This is a Message Board Post that is gatewayed to this mailing list. Surnames: OBEN, ALVARES Classification: Query Message Board URL: http://boards.ancestry.com/mbexec/msg/rw/kRC.2ACE/5272.1 Message Board Post: Dear Nannette, The 1910 census from Puerto Rico is available, transcribed, online. I have been able to find my grandfather in Puerto Rico in 1910. Also, please include in you message the city in Puerto Rico from which they came. Most likely, they lived in Oriente province in Cuba, so you might want to start with researching Santiago de Cuba. There are Municipalidades en Exilio for several cities in Cuba, and of course there is the proud one for the proud city of Santiago de Cuba. If there are any persons remaining who would remember your family, it is worth talking to them. There is an annual fair of the Municipios held in Miami. Some Puerto Rican cities, such as Ponce, have chat rooms on the internet, where you can "spread the word". Look up the web site for the city of origin and read about its history. For example, there was a destructive hurricane in 1899, remembered even in an area known for horrible hurricanes, so that may have motivated your family's move. A decline in the coffee industry caused economic hardship for some, because the United States promoted the sugar industry over the "gourmet coffee" which in those days did not interest them --they could not foresee the future trend of coffee shops catering to lovers of the best coffees of the world. Being informed on your family's trade or business in Puerto Rico will assist you in your research. Where they in coffee, sugar, fruits, retail businesses, government work? That will also narrow down where they lived in Cuba. P.S. My mother's father also moved from Puerto Rico to Cuba and I have spent hundreds of hours researching them. Did you eat Puerto Rican foods in Cuba, especially during the holidays? We did --we loved the pasteles, yum, yum. We had a "taste of the island" although we did not live there, due to my grandfather's cooking. By the way, he was a cook in the Cuban army when he first joined, so many of the first Cuban soldiers ate Puerto Rican style cooking and tasted some of his desserts, too. No wonder he did well in the army --JOSE ALEJANDRO OWEN y ALVARES. He also told good jokes, a new one every day. I hope we can correspond as Puerto Rican Cubans and share experiences. I have wonderful memories growing up with those cultures and a Spanish greatgrandmother in her 90s. Good luck in your search, Ines Diaz-Owen