Information on ancestors in Cuba

Question

I am looking for any information concerning Ramon de Zaldo y Valiente  b 1806 Cadiz, Spain, d 1878 San Jose, California, USA who lived during the early 1830' through the late 1840's in Trinidad, Las Tunas, Cuba or his wife, Maria Trinidad Fernandez del Cueto y Baro, who dies in 1847 in Trinidad, Las Tunas, Cuba. I would especially like to see marriage information, death information, grave or gravestone locations ar information on existing family..

Answer 1

Hi Dave and welcome to Wikitree. Unfortunately, genealogical research in Cuba is complicated due to the political situation. You will either need to visit the Archivo Nacional de Cuba in Havana yourself to make copies of documents, or pay a genealogist in Cuba to do it for you.

Cuba began keeping Civil Registries in 1880. However, it is or was illegal for the Civil Registry office there to send official documents to the USA. I don't know if they can/will send anything to another country, if you happen to live abroad. Again, you will probably either need to visit yourself or hire a genealogist. Here's a listing of available church records in Cuba: http://www.cubagenweb.org/church.htm

Answer 2

Researching Cuba records is not impossible but extremely difficult and you must have patience.  Some Archdioceses in Cuba may be willing to help but you must have birth, baptism or marriage dates.  If you have this information, try contacting the Archdiocese that corresponds to your ancestor(s).  Go to http://www.catholic-hierarchy.org/ for listings.

You can make the same request of the Archdioceses in Cadiz if you have his exact birth/baptism date.  If he left Spain in his mid 20s, he may have served in the military.  It was required of men when reaching the age of 18.  Those records are accessible to you as well with exact information like his birth date, parents name.  

You can email El Ministerio de Defensa's different branches his information with a possible time of service.  They will require a copy of your ID (driver's license if fine) and a filled out form for the request.

Check out below.

https://patrimoniocultural.defensa.gob.es/es/centros/archivo-general-historico-defensa/portada