Strategies for Sorting Out and Documenting Mexican Names and Families

Learn about key records and repositories to support your research of eighteenth and nineteenth century ancestors from present-day California and nearby regions. We will also cover important historical events and context to help identify additional resources for your research.

Testaments, dowry letters, land sales, cattle leasing, power of attorney letters, and many other types of documents were created by public and royal scribes all over Mexico in the last five centuries. Notarial archives are rich in detail and history. Whenever they are available, they become an essential tool for genealogical research, adding depth to the lives of ancestors, or bridging gaps when church records have been lost. This conference is a basic outline of these records and where to find them both offline and online.

Burial records may be one of the least used records in Mexican genealogical research and yet are also one of the more easily accessible. Seemingly brief in content, these records reveal more than the dry facts of a person's death. Once placed in the greater context of traditions, church practices, and remembrances like Día de los Muertos, we gain insight into our ancestors' experiences with death and mourning.

For the last 500 years, Mexico has been a crossroads of peoples, cultures and ethnicities. Starting in the XVI century, wave after wave of European, African and Asian people. Many records have been preserved which can help you discover your ancestor's movements. Explore the rich migratory history of Mexico from Passenger Lists to the Indies to XX century foreign registries.

With original records and bibliographic resources, university archives are genealogical treasures. This presentation will include an introduction to common resources available at universities in Mexico, including original manuscripts, newspapers, historic photos, dissertations, etc., with examples from Universidad Autónoma de México, Colegio de Sonora, Universidad de Guadalajara, and many more.

Learn how to use the free Google Earth Web platform to create and share engaging, interactive, multimedia stories that follow the footsteps of your ancestors. Although both the web and desktop versions have Google Earth in their name, they are very different. Learn how to navigate the platform interface, add multimedia content to your digital story, share your digital family history story, and preserve it. We will also discuss best practices for planning your Google Earth Web story. No coding skills needed!