Santa Cruz, Guanacaste, Costa Rica Genealogy

Guide to Canton of Santa Cruz ancestry, family history and genealogy: birth records, marriage records, death records, church records, parish registers, and civil registration.

History

 * In 1554 the region of Nicoya was recognized as Corregimiento, depending directly on the Real Audiencia of Guatemala.
 * In 1787 the territory was added to the Intendancy of León de Nicaragua.
 * In 1812, the Spanish Constitution divided the territory of the former Kingdom of Guatemala into several provinces, including the Province of Nicaragua-Costa Rica.
 * Upon the independence of the Central American provinces in 1821, the Partido de Nicoya came under the authority of the government of Granada de Nicaragua and later, in 1823, of León.
 * On July 25, 1824, the towns of Nicoya and Santa Cruz decided to join Costa Rica, while the territory of Guanacaste (today Liberia), chose to remain united to Nicaragua, all under the Central American Federation. In 1825, the Congress of the Federal Republic of Central America ordered the definitive annexation of the Party of Nicoya to Costa Rica, then including Guanacaste in the annexation, on a "temporary" basis. The dissolution of the Central American Federation made this decision final.
 * On December 7, 1848, it was declared canton number three of the province of Guanacaste.
 * On November 4, 1862, the town of Santa Cruz was officially declared Villa.
 * In 1916 the town of Santa Cruz was converted into a city, first under the name of Diría.
 * On August 30, 1917, the name of Santa Cruz is restored.
 * The Canton of Santa Cruz has a population of approximately 64,100 people.

Civil Registration

 * 1823-1975 at FamilySearch - How to Use this Collection; index & images
 * 1860-1975 Costa Rica, Civil Registration, 1860-1975 at Ancestry - images ($)
 * 2011-2015 Costa Rica, Death Index, 2011-2015 at MyHeritage - index ($)
 * 2011-2015 Costa Rica, Marriage and Related Records Index, 2011-2015 at MyHeritage - index ($)

Church Records

 * 1595-1992 at FamilySearch — How to Use this Collection; index and images
 * Iglesia Católica. San Blas de Nicoya (Nicoya, Guanacaste) Registros parroquiales, 1783-1973 - Click on the link to see the records’ availability.
 * Iglesia Católica. Santo Cristo de Esquipulas (Santa Cruz, Guanacaste) Registros parroquiales, 1825-1941 - Click on the link to see the records’ availability.

Cemeteries
Indexes of burials in the cemeteries of the Santa Cruz Canton may be found at findagrave.com
 * 1958-2013 at FamilySearch — How to Use this Collection; index and images
 * Cementerio Jardín de Paz
 * Dirección: 7C37+2XF, Santa Cruz
 * Horas: Abierto las 24 horas
 * Cementerio #1 de Santa Cruz
 * Cementerio #2 Santa Cruz
 * Cementerio de Huacas
 * Dirección: Calle La Amistad, Santa Cruz