San Sebastián, Puerto Rico Genealogy

Guide to Municipality of San Sebastián family history and genealogy: birth records, marriage records, death records, census records, and military records.

History
The permission to found the town was officially given in 1752. In 1865 it is documented as San Sebastián de Las Vegas del Pepino. The town name changed in 1869 to San Sebastian.

At the beginning of the 19th century, many wealthy Spanish families arrived in PSan Sebastian fleeing the revolutions of Venezuela and, Dominican Republic. Later, by 1850, several families from Catalonia, Spain and the Basque Country in Spain joined the large number of isleños (Canary Islanders) that had made San Sebastian their home.

Hurricane Maria in 2017, caused many landslides and large amounts of rain which in turn caused areas to flood and be destroyed.

Civil Registration
More recent records are protected by privacy laws. However, close relatives can request them for genealogy.
 * Puerto Rico Birth, Death, Marriage Certificates

Online Records, 1805-2001

 * Puerto Rico, Civil Registration, 1805-2001, index, incomplete
 * Puerto Rico, Civil Registrations, 1885-2001, index, incomplete
 * Puerto Rico, Civil Registration, San Sebastián, browse images
 * — index

Church Records
Until the church records of this municipality are digitized and published online, write to the local Catholic Church for records prior to 1876. To find the address of the local parish, consult the Catholic Directory. For help with writing your letter or e-mail, use the Letter Writing Guide for Genealogy. If it seems that the priest would prefer to correspond in Spanish, use the Spanish Letter Writing Guide.

Online Records

 * 1645-1969 at FamilySearch — How to Use this Collection; index and images

Census Records
Search the 1910, 1920, 1930, and 1940 census records for information about your Puerto Rican ancestors who were there during that time period. Click here to go to the Puerto Rico Census Page