Historical Overview

Utuado, home to the ancient Taíno ceremonial site at Caguana and shaped by the Río Viví that runs through its mountain landscape, was established in 1739 as a municipality of Puerto Rico's interior highlands. The town's patron parish, Parroquia San Miguel Arcángel, holds Catholic records beginning in 1792 for baptisms and 1793 for burials, making it essential for tracing highland families well before civil registration began in 1885. Utuado's large territory and rugged terrain mean that families are best tracked by barrio, and researchers should also search neighboring municipalities such as Jayuya, Adjuntas, Lares, Ciales, and Arecibo when family records disappear from Utuado archives.

Coat of Arms

The Utuado coat of arms features a cemí representing Taíno spiritual and ancestral heritage, a silver sword with a gold hilt recalling the town's patron saint San Miguel Arcángel, and a Taíno female figure associated with the Caguana ceremonial site. Mining symbols recall the mineral history of the interior highlands. The blue field represents the sky, and a white lower stripe represents the Río Viví.

Barrios

Genealogical records often identify individuals by barrio. Utuado has 24 barrios:

• Ángeles
• Arenas
• Caguana
• Caníaco
• Caonillas Abajo
• Caonillas Arriba
• Consejo
• Don Alonso
• Guaonico
• Las Palmas
• Limón
• Mameyes Abajo
• Paso Palma
• Río Abajo
• Roncador
• Sabana Grande
• Salto Abajo
• Salto Arriba
• Santa Isabel
• Santa Rosa
• Tetuán
• Utuado barrio-pueblo
• Viví Abajo
• Viví Arriba

Daughter Municipalities

The following municipalities separated from Utuado. Residents recorded events before their founding year in Utuado's parish:

• Adjuntas (founded 1815) — San Joaquín
• Lares (founded 1827) — San José
• Jayuya (founded 1911) — Nuestra Señora de la Monserrate

Neighboring Municipalities

Also check records in neighboring municipalities:

• Adjuntas — San Joaquín
• Arecibo — Catedral San Felipe Apóstol
• Ciales — Nuestra Señora del Rosario
• Hatillo — Nuestra Señora del Carmen
• Jayuya — Nuestra Señora de la Monserrate
• Lares — San José
• Ponce — Catedral Nuestra Señora de la Guadalupe

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.

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Historical maps coming soon

Genealogy Toolkit

Civil Records

Began in 1885

Covers births, marriages, and deaths.

⬇ Search Civil Records

Parish Records

Parish: Parroquia San Miguel Arcángel

Records from 1792

⬇ Search Catholic Records

Digital Archives

• FamilySearch: Utuado Civil and parish records
• Find A Grave: Utuado Municipal Cemetery Cemetery index
• Find A Grave: Cementerio Municipal de Utuado, Barrio los Angeles Cemetery index
• Find A Grave: Cementerio Municipal Monte Calvario Cemetery index
• FamilySearch: Puerto Rico Genealogy Complete records guide

Further Reading

• Utuado: Notas para su Historia — Pedro H. Hernández Paralitici / Oficina Estatal de Conservación Histórica Government History (PDF) An official historical reference booklet for Utuado published by the Puerto Rico Office of Historic Preservation.
• Utuado Civil Registration, 1885-1996 — FamilySearch Record Collection FamilySearch catalog entry for Utuado civil registration on 45 microfilm reels, including indexes; notes damaged and out-of-order records in some films.
• Puerto Rico Local History and Genealogy — Vital Records — Library of Congress Research Guide Library of Congress guide explaining Puerto Rico vital records and the relationship between parish and civil registration.