Cuban genealogy relies primarily on government civil registration and Roman Catholic church records. Unfortunately, very few of these records are available online. And knowing your ancestor's exact location of where they lived in Cuba is also a requirement, making Cuban research seem next to impossible.
Though limited by access problems, researching your Cuban family is possible and can be highly successful given the right tools. Tracking down the town of origin and identifying available records in the country with our genealogists in Cuba has helped families build back their trees on the island but also to their family's original country of origin before immigrating to Cuba.
Cuban Genealogy Research: How To Get Started
The best source of information is the immigration story from your older family members. Stories were often all they could take to America, and this information is invaluable. Afterward, conduct a preliminary survey of available documents in the home to gather details to determine the precise location in Cuba where research needs to begin. Cuban records are held within individual churches or regional government civil registration offices.
If your family was from a larger city like Havana or Santiago de Cuba, narrowing down the exact area of the town is essential because of the large number of parishes and municipal districts in those regions.
If the area where your ancestors are from is unknown, our genealogists can research in the United States to help with that process. Plane manifests, naturalization papers, alien registration documents, and death certificates are excellent starting documents to pinpoint information before research can begin in Cuba.
Cuban Research Transcriptions are the Same as the Original, Right? No!
Cuban civil and church records are patterned on the Spanish model and almost always mention the parents and the grandparents. These records often include where each of the ancestors was born, whether and where they lived during the event, and sometimes even their occupation.
Frequently, transcribed records that family members possess only include a portion of what was on the original document. Obtaining the original is always an essential step in the research process.
This record, a transcribed version of the original obtained by the client before leaving Cuba, shows a standard government record with limited fields.
The below record is the original transcription obtained in El Registro Civil in El Norte de La Habana. The original entry provides the birth location of the grandparents, which was not included in the client's transcription.
This additional information allowed our researchers to extend the ancestral lineages several more generations in Cienfuegos and Santa Cruz de los Pinos.
Collateral Lines are Key
Researching a direct line of ancestors can yield a great deal of information. However, sometimes, baptismal and marriage records for an ancestor do not include essential clues needed to extend the family tree; however, the baptismal record or marriage of a sibling may contain the information required to build a tree back to its country of origin.
Therefore, sibling research should not be discounted and should always be integral to Cuban research. The example below demonstrates how a sister's baptismal record provided information that the family was from Telde, Gran Canaria, Spain. (San Agustín de Ceiba Mocha, Libro 7, Folio 49, no. 328)
Researching in the United States
Though having a genealogist in Cuba is the golden ticket to Cuban research, several research sources in the United States are invaluable to getting started. The following websites can help.
Cuban Genealogy Club of Miami
CubaGenWeb
The University of Miami Cuban Heritage Digital Collection
https://www.library.miami.edu/chc/digitalcollections.html
Florida International University, Digital Library of the Caribbean
If you have questions about your own Cuban family history research, you can schedule a consultation with one of our genealogists to get you on your way!
I just want to find out on my family tree
Hi Terry! We’d be happy to help you with your family tree. You can get a free quote by filling out the form here.
Hello I’m trying find my family heritage on my grandfather Kenneth Llado Morin born 8/13/1898 , he was in Liverpool England and passed away in Brooklyn New York in 1960 and he’s at st charles cemetery in Amityville Long Island. I see some family connections may come from Cuba ,🇨🇺, 🇯🇲 Jamaica and lastly New York.
Hello Regina! This would be a great topic to discuss with one of our professional genealogists. They could give you some great ideas to help you find out more about your family heritage on your grandfather’s side. You can schedule and purchase a consultation with one of our specialists here: http://www.legacytree.com/genealogy-consultation
I have looked through all the resources provided by cubagenweb. Is there somewhere I can find records for French immigrants in the second quarter of the 29th century? My ancestors went to Santiago de Cuba in the 1830s. Some children were born there and some in Jamaica. I can track many of them but not what happened to the original immigrants. Thanks very much.
Hi, Shelley! Recommendations for further tracing your particular family will depend on what you already know about the immigrants and the timing of their movements. If their later children were born in Jamaica, then you may need to consider Jamaican resources like Jamaican Family Search (www.jamaicanfamilysearch.com/) or records available through FamilySearch.org. If it is anticipated that they moved elsewhere after the births of children in Jamaica, then you may need to search in other islands and localities in the Caribbean. Searching for records relating to all children and grandchildren of the couple could be beneficial since Catholic church records might provide information about whereabouts and residences of the grandparents. Also, there may be record sets in France for family members that remained behind including succession and inheritance records for parents of the immigrants that could clarify the whereabouts of the immigrants at the time of their parents’ deaths (assuming that the parents of the immigrants died after the subjects’ migration). For more detailed recommendations and direction, we recommend scheduling a consult with one of our researchers .
Sólo quiero saber de mis ancestros
¡Hola, Mayra! Nos encantaría ayudarte a descubrir más sobre tus antepasados. Si rellenas el formulario de nuestra página web, ¡nos pondremos en contacto contigo! http://www.LegacyTree.com/contact-us
I am helping bottle collector David Rakes. He is researching George Anthone Baze (France or Mexico, 1835- ), son of George N. Baze. G. A. lived in New Orleans from 1852 until 1874 when he fled a wanted man. In 1879, he was a liquor and wine merchant in Havana. At least into the 1890s, he made regular trips between New York, Havana, and France. A son lived his life in France. Any suggestions are appreciated, especially someone who can search in Havana.
Busco la fecha de nacimiento, matrimonio y defunción de mis bisabuelos José Pumar López y Vicenta Duran Fernández, ellos nacieron y se casaron en España mi abuelo era de la aldea de Segade, municipio Mañon, Ayuntamiento de Mañon, mi bisabuela por un escrito que recibí de un periódico de España era de San Sebastián de los Devesos así como la parroquia
Hola me gustaría saber de que lugar de España eran mis bisabuelos paternos y saber como puedo buscarlos en los registros del puerto de Santiago de Cuba