This article first appeared in Genealogy Gems: News from the Allen County Public Library at Fort Wayne, No. 202, December 31, 2020. It was written by Allison DePrey Singleton.
Beginning Mexican genealogy research can be daunting for some Americans. It requires knowing where to find resources in another country and sometimes knowing how to read Spanish. Many descendants learn Spanish as children but are educated in English in the United States. They do not always learn how to read and write the language. Let us look at several resources for researching family history in Mexico that anyone can use if they have access to them.
The first resource is FamilySearch.org and, more specifically, the Mexico Research Wiki. Once there, beginners are able to read about what records might be available in Mexico for family history research. There are guides for different topics like Civil Registration and Church Records. Each gives details on the type of information available in the record and where the records might be located either digitally or physically. Half the battle in genealogy is finding out where the records are located.
The FamilySearch Mexico Research Wiki supplies different links to online records. These include links to freely accessible records in FamilySearch and records on other websites. FamilySearch will typically note when a record is on a paid database by putting a dollar sign next to the entry. Many of these external databases are through Ancestry World Explorer or Ancestry Mexico. These are great collections but can cost additional money unless you are at a library that provides free access. The Allen County Public Library Genealogy Center is one such location.
Another place to look on FamilySearch is in the Catalog. It is recommended that you narrow down to the states or municipalities to get even more results. This is an excellent way to find information that has not been indexed but has been digitized by FamilySearch. A basic grasp of Spanish or having a translation tool open will greatly assist in researching using these records.
As with most countries, there is a national archive that should be explored. The Archivo General de la Nacion has an active website on the government page. Once there, explore the options available. One option is to look at the Memorica, the digital repository of the archive. This is an effort to collect the images, materials, and stories of people across Mexico. From their website:
“The files are spaces that protect part of our identity. From family members to nationals or internationals, each one offers us the record of what we have been. They have a voice that speaks to us since yesterday and that can be heard from dozens, hundreds or millions of testimonies. Archives, documents and other cultural expressions form the heritage of Mexicans. Without these, the projection of the future would be incomplete because we would lose our past.”
It is highly recommended to use Google Chrome to look at these websites, since it will automatically translate text to English. If the words you are seeking to translate are part of an original document or image, it will need to be manually translated. Google Chrome is a researcher’s best friend when researching in languages beyond their native tongue.
These are a few basic places to get started with your online Mexican genealogy research. As the research progresses, make sure to reach out to others who can assist. There are genealogy groups on Facebook dedicated to Mexican genealogy research and some more specifically to the states their family were from. Libraries and archives can provide assistance or guidance on where to turn for help next. Take a deep breath and jump in. Before long, it becomes addictive.
