Kasaysayan ng San Jose: Preserving a Philippine Historical Heritage is a project to preserve and document over 250 years of vital demographic and other historical records held at the Church of Saint Joseph, the Patriarch in San Jose, Batangas, in the Philippines.

The baptism, marriage, and burial records date back to the parish’s founding in 1767. We believe they are among the few surviving sets of Filipino parish records of that age. In addition, there are hundreds of pages of Ecclesiastical Decrees (Decretos Eclesiasticos) and inventory lists of church properties (Libros de Inventario) dating back to the 1850s. 

These documents have historical significance beyond the Church of St. Joseph and the town of San Jose. For example, Fr. Jose Burgos signed one of the Libros de Inventario in February 1868. His execution almost exactly four years later, along with two other Filipino priests (“Gomburza”), sparked Philippine revolt against Spain.

The records are collected in bound volumes and are stored in a wooden cabinet in the parish convent but have not received any other conservation treatment over the centuries. Many of the volumes have already begun to deteriorate and are in need of immediate care and attention. If no intervention is done in time, these invaluable historical and cultural records will be irretrievably lost to future generations.

Kasaysayan ng San Jose aims to bring together funding and conservation expertise to physically preserve this unique and irreplaceable piece of Filipino history. Our objectives are to:

• Establish an archive to house these records in physically and environmentally safe conditions in order to halt their deterioration and to protect them from risks such as fire and moisture;

• Make digitized versions of the records available in the parish and restrict physical access to them by researchers; and 

• Secure conservation treatment, to the extent possible, for several volumes in need of immediate attention.

To achieve these objectives, we have formed an Advisory Board to help us steer the Project. We have also established partnerships with the National Commission for Culture and the Arts and De La Salle University – Manila; and have obtained the support of the Archdiocese of Lipa.