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Puerto Rican Genealogy Conectando Raíces, Celebrando Herencia

Tools

Tools

Tools, templates, and guides to help you organize and document your Puerto Rican genealogy research.

Available Tools

Research Log

✓ Available Interactive

Track your searches systematically to avoid duplicating effort and document negative searches.

Includes: Date, repository, purpose, results, next steps — with browser-based storage and text export

Family Group Sheet

✓ Available Interactive

Standard form for documenting a nuclear family with source citations.

Includes: Parents, children, vital events, sources

Funeral Cards — Rincón, Puerto Rico

✓ Available Searchable

Browse and search ~154 funeral card images from Rincón and surrounding towns, spanning 1965 to 2020.

Includes: Names, birth and death dates, birthplaces, death places, funeral home names, and card images (front and interior where available)

Puerto Rico Municipality Guide

✓ Available Interactive

All 78 municipalities with parish and civil registry information.

Includes: Foundation dates, parish names, how far back records extend, and mother town relationships

Genealogical Spanish Glossary

✓ Available PDF

Common Spanish terms found in Puerto Rican genealogical records.

Includes: Vital record terms, relationship terms, occupations, locations

External Resources

Third-party tools and external resources that complement our collection.

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Archive Free
FamilySearch: Puerto Rico Records
Free access to digitized Puerto Rican civil registration, Catholic church records, and more.
More details

Includes Civil Registration 1885-2001 and Catholic Church Records 1645-2021. Free account required for most collections. Coverage varies by municipality.

Visit → Report broken link
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Tool Free
WikiTree
Free collaborative family tree with Puerto Rican ancestry projects and a large research community.
Visit → Report broken link
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Tool Free
Geni
World Family Tree project for connecting with distant relatives across a global collaborative database.
Visit → Report broken link
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Tool Free
Stephen P. Morse One-Step Tools
Search tools and utilities for genealogical research, including census and immigration record lookups.
Visit → Report broken link
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Tutorial Free
BYU Spanish Script Tutorial
The gold standard for learning colonial Spanish handwriting. Essential for reading Puerto Rican parish and civil records.
More details

Covers letter forms, abbreviations, and regional script variations. Free and browser-based — no account required.

Visit → Report broken link
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DNA Tool Free
DNA Painter: What Are the Odds? (WATO)
An interactive tool for evaluating DNA match hypotheses using probability modeling.
More details

Best for testing whether a DNA match fits a proposed family relationship. Free tier available; advanced features require a subscription.

Visit → Report broken link
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Reference Subscription
Evidence Explained
The authoritative reference for source citation in genealogical research, by Elizabeth Shown Mills.
More details

The standard citation guide for Puerto Rican civil, church, and colonial records. Online subscription required; print edition available for purchase.

Visit → Report broken link

Resources in Development

The following tools are planned for our collection. Check back as we build them out.

Research Plan Worksheet

Plan your research strategy by identifying goals, sources to search, and questions to answer.

Includes: Research question, known facts, sources to search, timeline

🔜 Coming Soon

Pedigree Chart

Visual representation of your direct-line ancestors.

Includes: 4-generation and 5-generation versions

🔜 Coming Soon

Source Citation Worksheet

Properly document your sources using Evidence Explained format.

Includes: Citation elements for common Puerto Rican records

🔜 Coming Soon

Evidence Analysis Form

Analyze and correlate evidence from multiple sources.

Includes: Source evaluation, information type, evidence classification

🔜 Coming Soon

Spanish Paleography Guide

Learn to read old Spanish handwriting found in colonial records, with Puerto Rico-specific examples.

Includes: Common letter forms, abbreviations, examples from Puerto Rican records

🔜 Coming Soon

Calendar Conversion Tool

Convert between Julian and Gregorian calendars for pre-1582 records.

🔜 Coming Soon

Proof Summary Template

Document simple conclusions with direct evidence and minor conflicts.

Based on: BCG Genealogical Standards

🔜 Coming Soon

Proof Argument Template

Build complex arguments using indirect evidence or resolving significant conflicts.

Includes: Introduction, evidence presentation, analysis, conclusion

🔜 Coming Soon

DNA Match Tracking Spreadsheet

Organize your DNA matches and track your analysis progress.

Includes: Match name, cM shared, MRCA, research notes

🔜 Coming Soon

What Are the Odds? (WATO) Guide

Our step-by-step guide to using DNA evidence with the WATO method, tailored for Puerto Rican families.

🔜 Coming Soon

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Contributing to Our Resources

We’re building this resource library for our community. If you have:

  • Templates you’ve created that help with research
  • Guides you’ve written on specific topics
  • Tools that could benefit other researchers

Please contact us to discuss contributing to our tools collection.

Request a Resource

Is there a template, guide, or tool that would help your research? Let us know what you need, and we’ll consider adding it to our collection.

Contact Us with your request.

All resources provided are for educational purposes and personal research use. Please cite appropriately when sharing your research.