Customer Reviews

Finding Your Mexican Ancestors: A Beginner's Guide (Finding Your Ancestors)

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This is one of the best genealogical how-to books that I've used. It's so annoying to buy a book you hope will really help you do or learn something and find that it's stuffed with filler and generalities. This one doesn't dumb-down the subject and doesn't waste your time explaining genealogy. If you are a true beginner, however, you probably could use this as an introduction to genealogy, as long as you're only looking at your Mexican ancestors.

Unlike other Hispanic guides, this one is specific to Mexico, which I like. Chances are, if that's your ancestry, you won't be interested in the archive system in Argentina, and if you're just getting going in Mexico, it will take you quite a while to get back to Spain.

The authors assume that you either have or are smart enough to figure out how to get a working knowledge of enough Spanish to use the records effectively; but, there is also a good glossary as well as explanations in the various sections of the terminology you need.

Mexican genealogical researchers are particularly fortunate due to the fact that so many records, particularly parish registers, have been extracted and are available for free online; the authors give good explanations for searching and using those records, and then they wisely stress the necessity of then researching in the original or microfilmed records.

Individual chapters and sections are devoted to the various types of records you will probably use at first, and those that you should use: parish registers and civil registration records, other governmental records, other church-related records, records stored in archives, U. S. records (such as home sources, immigration records, naturalization records, etc.). Where to find and how to access the different records is covered thoroughly. The different records are illustrated along with transcriptions as well as translations. Mexican record-keeping systems are also discussed in historical context.

Determination of the actual place of origin for an immigrant is one of the most difficult of genealogical problems. There is a particularly good chapter devoted to just that issue: what to do if your home sources don't give you the answer you need.

Anyone planning to do, or in the midst of doing, Mexican genealogical research should have this book.

This book has very useful examples. I find very useful tips. It explain very well all I need to know to start my genealogy. This book improves presentation over other books written by the authors. To the authors, please keep writing!! You are doing great!

This is a great book. It has many helpful tips. It is very easy to find the information you are looking for.

Very clear instructions with interesting case studies, effective illustrations, helpful charts, and easy-to-understand research techniques.

This is a good book and I'm sure that it would help many whose ancestry come from Mexico, however, after 15 years of research I've come to the conclusion that my own family does not exist.