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RIO GRANDE VALLEY HISPANIC GENEALOGICAL SOCIETY, INC.
A 501 C 3 NON PROFIT SOCIETY

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Yearbooks

As I was researching my granduncle's military history, I forgot one important detail that I had found when researching my husband's military experience. That is the "yearbook" that most military companies bases or units had. I found my husband's at the local library. That's because the Air Force Base that he was stationed at was located here. My granduncle's photo was located in a book recounting the history of his Infantry Unit during World War I. I was lucky to acquire

Obituaries

Obituaries can give you a wealth of information about your female ancestor. Look for obituaries of your ancestors' children. They might have more information that is missing from your own. Make sure you look for your missing ancestor by searching her first name or last name, by using her husband's name, by using her initial and last name or by husband's initial and last name. Try every variation you can think of.

Don't Believe Everything in the Census!

When I was looking for my husband's ancestors, I found them in the census, already married and with children. The oldest child, according to that census was born in New Jersey. So I started searching in New Jersey, hoping to find not only the birth record but also the marriage of the couple. Well, I didn't find either the birth nor the marriage. Later, in a subsequent census record, in researching for the daughter, married to my husband's ancestor, I found the mother livi

Children

It's always a good idea to look for all the children of a couple. Do an extensive search, including birth, marriage, and death records. Look for them in the census, and in Mexico, for the civil registrations. If you don't know the parents of one of the parents, sometimes, the baptismal record will name both the paternal and maternal names, expecially when researching in Mexican records.

City Directories

I know that I have written about city directories before. It bears repeating. If the directories you're looking for are not on Ancestry.com, or if you don't have a subscription, visit the library of the city where your ancestors lived. Along with the address where they lived, you might find their ages or occupation. Look for people with the same surname, especially within a few pages in the directory. Perhaps they were family. If you can, go to the address and take a ph

Internet Does not Have All Your Answers

I have been searching a long time for my husband's great grandfather who was from Sweden. I would love to know something about him, where he came from in Sweden, and his family. I learned from the census that he was a ship's captain. After he was married he lived in Brooklyn, NY, with his family. His wife was originally from Newburgh, NY. So I surmised that that was where he met and married her. I set about to search in Newburgh. Through the census and some death recor

Timelines

There are many tips out there for breaking brick walls. I use timelines as well as other tips. Whether it's searching with only first names, surnames, using the mortality schedules or other tips, I keep trying. One of the ways I also try is by using a timeline. Show the family in the census, including the children every ten years, Show the births, deaths, marriages if possible. Look at what other information is out there. Place it in the timeline. Show the neighbors i

Mind Your "P's" and "Q's"

When I'm researching, I come across many articles of interest as I'm sure you do. Did you know that way back, at local taverns, pubs and bars, people drank from pint and quart sized containers? A bar maid's job was to keep an eye on the customers and keep the drinks coming. She had to pay close attention and remember who was drinking in "pints" and who was drinking in "quarts", hence the phrase "minding your "P's and Q's". This might be interesting to insert in a story wh

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