporary counterparts described in other sections above.

6. Local histories. As the name implies, these are histories that deal entirely with aparticular town or region, found bothe as books and as articles in periodicals. Scholarlyhistorical journals such as The Americas and Hispanic American Historical Review areparticularly valuable. These do not help in locating exact places, but can be extremely valuablein helping to understand the history of that locality, and especially to trace its jurisdictionalchanges.

Other Resources: Cuba 

 

Cuba Map                                                                                                                             http://geology.com/world/cuba-satellite-image.shtml       

Cuba GenWeb                                                                                                                       http://www.cubagenweb.org/ 

Cuban Genealogical Society                                                              http://www.rootsweb.ancestry.com/~utcubangs/ 

University of Miami – Cuban Heritage Collection                                                     http://www.library.miami.edu/chc/ 

Deaths in Santiago de Cuba (July 1898‐May 1902) http://www.hijadelmaryelsol.com/muertes_en_santiago_de_cuba.htm 

Vanderbilt University – Ecclesiastical Sources for Cubans of African ancestry  http://lib11.library.vanderbilt.edu/diglib/esss.pl