Find Family in Mexico: April 2011

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

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,

Thursday, April 21, 2011

Mexico Genealogy Search On Hold? Maybe It's Time for a Paid Service

I just read a blog post by Thomas MacEntee where he touches on the topic of doing genealogy using only free information versus the value of paying for certain services. I agree with the author that genealogy is one endeavor where the average participant seems to feel that everything should be free of charge. I'm certain this belief is supported in part because of the enormous amount of free articles, tips and advice available on the Internet.

I have and continue to offer free advice to help people start their Mexico family genealogy search through this blog, Facebook and several articles. But there may come a point where your success could depend on a paid service to move you forward especially if you need to find immediate family members living in Mexico.

Recently a woman came to my company for help. She was looking for her sister that she hadn't seen for more than 17 years. She knew the Mexico state where she thought her sister might be living. She just wasn't sure of the exact city so we did a search of the entire state. This isn't a free service. We're talking about covering hundreds of cities and thousands and thousands of records.

Using the woman's information, we located an uncle she was unaware of. The woman talked with her uncle and received some surprising news. Her sister was living in a different state! That explained why we didn't find her sister. And there's even more good news. She also found her birth mother.

If this woman hadn't come to us so we could access resources not available to the public and definitely not free, she most likely would never have found her sister using her limited information.

There are many free, quality information sources you can use as you start your Mexico family genealogy search. Blogs and articles can be very helpful. Your local Genealogical Society and Family History Center can also help you. You may be fortunate as many are to find living relatives without having to pay for access to documents, information or services. Learning about your Mexico family history should be fun and doesn't always have to cost you except for your time and perseverance.

However, if you aren't making progress and truly want to find someone, you have to be open to the option that you may need a professional service to help you get past a sticking point. Otherwise, you might end up as some people do who spend years only accessing free information and not making the progress they want. And there's nothing fun about that.

Saludos,

Saturday, April 2, 2011

Ready to Quit Your Mexico Genealogy Search? Get an Expert Opinion First

The other day a man wrote that he has been trying to find his birth father for more than six years. He had had no success in his search and felt that he didn't have enough information. He was ready to quit looking for his birth father.

Fortunately, before giving up the man had called and talked with me. After a brief conversation, he revealed that he had his parents' marriage certificate from Mexico, but he didn't think it was very helpful. I explained how valuable this marriage certificate was to his search efforts.

Often people who are not trained in using documents underestimate their genealogical value. Another challenge is that even if they can appreciate the information contained in a legal document, they may not have access to databases so they can actually do a search.

People will sometimes give up looking for family in Mexico because they've spent several weeks, if not months, searching online. They feel that the Internet is THE source to find someone. The truth is that there's still a significant amount of documents and personal information that isn't accessible online. The Internet is a great resource, but it's only one resource especially when it comes to doing a family genealogy search for living relatives in Mexico.

People can mistakenly feel that they have exhausted all possibilities and give up. In the hands of an expert, a few pieces of information can be all that is needed to locate a person in Mexico.

If you have started your family genealogy search and feel that you can't go further or that you don't have enough information to ever find this person, take your information to an expert. Let them review your information. You may be pleasantly surprised to learn that you have enough information so that your relative can be found. Then you can have the joy of learning more about your family and continuing with your Mexico family genealogy search.

Saludos,

Richard

Richard Villasana
The Mexico Guru
Find Relatives In Mexico

Want to have revealing information to find family in Mexico come directly to your Inbox? Subscribe now at Find Relatives In Mexico.

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.