Historical Overview

Patillas was founded on October 31, 1811, on the southeastern coast of Puerto Rico, established on land donated by Doña Adelina Cintrón with the region's sugar cane economy as its foundation. The primary Catholic parish, Parroquia San Benito Abad y Santa Bárbara, holds records dating to 1810, predating the municipality's official founding. The town's name derives from the watermelons that once grew abundantly in the area, and its coat of arms preserves the town's dual patronal identity, agricultural heritage, and the religious symbolism of its founding era.

Coat of Arms

Image: Wikimedia Commons (CC BY-SA 4.0)

The coat of arms features a crow carrying a piece of bread in its beak, symbolizing the legend of San Benito Abad, patron of the town, who was saved from poisoning by the bird. A castle with three windows represents the captivity of Santa Bárbara, the co-patron. Crossed machetes recall the peasants who worked the sugar cane plantations. A watermelon leaf alludes to the abundance of watermelons in the area, which gave the town its name.

Barrios

Genealogical records often identify individuals by barrio. Patillas has 16 barrios:

• Apeadero
• Bajo
• Cacao Alto
• Cacao Bajo
• Egozcue
• Guardarraya
• Jacaboa
• Jagual
• Mamey
• Marín
• Mulas
• Muñoz Rivera
• Patillas Pueblo
• Pollos
• Quebrada Arriba
• Ríos

Neighboring Municipalities

Also check records in neighboring municipalities:

• Arroyo — Nuestra Señora del Carmen
• Guayama — San Antonio de Padua
• Maunabo — San Isidro Labrador
• San Lorenzo — Nuestra Señora de las Mercedes
• Yabucoa — Santos Ángeles Custodios

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.

Patillas (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 Benito Abad y Santa Bárbara

Records from 1810

⬇ Search Catholic Records

Diocesan Archive

Diocese: Diocese of Ponce

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

Diocese Website

Digital Archives

• FamilySearch: Patillas Civil and parish records
• Puerto Rico, Catholic Church Records, 1645–2021 Parish Records Broad Catholic church-record collection that includes Patillas parish records; indexed and image-based access available through FamilySearch.
• Cementerio Municipal de Patillas — Find a Grave Cemetery Records Cemetery page for the municipal cemetery of Patillas; useful for burial leads when death dates are missing from parish or civil records.
• Puerto Rico Civil Registration, 1885–2001 Digitized Records Civil registration births, marriages, and deaths for all Puerto Rico municipalities including Patillas, beginning 1885.
• FamilySearch: Puerto Rico Genealogy Complete records guide

Further Reading

• U.S. Census Bureau: Patillas Municipio Profile — U.S. Census Bureau Census Data Authoritative 2020 Census profile for Patillas, including official barrio list, population data, and geographic boundary information.
• FamilySearch Wiki: Patillas, Puerto Rico Genealogy — FamilySearch Research Guide Best starting point for Patillas research; points to civil registration, Catholic church records, cemeteries, and other record sets.
• San Benito Abad and Santa Bárbara Church Records, Patillas, Puerto Rico, 1810–1940 — Hijos de Coamo PR Parish Record Index Secondary index for San Benito Abad and Santa Bárbara church records covering 1810–1940. Useful for locating entries before consulting the original images.
• Historia del pueblo de Patillas, 1811–1965 — Paulino Rodríguez Bernier Local History Important historical monograph covering Patillas from its 1811 founding through 1965; valuable for settlement history and municipal chronology.

GenealogíaPR.com Transcriptions

The following links connect to free church record transcription resources available through GenealogíaPR.com, the website of the Sociedad Puertorriqueña de Genealogía. These valuable resources were created and shared through the dedicated work of Sociedad members.

• Patillas: Church Record Transcriptions Sociedad Puertorriqueña de Genealogía

If these transcriptions help advance your Puerto Rican genealogy research, please consider supporting this important work by becoming a member of the Sociedad Puertorriqueña de Genealogía: Join here.