8 Resources: Spanish Territory to USA Citizens

Where to Research for Puerto Rican Ancestors

When researching Puerto Rican ancestors, one of the biggest mistakes genealogists make is assuming the records will all be in one place. Puerto Rico sits at the crossroads of Spanish colonial history, U.S. territorial governance, military eligibility, and changing citizenship law.

Before 1898, Puerto Rico was under Spanish control. That means earlier genealogical records are often found in:

• Catholic parish registers
• Spanish-language civil and administrative records
• Local municipal records
• Land, tax, and notarial records

Before 1917, your Puerto Rican ancestor records may be found in:

• Spanish-language local records
• Church records
• Municipal civil records
• Territorial administrative records

After the Spanish-American War in 1898, Puerto Rico became a territory of the United States. In 1917 the Jones-Shafroth Act granted U.S. citizenship to Puerto Ricans.

The State, Columbia, SC · Tuesday, June 05, 1917

So, after 1917, Your ancestor may also begin appearing in:

• U.S. federal records
• World War I draft cards
• Military service records
• Other citizenship-related documentation

That means one person may appear across two governments, two languages, and two legal systems over the course of a lifetime: 

 Your ancestor may appear in:

• A Spanish-language baptismal register
• A civil marriage record
• A U.S. draft registration
• A later federal military or migration record

At first glance, it may not look like the same person. You may see name spelling changes, anglicized versions of names, different places listed, shifts in language or legal terminology

These differences often reflect government change, not family inconsistency.

8 Resources for Research

1.  New York National Archives (NARA). The Guide to Puerto Rican Records in the National Archives, New York City, is a great place to begin your Puerto Rican ancestor research. 

2.  Newspapers. The New York Puerto Rican newspapers reported news of its community. Although much was in Spanish, these OCR digitized copies are easily available with the New York Public Library database resources, or other comprehensive historical/genealogical libraries that hold newspaper database subscriptions (i.e. Midwest Genealogy Center, MO. -  library card will get you home access).

- La Democracia

- La Correspondencia de Puerto Rico

- El Tiempo y Union Obera

3.  Passenger Lists.
--Puerto Rico, Passenger and Crew Lists, 1901 – 1962, ancestry.com
--National Archives Record Group (RG85) Manifests of Ship Passengers Arriving at San Juan, PR in Transit to Other Destinations, 07/01/1921 – 06/30/1947 (microfilm only)
--RG 85.3.1 Passenger Lists of Vessels Arriving at San Juan PR 10/7/1901 – 6/30/1948

4.  Military Records. Selective Service System draft Registration Cards, 1917-1918 are digitally available on FamilySearch.org or ancestry.com.

5.  Passports. Many Puerto Ricans worked in neighboring countries, (i.e. Dominican Republic).  For easier entry and exist many applied for their U. S. passports. Visit U.S. Passport Applications, 1795-1925 on ancestry.com. For Puerto Rico, this collection holds records from 1907-1925. This is a good place to begin your passport research.

6. Consular Records. 

Was a child of an American citizen born overseas? This occurred frequently with customary long overseas visits. The Department of State records, various records of death notices of U.S. citizens abroad should be scoured for your elusive ancestor. Don’t dismiss these records as only for those who were naturalized USA citizens and returned to their native land to visit family. Vacationers fell sick, were victims of violence, automobile accidents, or were imprisoned, etc. These records also included deaths that occurred in Canada and the Americas.

7. Guide to Puerto Rican Records in the National Archives NYC, (these records may be transplanted to Pennsylvania 

8. Puerto Rico Civil Registration, familysearch Wiki

In the Age of AI, Be Authentic

  A Manifesto for Genealogists, Historical Writers, and Authors

Genealogists and historians are no longer approaching the age of AI.
We are challenged by it daily in our blogs, our social media posts, and our research writings.

 AI can rewrite, summarize, reshape, and repackage language at extraordinary speed. It can generate blog posts, captions, outlines, descriptions, and polished paragraphs in seconds. We have seen plagiarism from the a3Genealogy blog (https://a3genealogy.blogspot.com/).

I do not want our readers to leave asking the following questions:

1. What belongs to the human researcher?
2. What still belongs to the author?

So, how do we live alongside AI? We write our expertise. We write what we can prove. 

I write a genealogical and historical blog. I produce articles for magazines and content for the Hittin' the Bricks with Kathleen podcast. The case studies, examples, and shared experiences are directly tied to a3Genealogy client research and historical documents. So, to distinguish my writings from AI-generated text, I make it personal. I make it authentic, I make it "unmistakably" mine. 

AI can generate language.

But, it cannot do what real historical work requires:

It cannot analyze conflicting evidence or determine the need or reasoning for a proof argument.
It cannot assess deeper suggestions of missing records or the conflicts proposed on surviving ones.
It cannot determine how supplementary records, i.e., widow’s pension, tax list, church registers, county boundary changes, or a misspelled surname will influence a research plan.

Frustration is not a plan.

And anger is not a strategy.

I know that blog posts written for a3Genealogy  years ago, as early as 2008, are fodder for AI. When I was a teenager, my mother used to say, “Once you tell one person, it’s no longer a secret.” As an adult, I now understand that lesson differently: 

My goal is neither to compete with AI nor to devalue it as a "research tool." But AI cannot replace my experience, my client base, or the authenticity of twenty years of client-based and personal research.

So, the real question is not whether AI is here to stay.
           It is.

The real question is this:

How do we, as genealogists, historians, and authors,
write in the AI era, without losing ourselves to it?

For me, the answer is clear:

I must write authentically, not fast. 

I am Kathleen Strader Brandt of the Hittin' the Bricks with Kathleen podcast. The life-long mentor for genealogists and a3Genealogy interns. The researcher for unique family histories. AI can't take that away from me. 

However, AI can assist - i.e., need a date quickly? To me, it's like a dictionary; an encyclopedia (if you remember them before wiki and the internet). It's a reference tool without a Dewey Decimal System, but I still get to gather information, analyze, and synthesize the data. 

But, it cannot do what real historical work requires:

It cannot sit with a document and weigh the uncertainty of conflicting data.
It cannot understand why a missing record may be the answer; or the key to a proof argument. 
It cannot prove family ties using collaborative data: surname conflicts in a widow’s pension file, a tax list, a church register, a county boundary change, or generational changes of a family 
surname.
It cannot empathize with the emotions of your ancestors or your readers.

AI is not human.

It lacks cognitive dissonance. 
It lacks a belief system.
It cannot ask the deeper question: Who is missing, and why?AI can assemble facts.
It cannot replace discernment.

   And discernment is where our authority lives.

This is to say, our writings, our author's touch, will be recognized by creating authentic content:

Good writing, beyond that of AI rewrites and plagiarism, adds human values. 

The ability to Connect evidence to meaning
The ability to Analyze and Interpret community and social practices
The ability to Contextualize.
The ability to Teach. 

 In other words:

           The future belongs to the subject matter expert. 

Not the loudest voice.
Not the fastest publisher.
Not the person who can produce the most in the shortest amount of time. 

The future belongs to the person who can say:

I know this field.
I know these records.
I know this history.
And I know how to help others understand it with integrity. 

That is the work now.
Not to outpace the machine, but to go where the machine cannot follow: 

Into nuance.
Into ethics.
Into humanity.

So perhaps this is not the end of authorship.

Perhaps this is the moment authorship becomes more defined.

If AI can produce quick, shallow content, then expertise matters more.

So, I am not asking how to fight AI.
I am asking something more important: 

How do I root my research writing in a manner that 
my experience, my standards, and my voice
cannot be mistaken for anything but my own?

This is the work now.
And perhaps this has always been the work.

This manifesto come from my own work as a genealogist, researcher, and writer in an evolving AI landscape.

 

Using Store Account Books to Find Our Ancestors

Store account of Berry Cook, Negro, June 9, 1831

Overlooked Genealogy Records
Genealogists often search the obvious records first, i.e., census, land deeds, wills, military files, and church registers. But sometimes the richest clues to our ancestors’ lives appear in the most unexpected places. One such source is the store account book.

Recently, I came across a fascinating example from an ironworks community in Pennsylvania. 
At first glance, it might appear to be a simple transaction record. But a closer look reveals an entire community and the daily lives of the people who lived there.

Ironworks Community History in Early Pennsylvania
In 1810, Irish immigrant Roland Curtin established an iron forge along Bald Eagle Creek in Centre County, Pennsylvania. His enterprise, known as Eagle Iron Works, quickly grew into a large industrial community. The operation eventually included:

• 30,000 acres of land
• three blast furnaces
• rolling, grist, and saw mills
• a company store
• worker housing
• a school
• homes for the Curtin family

Between 100 and 200 workers lived and labored in this iron plantation community. These workers filled many specialized roles:

• miners extracting ore
• colliers producing charcoal
• Teamsters transporting materials
• founders determining furnace mixtures
• Iron masters tapping molten iron
• drivers hauling timber and supplies, etc.

Industrial communities like this functioned almost like small towns built around a single employer.

A Research Goldmine for One-Place Studies

Records like this are especially powerful when studying a single community or workplace. By combining store ledgers, genealogists can reconstruct an entire social and economic network. 
A One-Place Study allows researchers to understand not just one ancestor, but the community that shaped their life. Using the following records, the community comes to life:

• census records
• tax lists
• land deeds
• church registers
• payroll books
• probate records

Where to Find Store Account Books
Many remain uncataloged or lightly indexed, making them especially valuable discoveries for genealogists willing to dig deeper. These genealogy store ledgers often survive in surprising places:

• local historical societies
• county archives
• university manuscript collections
• business archives
• state libraries
• museum collections connected to historic industries

They may appear under titles such as store ledgers, day-books, merchant account books, 
company store ledgers. 

Why Store Account Books Matter for Genealogy

Company store ledgers like this can reveal details rarely found elsewhere. 

They may show:
Occupations: Workers were often credited for specific tasks

Family clues: hint at family members not named in other records.
Economic status: Types of goods purchased can reflect income level.
Community connections: Multiple workers appear in the same ledger, reconstructing entire neighborhoods.
Ethnic diversity: Industrial sites often employed immigrants and free Black workers alongside others.

Other Overlooked Records Like Store Ledgers”

• tavern licenses
  
• apprenticeship indentures
• tax lists
• mill payroll books
• church poor relief lists

Case Study:  Irish Immigrant and the Company Store
These humble account books remind us that genealogy is not just about names and dates. Even when other records barely acknowledge African American presence in the 1830s, in this case of Berry Cook, June 9, 1831,  identified in the record as a Black worker, is an entire story of labor, family, community, and survival in early industrial America. 

Case Study 
Curtin Iron Works, Pennsylvania Historical & Museum Commission

In 1810, Roland Curtin, an Irish immigrant, built an iron forge on Bald Eagle Creek in Centre County. Curtin expanded his "Eagle Iron Works" to include 30,000 acres of farm, ore, and forest land; three blast furnaces; rolling, grist, and saw mills; a store; a school; four "semi-mansions" for family members; and approximately seventy dwellings for his 100-200 full and part-time employees. His workers included, among others, drivers who transported wood to the wood-cutters; colliers who prepared the charcoal; miners who dug the ore; a founder who determined what amounts of ore and limestone (used as a flux to burn impurities from the ore) to put in the furnace; the iron master whose responsibility it was to tap the furnace of its molten iron at the proper time; and teamsters who carried the iron to markets east and west.

African Americans Named in Company Store Records
Although most of the ironworkers were of European ancestry, some were African Americans. As early as the 1770s, Blacks worked at the iron foundry at the Hopewell plantation in Berks County. By the 1830s, Roland Curtin employed at least a few at his Eagle Iron Works. It is not possible to determine exactly what they did, but it is unlikely that they held skilled positions here, or at any other iron plantation. The extant records do not reveal whether they lived in the company houses, but they might have resided there with the white workers and their families. What the records do indicate is that they frequented the company store. There, they purchased goods that they needed on credit, like the white workers. The document presented here is probably typical of the variety of goods bought at such a store. 

It shows, "Berry Cook, negro" bought in June and July of 1831, bacon and beef; fabrics such as calico, flannel, and muslin; stockings, combs, "1 pair Shoes for Wife," and other necessities. 

Even more valuable are the credits recorded in the account. As noted at the bottom of the document, Mr. Cook earned credit for his purchases, for example, $28.44 "By Making 8 ton 15¢ Blooms [a bar of iron for use by blacksmiths] @ 3.25 with Snowden", probably the man he assisted, and $3.00 for "6 days Mowing & Making Hay". $28.44 credited for making eight tons of iron blooms.

These entries suggest Berry Cook worked in iron production while also performing seasonal agricultural labor.

Entries for other workers whose ethnicity is not given, probably because they were white, show they made similar types of purchases, except for the forge manager. Presumably, his salary was higher, enabling him to buy more expensive goods, such as chocolate and molasses. 

Research Irish Battalion:Mexican-American War

Men of the San Patricio Battalion

 Translation: "In memory of the Irish Soldiers of the heroic battalion of San Patricio Maritres that gave their life for the Mexican cause during the unjust North American invasion of 1847." (names) "With gratitude from Mexico to the 112 years of your sacrifice. Sept 1955

The Saint Patrick’s Battalion (San Patricios) was a group of 700+ mostly Irish immigrant soldiers who defected from the U.S. Army to fight for Mexico in the Mexican-American War (1846–1848). Driven by nativism, anti-Catholic sentiment, and better pay, they fought fiercely but were captured at the Battle of Churubusco; 50 were executed by hanging in September 1847, making it the largest mass execution in U.S. history. These men were hung in three different locations. The courts-martial were held in Mexico shortly after capture in Tacubaya and San Ángel and during the Battle of Chapultepec. The hangings were held from 10 - 13 Sep 1847

Seventy-two to eighty-five prisoners were court-martialed. Some were considered not-guilty. Fifty were hanged. Those executed below agree with the plaque above. are listed were to include those sentenced to death.

The 1847 court martial records can be found: 

• National Archives and Records Administration (NARA) Office of the Judge Advocate General (Army), Record Group 153.
  
• Be sure to check the Regular Army muster rolls for 1846–1847

Charlotte. Newspapers 1845

Researchers can reconstruct the events from:

• court-martial summaries
• military orders
• correspondence
• newspaper accounts
• Mexican archival sources

There are also records in the: 

• Mexican archives (Archivo General de la Nación)
• Published trial summaries in military histories
• Chapultepec campaign records

Why This Post? Shameless Plug

a3Gen Publishing is readying the historical and genealogical research guidebook by Kathleen Brandt of TracingAncestors.org. Volume I, The Early Wars, is the first relief of Behind the Uniform: Every soldier has a story.

We have mentioned its upcoming release on the Hittin' the Bricks with Kathleen podcast. This guidebook covers not only how and where to research your ancestral veterans, but also facts proven using case studies and supporting documents. So much was missing from our History classes.

Volume I of Behind the Uniform: Every soldier has a story covers the French and Indian War to the Civil War (Union and Confederates).

Who were the Irishmen of the San Patricio Battalion?

These Irish ancestors deserted the U.S. Army in 1846 to fight on the Mexican side in the U.S. Mexican War (1846-1848). Where are the records go these Irishmen who deserted the American side to join and serve with their Mexican "Catholic brothers.""

The Fraternalist, Missouri Valley Independent, 1 Oct 1955. St. Joseph, MO

A popular novel by Carl Kreuger, "Saint Patrick's Battalion" may also be of interest: 

The Solano-Napa News Chronicle, 19 Feb 1962, pg. 10

More References:

• The San Patricios: the Irish Heroes of Mexico
• The San Patricio Battalion: Irish and German Deserters in the Mexican-American War
• 30 HANGED AND 11 BRANDED, The Story of the San Patricio Battalion, Tom Mahoney 

Mexicans Became USA Citizens

Mexico had abolished slavery by 1829, and this war was viewed as an attempt by the U.S. to reintroduce slavery on "free" Mexican soil. It did succeed in expanding slave land by way of the annexation of Texas.

Brainerd Dispatch, 31 Jul 2018, pg. 6

Approximately 80,000 to 100,000 Mexican citizens (California and New Mexico) became "free persons" under U.S. law. This was not extended to enslaved American persons.

This War ushered in the Civil War.