Historical Overview

Lares is a municipality in the Cordillera Central of western Puerto Rico, officially founded April 26, 1827 when it separated from San Sebastián del Pepino due to the great distance from that town's center. It is celebrated throughout Puerto Rico as the site of the Grito de Lares on September 23, 1868, the most significant armed uprising against Spanish colonial rule in the island's history, organized in part by Dr. Ramón Emeterio Betances and Segundo Ruiz Belvis. For genealogical research, records before 1827 should be traced through San Sebastián parish and municipal archives, as Lares families were registered there prior to separation; the Parroquia San José began its own registers with the town's founding in 1827. Civil registration begins in 1885.

Coat of Arms

Image: Wikimedia Commons (CC BY-SA 4.0)

Barrios

Genealogical records often identify individuals by barrio. Lares has 10 barrios:

• Bartolo
• Buenos Aires
• Callejones
• Espino
• La Torre
• Lares barrio-pueblo
• Mirasol
• Pezuela
• Piletas
• Río Prieto

Neighboring Municipalities

Also check records in neighboring municipalities:

• Adjuntas — San Joaquín y Santa Ana
• Camuy — San José
• Hatillo — Nuestra Señora del Carmen
• Las Marías — Nuestra Señora de la Monserrate
• Maricao — San Juan Bautista
• San Sebastián — Parroquia San Sebastián Mártir
• Utuado — Parroquia San Miguel Arcángel
• Yauco — Nuestra Señora del Rosario

Historical Maps

Historical maps help identify barrios, boundaries, and communities as they existed in the past. Maps from the 18th and 19th centuries are preferred.

Lares (2026)

Source: U.S. Census Bureau, TIGER/Line Shapefiles

Genealogy Toolkit

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Civil Records

Began in 1885

Covers births, marriages, and deaths.

⬇ Search Civil Records

Parish Records

Parish: San José

Records from 1827

⬇ Search Catholic Records

Diocesan Archive

Diocese: Diocese of Arecibo

For sacramental records not available digitally, contact the diocesan archive directly.

Diocese Website

Digital Archives

• FamilySearch: Lares Civil and parish records
• Puerto Rico, Catholic Church Records, 1645–1969 Parish Records FamilySearch digitized Catholic Church records for Puerto Rico, including Lares parish registers from the Parroquia San José.
• Puerto Rico Civil Registration, 1885–2001 Digitized Records Civil registration births, marriages, and deaths for all Puerto Rico municipalities including Lares, beginning 1885.
• FamilySearch: Puerto Rico Genealogy Complete records guide

Padrones and Municipal Censuses

The following image groups were created by the Gobierno de Puerto Rico and digitized by FamilySearch. They are not name-indexed, so you browse them like a book. A free FamilySearch account is required. To learn how to read and work through them, see Padrones and the Image Search, or scan the island-wide set in the Padrones Browser.

Padrón de Almas (soul census) (2)

A household-by-household count of every soul in the parish or municipality, listing residents by name, age, and relationship to the head of household.

• Censo Poblacional 1846 Caja 42 · 75 images
• Censo Poblacional 1871 Caja 20 · 81 images

Padrón de Habitantes (inhabitant register) (5)

Municipal registers of inhabitants, including cédulas de empadronamiento. These list residents by household and are the most common surviving padrón type.

• Censo Poblacional 1863–1874 Caja 48 · 459 images
• Censo Poblacional 1865–1871 Caja 39 · 561 images
• Censo Poblacional 1873 Caja 3 · 31 images
• Censo Poblacional 1873–1875 Caja 41 · 332 images
• Censo Poblacional 1878 Caja 36 · 342 images

Municipal Population Census (1)

Population counts compiled by the municipal government, separate from the island-wide enumerations. Detail varies widely by municipality and year.

• Censo Poblacional 1897–1898 Caja 37 · 276 images

Further Reading

• Memoria 60 — Lares, 1955 — Universidad de Puerto Rico, Recinto de Ciencias Médicas, Departamento de Demografía Local History Demographic census memory for Lares published by UPR's RCM Demography Department, 1955. Useful for population context and mid-century historical data.
• Registros civiles, 1885–1994 — Lares — FamilySearch Civil Registration FamilySearch catalog entry for Lares civil registration records, 1885–1994. Includes birth, marriage, and death records.
• Documentos municipales, 1842–1927 — Lares — FamilySearch Municipal Records Catalog entry for Lares municipal documents including marriages, deaths, census, slave contracts, register of free slaves, and census of slaves, 1842–1927.