Puerto Rico Civil Registration Records (FamilySearch Historical Records)/Known Issues

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Revision as of 19:31, 6 March 2013

This page was created by FamilySearch Historical Records personnel. It details problems identified within this collection and answers to those problems. If you wish to comment, please visit the discussion page to post your comments.

Known Issues

 NOTE: For a way to determine what digital records are likely to be found within a collection or how to find missing images elsewhere, see Document 114052, How to use Film Notes in the Catalog to determine the content of a final browse point in Historical Records.

Question #1: Some records are missing. Where can they be viewed?
Answer #1: Most missing records are available on microfilm. See Ordering Microfilm or Microfiche for instructions on ordering microfilm, as well as finding a local FamilySearch Center where you can view the films. See answers below for information about known missing records and their respective film numbers, if available, or alternate online location.

Aguadilla > Defunciones 1904-1908 is missing page 485. Image 1972 contains page 484, and image 1973 contains page 486. Camera operator inadvertently missed page 485 because the back of the missing page is visible in image 1973.

Bayamon > Censo 1860-1910 records are not available online. For more information about what records are available and to order the microfilm, see the Catalog Film Notes for Film 1506813:
• Item 1: Caja 161 1886-1889 (Pasaportes),
• Item 2: Censo Caja 7 1860, 1870, 1879, 1910,
• Items 3-20: Presupuestos Caja 22 1833-1884, 1890-1895, 1898- 1900, 1905-1907, 1909-1910, 1917-1918, and
• Items 21-24: Nacimientos (Caja 22), 1885 -- Matrimonios (Caja 22), 1893, 1895, 1903-1904

Ciales > Defunciones 1885 (Ene-Oct) can be located in Ciales > Nacimientos 1885-1890 L. 1-7, Image 5-207. For more information about what records are available online, see the Catalog Film Notes for
• Film 1933841: Nacimientos 1885-1890 L. 1-7
• Film 1933994, Items 7-9: Defunciones 1885-1888, L. 2-4 (L. 1 filmado en carrete #1933841 ítem 1). Per the Film Notes: Libro 1 was filmed on Microfilm 1933841, Item 1.
NOTE: The Film Notes for Film 19333994 state that Libro 1 is located in Film 1933841, Item 1.

Comerío > Indice de Nacimientos 1885-1931 and Nacimientos 1899-1906 is missing portions of Libro 11 and portions of the index for Libro 11.

Comerío > Nacimientos 1885-1890: the Index for Libro 5 for the years 1888-1889 is missing. It has been reported to be included in Comerío > Defunciones 1898-1907 (images 29-51, 53, and 54). Although there are no headers on the index to substantiate this claim, a random set of records have been checked and birth records have been matched with the index entries.

Comerío > Defunciones 1898-1907: Birth index pages are embedded within Death index pages. The affected images with birth index pages are images 29-51, 53, and 54. These records index the birth records within Comerío > Nacimientos 1885-1890 for the years 1888-1889.

Humacao > Índice de Defunciones 1924-1931 is missing. Indice de Defunciones for the years 1924-1931 can be found in the browse points for Defunciones 1924-1930 and Defunciones 1930-1933. For more information about what records are available online, see the Catalog Film Notes for Film 1933307: Defunciones 1924-1930, and Film 1933308: Defunciones 1930-1933.

Humacao > Indice de defunciones 1961-1991 in misplaced after Defunciones 1993, and not located with the other group of Índice de Defunciones because it is spelled incorrectly (not Índice de Defunciones 1961-1991).

Humacao > Nacimientos 1885-1890 is missing Libro 5 (Records between Feb 1889 and Dec 1890) and Libro 3 is duplicated in its place (Images 1504 to 1964 are duplicates of images 766-1230). It is possible to view the names from Libro 5 in Humacao > Índice de Nacimientos 1885-1926.

Rosario > Nacimientos 1885-1888 and Rosario > Nacimientos 1912-1923 are missing. The records for these years can be found in the following browse points:
• San Germán > Nacimientos 1885-1888
• San Germán > Nacimientos 1910-1918
• San Germán > Nacimientos 1918-1923
For more information about what birth records for Rosario are available online, see the Catalog Film Notes for:
• Film 1935159, Items 1-3: Nacimientos 1885-1888, L. 2R 1912-1923, L. 1R-2R (bis.) (L. 3R-4R no se filmaron por mal estado de conservación)
• Film 1667747, Item 5: Nacimientos y matrimonios caja 81 1883-1918

In Sabana Grande > Defunciones 1950-1952, or Book 18 of Death Certificates, Image 2 starts with Death Certificate No. 29. Death Certificate No. 1-28 for deaths from between 3 March 1950 (start date for Book 18) and 1 May 1950 (date for No. 29) are missing. By searching through the Research Wiki for articles on Puerto Rico, you may find other resources for these death records. For example, the wiki Puerto Rico Civil Registration yielded the URL http://www.cdc.gov/nchs/w2w/puerto_rico.htm which will direct you where to write for Puerto Rican vital records (death records after 31 July 1931).

San Juan > Pasaportes 1886-1889 records are not available online. For more information about what records are available and to order the microfilm, see the Catalog Film Notes for Film 1506813, Item 1: Caja 161 1886-1889.

San Sebastian > Defunciones 1914-1924, L. 26-33 is missing pages 378 and 379. Image 962 contains pages 376 and 377, and image 963 contains pages 380 and 381. Pages 377 & 380 should be the reverse sides of the missing pages. This exclusion is most likely attributed to a camera operator error.

Vega Baja > Nacimientos 1885-1889 is missing. The records can be found at the end of Vega Baja > Indices de nacimientos 1885-1889, starting with Image 254 (Items 2-6 of Film 1933481). For more information about what records are available online, see the Catalog Film Notes for Film 1933481: Indices de Nacimientos 1885-1923 -- Nacimientos 1885-1889.

Question #2: The Event Type and Year Range (browse point) title does not properly reflect the actual digital record content. Is there a way to determine what digital records are likely to be found within a collection?
Answer #2: The following list of known browse point discrepancies describes the event type or year range that actually exist in this collection:

Aguas Buenas > Nacimientos 1930-1931 (jun.) -- Matrimonios 1885-1929 (mayo) should read as Nacimientos 1930-1931 (jun.) -- Matrimonios 1885-1931 (julio)

Cidra > Defunciones 2000 year span should read as Defunciones 2000, Sep – 2001, Aug

Coamo > Indice de Defunciones 1931-1974 year span should read as1931-1989

Isabela > Nacimientos, Matrimonios, Defunciones 1850-1885 contains records as early as 1836. For more information about what records are available online, see the Catalog Film Notes for Film 1563565, Items 8-9: Nacimientos, defunciones y matrimonios Caja 135-136 1834-1885 (fuera de orden).

San Germán > Matrimonios 1867-1873 only contains 9 images of marriages and the rest is a mixture of passports, municipality, and residency (domicilio) records. For more information about what records are available online, see the Catalog Film Notes for Film 1667685, Item 2: Matrimonios 1872-1873, 1892, caja 82, 275 1867-1868, extranjeros.

San Germán > Nacimientos 1885-1888 should read as Rosario > Nacimientos 1885-1888.
San Germán > Nacimientos 1910-1918 should read as Rosario > Nacimientos 1912- Feb 1918.
San Germán > Nacimientos 1918-1923 should read as Rosario > Nacimientos Mar 1918- 1923

Gurabo > Nacimientos 1921-1931 --Indice de nacimientos 1885-1931 – Indice de matrimonios 1885-1963 – Indice de defunciones should read as Gurabo > Nacimientos y Indice de Nacimientos 1922-1931 (Images 4-2512) - Indice de matrimonios 1885-1963 (Images 2513-2681) – Indice de defunciones 1931-1999 (Images 2682-2840). For more information about what records are available online, see the Catalog Film Notes for Film 2177291: Nacimientos 1921-1931 -- Indice de nacimientos 1885-1931 -- Indice de matrimonios 1885-1963 -- Indice de defunciones 1931-1999.

Guayam > Defunciones 1998 -- Indices de defunciones 1805-1998 (item 6-8 fuera de orden cronologico) -- Indices de nacimientos 188 should read as Guayam > Defunciones 1998 -- Indices de defunciones 1805-1998 (ítem 6-8 fuera de orden cronológico) -- Indices de nacimientos 1885-1931 -- Indices de matrimonios 1885-1965, inorder to match the Catalog Film Notes for Film 2053699.

Humacao > Índice de Defunciones 1885-1923 year span should read as 1885-1924.

Santa Isabel > Nacimientos 1852-1995 year span should read as 1952-1995.

Vega Baja > Indices de nacimientos 1885-1889 year span should read as 1885-1923, and are found online as images 4-253 of Film 1933481, Item 1. The remaining 1,865 images are for Vega Baja > Nacimientos 1885-1889. For more information about what records are available online, see the Catalog Film Notes for Film 1933481: Indices de nacimientos 1885-1923 -- Nacimientos 1885-1889.

Vega Baja > Matrimonios 1886-1902 years span should read as 10 Agosto 1896 - 24 Julio 1902. For more information about what marriage records for Vega Baja are available online, see the Catalog Film Notes for Film 1933548:
• Items 1 and 2: Matrimonios 1896-1904
• Item 3: Matrimonios 1923-1928
• Item 4-7: Matrimonios 1905-1918

Question #3: How do I find records from San Germán > Rosario?
Answer #3: Even though Rosario should be under San Germán, it is currently listed as a separate municipio. These records may be searched by going to Puerto Rico Civil Registrations, 1836-2001 > Rosario, and then select a desired Record Type and Year Range.

Question #4: When I click to see any images from 2709-2711 in Caguas > Nacimientos 1928-1931, I get a black screen. Are the images for 2709-2711 available?
Answer #4: The digital film only has 2708 images. Consequently images 2708-2711 do not connect to anything on FamilySearch.

Question #5: Some of the final browse points for Barceloneta and Florida have identical listings for Record Type and Year Range and the film numbers are the same. Which locality do the records belong to?
Answer #5: Per the Catalog Film Notes found by using a Keywords (beta) search: “Florida, Puerto Rico,” Florida and Barceloneta were one locality and were separated a few years ago. As a result, some records are old Barceloneta with Florida and vice versa (translation from Spanish to English). These final browse points are considered to be “wandering breadcrumbs”; that is, some final browse points flip back and forth between different localities. Until the problem is resolved, you will have to read each image to determine the proper location. The films are listed under Registros civiles, 1889-1994 for Florida, Puerto Rico.

Question #6: I cannot make heads or tails out of several browse points in this collection. Would you breakdown the contents of these browse points?
Answer #6: The following browse points have been identified as having a ‘complex’ content:

Gurabo > Matrimonios 1937-1950 – Defunciones 1885-1889. This browse point originates from Film 2177305 for Gurabo (Puerto Rico). Registro Civil: “Matrimonios 1937-1950 -- Defunciones 1885-1889”.
When you click on the browse point, the first image listed is 1001 of 2889. You can enter Image 1 of 2889 to see the first image.

Until the browse point is subdivided into 2 separate browse points by record type, you can view the records online by following the breakdown of the record types (by Item and image numbers) listed below:

1. Matrimonios 1937-1950

Item 1: Images 4-203 Matrimonios Libro 5, Apr 1937-Sep 1939

Item 2: Images 204-401 Matrimonios Libro 6, 9/7/1939-9/30/1940

Item 3: Images 402-601 Matrimonios Libro 7, 9/30/1940-5/7/1942

Item 4: Images 602-898 Matrimonios Libro 8, 5/13/1942-6/14/1944

Item 5: Images 899-1180 Matrimonios Libro 9, 6/21/1944-3/18/1946

Item 6: Images 1181-1474 Matrimonios Libro 10, 3/21/1946-6-31/1948

Item 7: Images 1475-1755 Matrimonios Libro 11, 7/6/1948-12/26/1950

2. Defunciones 1885-1889

Item 8: Images 1756-2061 Defunciones Libro 1, 1885-1886 (image title is incorrectly stated as 1886-1887), and most of the documents are too light to even read

Item 9: Images 2062-2459 Defunciones Libro 2, 1886-1887 (preceded by an index)

Item 10: Images 2460-2886 Defunciones Libro 3, 1887-1889 (preceded by an index)

Gurabo > Nacimientos 1921-1931 -- Indice de nacimientos 1885-1931 -- Indice de matrimonios 1885-1963 -- Indice de defunciones. This browse point originates from Film 2177291 for Gurabo (Puerto Rico). Registro Civil: “Nacimientos 1921-1931 -- Indice de nacimientos 1885-1931 -- Indice de matrimonios 1885-1963 -- Indice de defunciones 1931-1999” in its entirety.

Until the browse point is subdivided into 3 separate browse points by record type, you can view the records online by following the breakdown of the record types (by Item and image numbers) listed below:

1. Nacimientos 1921-1931

Item 1: Images 4-337 Nacimientos Libro 21 1922-1923

Item 2: Images 338-616 Nacimientos Libro 22 1923-1924

Item 3: Images 617-972 Nacimientos Libro 23 1924-1927 (preceded with an index)

Item 4: Images 973-1337 Nacimientos Libro 24 1927-1928 (preceded with an index)

Item 5: Images 1338-1710 Nacimientos Libro 25 1928-1929 (preceded with an index)

Item 6: Images 1711-2068 Nacimientos Libro 26 1929-1931 (preceded with an index)

Item 7: Images 2069-2246 Nacimientos Libro 27 1931 (preceded with an index)

2. Indice de nacimientos 1885-1931

Item 8: Images 2247-2349 Indice de nacimientos 1885-1909

Item 9: Images 2350-2512 Indice de nacimientos 1910-1931
Indice de matrimonios 1885-1963

Item 10: Images 2513-2578 Indice de matrimonios 1885-1931

Item 11: Images 2579-2680 Indice de matrimonios 1931-1963

3. Indice de defunciones 1931-1999

Item 12: Images 2681-2840 Indice de defunciones 1931-1999.

Yabucoa > Defunciones 1995-2000 -- Indice de nacimientos 1885-1931 -- Indice de matrimonios 1885-1977 -- Indices de defunciones. This browse point originates from Film 2177972 for Yabucoa (Puerto Rico) Registro Civil: “Defunciones 1995-2000 -- Indice de nacimientos 1885-1931 -- Indice de matrimonios 1885-1977 -- Indices de defunciones 1885-2000 -- Natimuertos 1919-1931” in its entirety.

Until the browse point is subdivided into 5 separate browse points by record type, you can view the records online by following the breakdown of the record types (by Item and image numbers) listed below:

1. Defunciones 1991-2000

Item 1: Images 5-480 Defunciones 11 Jul 1991 #0320-54 a 19 Sep 1995 #0320-88

Item 2: Images 481-916 Defunciones 11 Jun 1995 #0320-89 a 30 Dec 1998 #0320-122

Item 3: Images 917-1105 Defunciones (Libro 48) 3 Jan 1999 #0320-1 to 2 Jun 2000 #0320-66

2. Indice de nacimientos

Item 4: Images 1106-1260 Indice de nacimientos 1885-1931 (6-30-1931) from A - Q

Item 5: Images 1261-1351 Indice de nacimientos 1885-1931 (6-30-1931) from R - Z

3. Indice de matrimonios 1885-1977

Item 6: Images 1352-1610 Indice de matrimonios 1885-1977 A-Z

4. Indices de defunciones 1885-2000

Item 7: Images 1611-1865 Indices de defunciones 1885 a 7-30-1921 A - Z; last 2 pages are additional “C” entries

Item 8: Images 1866-2116 Indices de defunciones 4-20-1920 a 7-2-1952 A - Z

Item 9: Images 2117-2245 Indices de defunciones 7-14-1952 a 2000 A - Z

5. Nati-muertos 1919-1931 (Stillbirths or Infant deaths)

Item 10: Images 2246-2391 Nati-muertos (Libro Especial 1919-1922)

Item 11: Images 2392-2498 Nati-muertos (Libro 1 1922-1925)

Item 12: Images 2499-2604 Nati-muertos (Libro 2 1925-1928)

Item 13: Images 2605-2708 Nati-muertos (Libro 3 1928-1931)

If you encounter additional problems with this collection, feel free to report them at support@familysearch.org. Please include the following information:

• If searching a specific collection: please include the name of the collection; include all search criteria used, including name, event, dates and places.
• If browsing this collection: please include the full path you followed to where the problem occurred. The browse path is located above the Image viewer window.  
  For example: Puerto Rico Civil Registration, 1936-2001 > Adjuntas > Defunciones 1885-1890 > Image 1 of 2378..
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