Cienfuegos

Founding Families

We have been unable to locate the names of the original founding families of Cienfuegos (we are still looking). From the book by Enrique Edo (see reference below), we know the following:

The modern history of Cienfuegos begins in 1 January 1819 when Lieutenant Colonel Don Luis Juan Lorenzo De Clouet de Piette proposed to Captain General don Jose Cienfuegos and to Intendente don Alejandro Ramirez to colonize the bay of Jagua. This proposal was accepted and formalized in 9 Mar 1819, in accordance with the Royal Cedula of 21 October 1817 intended to increase the white population of the Island.

Clouet arrived on 8 April 1819, by way of Batabanó, accompanied by 46 colonists from Burdeos (Bordeaux), France who arrived in three ships, the Juan Bart, the Joven Emanuel and the Activo. They were also accompanied by a doctor, don Domingo Monjenie and a public surveyor, don Miguel Dubroet, appointed by the government to distribute the lands. These colonists lived in tents, at the location where the Plaza de Armas is now, until some houses could be built. At the same time the alferez de navio Felix Bouyon, perfomed a survey of the bay, measured the land and created a map of the peninsula of Majagua. The formal foundation of the colony took place on 22 April 1819 when De Clouet took possession of the peninsula in the name of his Majesty and in the presence of the Captain Commander of the Castle of Jagua, Don Joaquin Horruytiner, Don Tomas de Calderon de la Barca, Don Antonio Casales, Don Gregorio Garrido, Don Miguel de la Torre and other colonists.

In accordance with the contract signed by De Clouet, the same year, 1819, also saw the arrival of 195 new colonists, 10 from New Orleans, 86 from Burdeos (Bordeaux), and 99 from Philadelphia. This was followed in 1820 by the arrival of an additional 382 colonists, 50 from Philadelphia, 74 from Baltimore, 13 from New Orleans, 233 from other parts of the Island and 12 from Louisiana. In 1821 another 111 colonists arrived, 50 from Philadelphia, 15 from Burdeos (Bordeaux), 5 from other parts of the Island, 8 from Santo Domingo and 33 from other places.

On 20 May 1827, by Royal Order of Fernando VII, the title of "Villa de Cienfuegos" and status as capital of the colony of San Fernandina de Jagua was given to the town located in the barrio of Cienfuegos.

Reference: Memoria Histórica de Cienfuegos y su Jurisdicción, by Enrique Edo, 3rd Edition, La Habana 1943.

Marriages

The following list of Marriages from the city of Cienfuegos has been transcribed by Hilda Pomares from documents found at the LDS Family History Center at Hialeah, Florida. There are no indications of the original source of the data in the documents. We have since learned, however, from Fernando Ferndez Cavada, a distinguished Cuban genealogist, that he recognized the list as one he compiled and gave to the Count of Jaruco many years ago.

Note: The above document is in Adobe PDF format. If you need to, you can get the Adobe Reader free of charge by using the link on the left menu.

Cienfuegos

Founding Families

Marriages

Biographies