Cuban Genealogical Research

The majority of Cubans who Cuba in modern times did so during the reigns of Fidel Castro and Fulgencio Batista. This would cover the period of 1952 to the present. Prior to this time period, the first Cubans came to the United States in the nineteenth century. Most of these early immigrants left Cuba for one of two reasons: to either work in the American cigar and tobacco industry or escape political persecution by the Spaniards. Spain lost Cuba to the United States in 1898. This occupation continued until 1902.

For a half century following Cuban independence in 1898, few Cubans had any interest in emigrating to the United States. During the 1950s, however, growing political unrest and economic uncertainty caused thousands of Cubans to flee the island for Florida (mostly the Miami area) and some northern cities (New York, Philadelphia, and Boston). This exodus grew even larger after Fidel Castro seized control of the island on January 1, 1959, and began nationalizing large companies and confiscating the property of the upper middle class and wealthy citizens. Between January 1, 1959 and the Cuban Missile Crisis in October 1962, more than 150,000 Cubans came to the United States.

In the years following the Cuban Missile Crisis, its status as a communist country made the United States particularly receptive to Cuban immigrants, with hundreds of thousands of Cubans entering the United States, mostly through southern Florida. Although some attempts were made to force them to relocate to other areas of the country, most Cubans would eventually make their way back to Florida. Many refused to settle in areas of the northeast like their Puerto Rican counterparts.

The most noteworthy event in this immigration was the Mariel boatlift of 1980. During this event, 125,000 people were allowed to immigrate from Cuba to the United States in a matter of weeks. Since this period, several thousand Cubans have continued to escape from their native land each year.People of Cuban ancestry are heavily concentrated in the three counties of three lower counties of southeastern Florida: Dade (Miami), Broward (Ft. Lauderdale), and Palm Beach (West Palm Beach). There are other smaller concentrations in the NewYork and Los Angeles metropolitan areas.

For additional information on all aspects of Hispanic Genealogical Research, be sure to take a copy of the handout on Hispanic Genealogical Research.

Contact and Sources of interest to Cuban Researchers

Cuban Genealogical Society, P.O. Box 2650, Salt Lake City, UT 82110-2650.

Institute of Genealogy and History for Latin America, 316 West 500 North, St. George, UT 84770. Telephone (801) 652-1710. Fax (801) 674-5787.

Compiled by Bryan L. Mulcahy, Reference Librarian, Ft. Myers-Lee County Library 8/14/98