Thursday, June 7, 2012

Quality Mexico Genealogy Includes Verifying Your Information

Everyone likes to find new information about their family. You go online, search through records, files and microfiche and order documents. These are all essential activities for your Mexico genealogy, but a lot of beginning genealogists miss a very important step - verifying their information.

One of the mantras in genealogy is "verify, verify, verify." If you skip this step, it could cause you to never find information about your family, to spend years following a family line that has nothing to do with yours or to just not have your family history quite right. 

Here's a story about why verification is so important. On a death certificate we examined, the person was listed as having been born in Monterrey, Nuevo Leon (N.L.). However, the person only lived there for a few years. At the time of the person's death, his son, Tony, didn't know that his father had actually been born in another Mexican state. 

We did more digging and discovered documents that showed that Tony's father had been born in the Mexican state of Tamaulipas. With more verification we identified the correct city and now Tony has make contact with family still living there. If he hadn't had his father's birth place verified, Tony most likely would never have had the great joy of meeting and knowing his relatives in Tamaulipas. Now he's planning to spend a week vacating in Mexico with his newly found cousins, aunts and uncles.

Just because you have an official document doesn't mean that there can't be mistakes. When I was born, the hospital in Texas spelled my middle name incorrectly. My parents had to go through a process to get the spelling of my name legally changed. Fortunately, this name change document is part of my birth certificate, but this isn't always the case for mistakes made on legal document in both the U.S. and Mexico. A lot of parents don't take the time to go through the hassle of legally correcting mistakes on documents. 

While you want to verify your information, you also have to be flexible enough to recognize that you might have the correct document for a relative even if there is a misspelling. I can't tell you how often people will write us for help and advice and yet misspell the surname or leave off an accent. There is a huge difference between Pena and Peña. Sometimes genealogists believe their surname has no accent when originally it did. Use inaccurate information on Google or Ancestry.com, and your chances of finding your relatives in Mexico will be pretty slim.

All of these issues with incorrect spelling on documents, typos and simply wrong dates and places of birth is why it's so important to verify your information. So take the time to verify your information. Remember that as you get new documents you want to go back and reverify that everything matches up before moving forward. 

If you have a story about misinformation, share it with us on Facebook so we can all learn something new. And watch out for typos.

Saludos,

Richard Villasana
Richard Villasana, The Mexico Guru
Find Relatives In Mexico

Tuesday, April 24, 2012

Searching for a Person in Mexico Can Cost You

One of the best ways to get help with your Mexico family genealogy is to ask a question. Jeanette from Alabama asks:
"i am searching for a person in Mexico and i search every were [sic] and places i search is charging [sic] to find... this person or his family." 
Jeanette provided several complete names of people, many with the surname Lucio. One key to asking for help is to always provide the city and state in Mexico where you believe these people are or were living. 

Another key to successful Mexico genealogy is when you list more than one person, always explain who these people are relative to the person you want to find. In this case, we could assume that all of the names are of people related to each other, and we'd probably be right. 

But it's always best to give as many details as possible including the relationship between the names you provide. You want your Mexico genealogy to come alive not just for yourself but also those who are working with you.

Jeanette commented that every place she looks for help wants to charge her. Free resources such as the Internet have limited capabilities to help you find someone in Mexico. In Jeanette's case, she wants to find people living in Mexico today rather than finding her ancestors. Information about most people living in Mexico is either not on the Internet or the information is so common you get too many results. For instance, let's say you want to find Juan Martinez and go to Facebook. You might find a thousand people with the same name and your particular Juan Martinez may not be one of them.

When the Internet fails, the other option is a company that offers a professional service because they have access to information that the public doesn't. So why is there a cost? This is like being sick. You can go online and find lots of advice, and a lot of it's good advice. But if you're really sick, no matter how much advice you find for free, you may have to go see and pay a doctor to get better. 

If you are like Jeanette and have been online and haven't yet found the people, then you now need professional help to find them. BUT before you go spending your money, be sure the company handles Mexico and not just U.S. Companies such as Intelius and LexisNexis only have information for people in the U.S., not Mexico. You want a company that will be able to help you find relatives in Mexico so you'll be writing about having fun with your Mexican relatives instead of searching for them next year.

Saludos,

Richard Villasana
Richard Villasana, The Mexico Guru
Find Relatives In Mexico

Want to know the Top 3 Keys to Starting Your Mexico Family Genealogy? Go to our Facebook page and click the LIKE button. Then you only have to enter your name and email to get your audio copy of my interview with John Finch, former President of the Chula Vista Genealogical Society. You don't want to miss this information so go to our Facebook page now and get your free audio download.

Tuesday, July 12, 2011

Family Genealogy Search Begins with a Name



Everything has a starting point. Your Mexico family genealogy search starts with the name of the person you want to find. The other vital piece of information you must have is the state in Mexico where this person lives or lived. These are the two building blocks of information from which to start your search. So let's look at the structure of the name.

Recently Chantelle posted on Facebook asking for help to find her son's biological grandparents in Mexico. She wrote that she only had the city and the one apellido. If you are unfamiliar with Spanish, apellido is the term for last name, commonly referred to as a surname in genealogy.

Now when I say that your starting point is a name, I'm always referring to a complete name that includes both the father and mother's last names. You should read my blog #3 Want to find family in Mexico? What you need to get started because it covers the structure of Spanish names in greater detail.

Let's say that you have only one surname and it's Hernandez, one of the top 10 most popular names in Mexico, then more information would be needed to have any real hope of finding this person. In the case of Chantelle, the surname of her son's grandparents is Gaimes. She also let us know that the grandparents are reported to be living in San Luis Potosi. Gaimes is not a very popular name so a search was done to see if there were indications of any records with this name in San Luis Potosi.

Unfortunately, no evidence was found that there are records for someone in San Luis Potosi having the surname Gaimes. The genealogy search was extended to several cities beyond San Luis Potosi. Nothing. At this point, the surname Gaimes is now suspect. I like the principal of Occam's Razor when it comes to a family genealogy search in Mexico. Simply stated, "when you have two competing theories making exactly the same predictions, the simpler one is the better." In this case, which is the more likely, that all of the Gaimes family left San Luis Potosi or that Gaimes may be a misspelling?

When no records are identified, it often indicates that there is a misspelling of the surname. An expert in Onomastics, the study of proper names, was brought in to review the surname Gaimes. After an exhaustive search, no record could be found of Gaimes as a Hispanic surname. This search included surname origins from Spain and most of Latin America. The closest surname spelling was Gamez that shows up in many Spanish countries.

Of course, not everyone who lives in Mexico has ancestry in Mexico so it's quite possible that Gaimes is a legitimate surname from non-Hispanic origins. However, with no indication of the existence of current records with this surname, the probability is that Gaimes is a misspelling. The good news is that Chantelle now knows this and she can talk with relatives to see if Gamez is perhaps the correct surname.

Doing your family genealogy search should be fun and can be very rewarding and at times exciting. Keep in mind, though, that you may hit a wall with the information you have. If so, then it's time to step back and seek out help from experts who specializes in Mexico family genealogy. Chantelle was smart because she got help and advice from an expert in Onomastics to review her information and point her, hopefully, in the right direction.

Saludos,

Richard Villasana
  Richard

Richard Villasana
The Mexico Guru
Find Relatives In Mexico

Want to know the Top 3 Keys to Starting Your Mexico Family Genealogy? Go to our Facebook page and click the LIKE button. Then you only have to enter your name and email to get your audio copy of my interview with John Finch, former President of the Chula Vista Genealogical Society. You don't want to miss this information so go to our Facebook page now and get your free audio download.

Friday, May 6, 2011

Mexico Family Genealogy Resources: If You Offer It, They May Come



I received an interesting email from a genealogical society. I had posted some tips on their Facebook page. The woman explained that they don't have much need for Hispanic genealogy information. The writer commented that in 20 years they had never had anyone ask for such information. That got me reflecting on comments I've heard over the years from genealogists.

I remember an email from a woman living in Los Angeles who wanted to start her Mexico family genealogy. Her challenge was that the places she had visited had little or no reference materials to help her. She was shocked and frustrated that in a city with so many Hispanics that she could not find the help she wanted. Unfortunately, this seems to be a common complaint.

On the other hand, I had a genealogy society in Southern California ask me to recommend Hispanic genealogy resources. Someone had come in looking to do Mexico family genealogy, and the members realized that they didn't have much in the way of reference materials. I applaud this society for reaching out and wanting to be better prepared for the next person.

If libraries and genealogy societies in heavily populated Hispanic areas don't have resources available to help someone with their Hispanic family genealogy, should they expect Hispanics to show up? Maybe this is a chicken and egg situation. Do people show up because there are resources or should societies wait until they get a request?

Back to the email I got. The woman from the genealogy society mentioned that there is a significant Puerto Rican population nearby. We recently helped a woman of Puerto Rican descent locate relatives living in Mexico. Over the years, many people who were originally born outside of Mexico (think Russia) have come to us for help to locate family members in Mexico. We've helped people from as far away as Australia! The bottom line is that we're a mobile society. Anyone who is originally from outside of Mexico could still have Mexican ancestors that they want to find.

Adding that 1 out of 6 people in the U.S. are Hispanic and two-thirds are of Mexican origin, the interest in Mexico family genealogy can only increase. Maybe a good starting point for genealogy societies is to offer occasional advice about Hispanic genealogy. It doesn't have to cost. Tips can be made in a newsletter, blog or Facebook page. If genealogy societies want new, younger members, they need look no further than at Hispanic communities that are starving for genealogical help and resources. It may simply be a matter of letting Hispanics know that they are welcome.

Saludos,

Richard Villasana
  Richard

Richard Villasana
The Mexico Guru
Find Relatives In Mexico

Want to know the Top 3 Keys to Starting Your Mexico Family Genealogy? Go to our Facebook page and click the LIKE button. Then you only have to enter your name and email to get your audio copy of my interview with John Finch, former President of the Chula Vista Genealogical Society. You don't want to miss this information so go to our Facebook page now and get your free audio download.

PS. If you have any comments that you feel will help, leave them here as well as on our Facebook page. Together we can help each other to connect to our ancestors, know our family and have a better sense of where we come from.

PPS. If you like this blog, click the LIKE button above and share it with your friends. The more you share with us, the better we can help you find family in Mexico and get you started on your Mexico genealogy search.

Monday, May 2, 2011

Success with Mexico Family Genealogy Search Could Depend on One Piece of Information



Sometimes little things happen in life that can help you be better at work, at home and even with your Mexico family genealogy research. I had one of those "Ah ha" moments this last weekend.

My headset died on me last week. I tend to sleep with my headset so I didn't want something bulky. I had bought a simple model from Radio Shack that goes behind you head and doesn't have moving part. I had only one complaint - because the headset is a one-size-fits-all, I couldn't make it fit more tightly. So it would slip down. I would sometimes put on a cap to hold the headset in place.

You're probably thinking, "Well, why didn't you get another headset?" The simple answer is that it wasn't enough of a bother to motivate me to buy another one until mine died last week. When that happened, I went online checking brands to find a better headset. Problem is that no head/ear bud set seemed as durable as the Radio Shack model so I found myself back there shopping for a replacement.

The only model that I liked was again the same headset I had previously. Since I had already owned a set, I was about to leave, but the salesperson asked if he could help. Fortunately, I took him up on his offer and that's where things changed. I asked if I could try on the headset since this model seemed like it might fit tighter than my last one. The guy opened the package and I popped them on.

Immediately he comments, "Actually, these are make so the headset fits over your ears to stay in place." OMG! I had been putting them on UPSIDE DOWN (not over my ears) so that's why my headset kept slipping off. Now that I know how to properly put on the headset, they fit fine. Problem solved.

That's when I realized that some people doing family genealogy encounter the problem of not knowing that they are doing something incorrectly. You may start off with good advice either from an article, book or blog. But somewhere along the way, you may get off course. You may think you're taking the right steps but become frustrated when your family genealogy search seems to hit a wall.

The solution is to get help from someone who's been down the road before. Take your information and have someone look it over. Visit your Family History Center or Genealogy Society. Pay for a professional service such as our Profile Builder so an expert can review your data.

It only takes one error to slow down or stop your progress. You could have the right information, but you may be doing something incorrectly just as I had a headset that would have fit perfectly IF I'd known that I was putting it on improperly. There's lots of help out there so you can have fun and success with your Mexico family genealogy. You may just need to check in once in a while with an expert to be sure you're on course and not missing that one piece of information that's stopping you from having success.

Saludos,

Richard Villasana
  Richard

Richard Villasana
The Mexico Guru
Find Relatives In Mexico

Want to know the Top 3 Keys to Starting Your Mexico Family Genealogy? Go to our Facebook page and click the LIKE button. Then you only have to enter your name and email to get your audio copy of my interview with John Finch, former President of the Chula Vista Genealogical Society. You don't want to miss this information so go to our Facebook page now and get your free audio download.

PS. If you have any comments that you feel will help, leave them here as well as on our Facebook page. Together we can help each other to connect to our ancestors, know our family and have a better sense of where we come from.

PPS. If you like this blog, click the LIKE button above and share it with your friends. The more you share with us, the better we can help you find family in Mexico and get you started on your Mexico genealogy search.

Wednesday, April 27, 2011

Doing Mexico Genealogy Research Online? Information Can Be Limited



Today Tina posted this comment on our Facebook wall:

"Working on a new family for a friend that is Mendoza, Morales and Miranda. Learning alot, learning there is not much "online" for Mexico research compared to others, which is sad."

One of the challenges with doing Mexico family genealogy research is that the majority of documents are sitting in boxes either at government offices or worse in warehouses. Now it's true that new documents are coming online each month, but again, that is still a small amount (perhaps 20%) of the documents that could be available and aren't.

Be sure to take advantage of your local Genealogy Society and Family History Center. They have access to resources and information in other formats such as microfiche. And if your Genealogy Society is lacking in materials to help you do Mexico family genealogy research, have them email us. We can recommend key resources they should have on hand. You can also visit our Resources page.

The Internet is an incredible tool. It's fast and free, but it has its limits so be flexible and look for additional resources as you do your family genealogy research.

Saludos,

Richard Villasana
  Richard

Richard Villasana
The Mexico Guru
Find Relatives In Mexico

Want to know the Top 3 Keys to Starting Your Mexico Family Genealogy? Go to our Facebook page and click the LIKE button. Then you only have to enter your name and email to get your audio copy of my interview with John Finch, former President of the Chula Vista Genealogical Society. You don't want to miss this information so go to our Facebook page now and get your free audio download.

PS. If you have any comments that you feel will help, leave them here as well as on our Facebook page. Together we can help each other to connect to our ancestors, know our family and have a better sense of where we come from.

PPS. If you like this blog, click the LIKE button above and share it with your friends. The more you share with us, the better we can help you find family in Mexico and get you started on your Mexico genealogy search.

Friday, April 22, 2011

Latino genealogy: Advice from leading experts



If you want to jump start your Mexico family genealogy, this is the podcast for you. It was my privilege to be a guest on the show. On this podcast by Geneabloggers, you'll hear about doing family genealogy in Mexico, Puerto Rico and Spain.

Listen to internet radio with GeneaBloggers on Blog Talk Radio

Listen in as I and three other experts on Latino genealogy share insights into how to start your family genealogy search, identify important documents and much more.

Saludos,

Richard Villasana
  Richard

Richard Villasana
The Mexico Guru
Find Relatives In Mexico

Want to know the Top 3 Keys to Starting Your Mexico Family Genealogy? Go to our Facebook page and click the LIKE button. Then you only have to enter your name and email to get your audio copy of my interview with John Finch, former President of the Chula Vista Genealogical Society. You don't want to miss this information so go to our Facebook page now and get your free audio download.

PS. If you have any comments that you feel will help, leave them here as well as on our Facebook page. Together we can help each other to connect to our ancestors, know our family and have a better sense of where we come from.

PPS. If you like this blog, click the LIKE button above and share it with your friends. The more you share with us, the better we can help you find family in Mexico and get you started on your Mexico genealogy search.