HOW CAN I FIND MY GREAT GRANDFATHER'S MEXICAN VILLAGE? : QUESTION FROM READER

Question for ANCESTRY WORSHIP GENEAOLGY:

Great Grandpa walked across the border of Mexico and the United States from somewhere in Mexico and before 1920. He was alone. He was Mexican and we are now fifth generation Mexican-Americans. Eventually he worked for the same manufacturing company in Arizona for over 30 years, a company that no longer exists, so I don't think I can contact anyone there to ask about his employment or personnel records. No one seems to know what village in Mexico he left. Maybe he never said. I'm not sure he became a citizen, but I think so, especially because of his work history. I found the family on the 1920 census, and he was not a citizen. He was in his mid-twenties. Now I'm not sure of his birth date. Other than the census I haven't found anything on Ancestry, the genealogy research database. Any Suggestions? Marie C.

Answer: The personnel records might very well have this birth date and place and other information that could be useful to your genealogy research generally and finding them is an interesting idea that I think you should pursue a bit. You might check around to see if that company's records were destroyed or held in an archive or historical society or library somewhere, since the company was a big employer, instrumental to the history of the area, and around a long time.

Start with the closest public library to where the company was and also ask the local historical society. There are some company records available here and there for industrial age "Company Towns." I've found some that relate to my own research including a photo of one ancestor which was in a file.

However, I think your best bet is to search for his WORLD WAR ONE DRAFT REGISTRATION as ALL MEN, even those who were not citizens, up until about the age of 40 had to REGISTER, and your GP seems to be in the right age category. The registration asks the birth date and place as well as an address and name of the closest relative, which may or may not be your great-grandmother, but could verify their marriage. They asked such details because of the notion that unmarried and childless men would be called to serve before the married with children.

There were 3 or 4 draft registrations for the World War over about 2 years' time and up to about the age of 40. Registration is not the same as a draft or enlistment record or a military record, though they are stored under MILITARY RECORDS in the Ancestry and other genealogy databases.

I would also suggest that after you get that Mexican hometown you look for CHURCH RECORDS. I've found that church records sometimes contain interesting notes by the priest or minister in the margins besides the mostly usual names, occupations, and addresses. The Church records from Mexico may record GP's birth or baptism and could include his marriage there or in the United States by notation. I've found that in small towns the church records have comments about who has gone to America or come back for a visit, and so on.

C 2013-2025 Ancestry Worship - Genealogy BlogSpot

BAPTIST ARCHIVES? CHECK OUT Z. SMITH REYNOLDS ARCHIVES AT WAKE FOREST UNIVERSITY

ZSR SPECIAL EDU : NC Baptist Historical Collection  AKA Ethel Taylor Crittenden Collection in Baptist History.

WOW! HERE IS AN EXCERPT FROM THE LINKED SITE!

The North Carolina Baptist Historical Collection (also known as the Ethel Taylor Crittenden Collection in Baptist History) documents the history of North Carolina Baptist churches, institutions, and individuals. The collection contains materials on Southern, Missionary, Primitive, African-American, Union, and Alliance of Baptist churches. These materials include over 16,000 books, periodicals, association annuals and other printed materials; church records; association minutes; and church vertical files. In addition, there are more than 1000 biographical folders containing information on and photographs of Baptist pastors and Wake Forest alumni.


The collection serves as a repository for records from North Carolina Baptist churches and institutions. See our church records page for more information about these collections. The NCBHC is also the repository for the Alliance of Baptists and the Woman’s Missionary Union of North Carolina archives.


In addition, a complete set of the print version of the Biblical Recorder, the official journal of the North Carolina Baptist State Convention, published biweekly and in existence since 1833, is available in the NC Baptist Historical Collection. Access to the recently digitized and completely searchable Biblical Recorder is also available. The Biblical Recorder office also publishes an online version of the journal which varies slightly from the print version. To access the online version, or for more information about the history, subscription information, or staff information, you may visit biblicalrecorder.org.

FINDING FAMILY HISTORY TREASURE IN NEWSPAPER DATABASES

Using a search feature to mine information from old newspapers can be a lot of fun and reward you with information you never thought you could get your hands on.

Consider that obituaries, engagement and wedding notices (and photos!) and that this information can help you link to other records which may be more recent and get you past the 70 year wait due to privacy laws, which we all agree need to be in place for the protection of the living.

A draw-back.  Misspelled surnames and this time it's not about bad handwriting.  One family I research had about 12 different spellings to the surnames as they were reported - birth, death, engagement, wedding, and even one family member who had been arrested in a newspaper, small but the only paper in the Capital of that county.  I finally figured it out.  The paper didn't have enough letters to TYPE-SET the pages.  So in this case there must have been extra O's!

A HISTORICAL SOCIETY MAY BE A GOOD PLACE TO START

These days, with so many people moving around the country for work and so busy, it takes a while to feel you are a member of a community.  As well, if you are far from where  your family of origin in the United States settled you may not know much about their lives in a historical niche because you're so distant from that place and time.  Contacting the Historical Society that is in that area may just be the start for your research.

Why?

Because most Historical Societies have some people - often older people - who have stayed put and know a lot about the area. They may just know of your family.

That's what happened to a friend of mine who found out that the home her immigrant ancestors had lived in for a couple generations was on a HISTORY TOUR of the area.  She actually got to go see the house and hear this local expert talk about them.  They were thrilled to meet her as well!

Some historical societies also offer some low-cost look up services for you if the records you need are not on databases or microfilms.  This is especially true of local newspapers.

C 2013-2025 Ancestry Worship Genealogy BlogSpot

INFORMAL and LEGAL NAME CHANGES

I once had a potential client that I decided not to work with because of her rigidity! 

Seriously, this woman was a highly educated and successful social worker of Jewish background with a very unusual surname.  My preliminary research based on the town that she said her family was from, but a town she was distanced from by three generations, revealed a cluster of this unusual name - with spelling variations.  SHE REFUSED TO BELIEVE THAT THESE PEOPLE COULD BE RELATED based on the idea that surname spellings never changed.  She was arguementative and I could tell that she would never be able to take the small leap of faith required and that I'd be fighting to prove things to her all the way.

The fact is that surnames have been very changeable through history.

African American slaves who were freed got to choose their own names.  Sometimes siblings all chose different surnames.  Did they do this formally and legally?  NO.  Assuming a name for some time is all it took - to be KNOWN by a name.  Some tried out a name, didn't like it, and went with another.

This is just one example of the flexibility or a surname.

Another ; I've heard the "They Changed Our Name At Ellis ISland"  so many times.  I don't argue it but this is 99% of the time pure bunk. They did process people quickly and we always have the problem of bad handwriting or misinterpretations of a name, but a mispelling or misunderstanding at Ellis DID NOT CHANGE AN IMMIGRANT'S NAME LEGALLY.  They did not have to go with a mispelling.  In the five minutes or so that they were processed, clerks were not changing the family name.  End of that old story.

Many people did decide to AMERICANIZE their surname, sometimes by spelling it different or spelling it more according to how it would be written in English.  Few went with legal proceedings, which cost money, to take off an ending, or ad or subtract a letter.  As a result, I have found so very many documented families with a wide variety of spellings.  In one family the name was slightly different on Ellis, on naturalization, or WWI draft registrations, and on census.  They were the same family though.

As I mentioned on a recent post, there is also the SPANISHIFICATION of certain surnames due to immigration. So, it's not always about ANGLICIZING!

ANCESTRY WORSHIP - Genealogy

PLAT MAPS ARE AN OPPORTUNITY TO LEARN LOCAL HISTORY : KID GENEALOGY

I'm not sure how "Plat" maps got their name. 

(If any of my readers know the answer to that, please leave a comment!)

Plat maps are maps that often feature the property lines of farms or rural areas, areas that may now be cities or suburbs.  In a way they are like zoning maps today.

Plat maps have the names of the owners of that land on a specific year and can tell you so much about the early settlers of an area,  and lead you to more information such as who got Land Grants, names to search for in early wills and land sales, etc.

Something that can be a fun early genealogy research lesson for kids is to find the Plat map for where you live now and see how many of the roads, lakes, and other geographical features bear the names of those early settlers say right before and after the Civil War.

I like the big old fashioned maps that have been replaced by digitalized editions on the internet as I find them far easier to read, but if you live far away from a library that houses the big maps this is a good option. Locally, you might find that a historical society or university library has a collection that you can use without being a member or student.

After the American Revolution, many soldiers who fought for little or no pay and lived were rewarded with land.  These are called "Reparation Lands."  Not exactly "40 acres and a mule" but something like that.

Looking at the same area before and after the Civil War is also an interesting history lesson.

C 2013 Ancestry Worship - Genealogy

A LOCAL HISTORICAL SUMMER VACATION! SPANISH AMERICAN HISTORY

I've been visiting historical sites. But I have to tell you that when I first moved to Southern California and met people who were born and raised here (people who seem to be in the minority) they told me that there was NO HISTORY HERE. 

How could that be?

Hadn't they been taught some American History or some local history in school?

So I set out to learn the history of California, of the South West, and of my local area on my own.  I toured adobe houses, missions,  museums, and learned about what had been torn down via books.  Now I revisit some of these places.

First there is the history of Spanish Mission building.  There is also the history of Native American Tribes: California had so many natural resources that it was an area of diverse tribal cultures.  Then there was the Rancherio period; Spanish Land Grants which were later divied up.

One of the most interesting things I learned was that during the Spanish Land Grant and Rancherio period, before there was that surge of immigration from the east coast west, a few explorers and adventurers made their way west.  Most of these people were men, they were often Scottish, and when they MARRIED INTO SPANISH FAMILIES THEY BECAME CATHOLIC AND SPANISHIFIED THEIR SURNAMES.

Over the next couple posts, I urge you to learn your local history, especially as it becomes your family history at one point or another!

TIS THE STAR SPANGLED BANNER

GETTYSBURG NATIONAL PARK - 150th ANNIVERSARY LINK HERE!

This is the 150th anniversary of the Civil War battle of Gettysburg. 

Here is the link to the park and the special celebrations: GETTYSBURG PA - CIVIL WAR - 150th ANNIVERSARY  JULY 1-4 amazing events!

ANCESTRY WORSHIP - Genealogy

BODY MEMORY : DOGS HAVE IT and SO DO PEOPLE?

The other day I was trying to explain the notion of "Body Memory" to someone and I found myself talking about my dog.

The dog I'm the person of was a rescue animal.  I got her at a county run animal shelter that is not a "no kill" shelter; most in big cities aren't.  Just recently when renewing her license, I learned I was not her second owner, but her third.  I still feel sure that her name has always been the same and that she was born in the home of her original owner, who may have been a backyard breeder.  I also learned when I adopted her that she has at least one liter, but for all I know she may have given birth many times, and then was spayed.

My dog reacts emotionally, shaking, when her feet are on stainless steel.  Doesn't matter if this is at the vets or in a sink, or anywhere else - the feel of it frightens her. I think she associates the feel with pain and loss.

When I first brought her home she always pulled her feet or paws away if I tried to touch them.  Over many full body massages and months of learning to trust me and not exhibit signs of separation anxiety, she stopped pulling away and started waiting for me without crying.  Now she lets me touch her feet and paws and I sometimes hold them in my hands.  Again, I think she associates the feelings - physical and emotional - with pain.

I took my dog into the closest groomers, a store that also sells cute doggie items, and depending on what sort of barking she hears she will either, wag her tail and look up at me with excitement (small chirpy sounds) or shake with fear and even back away (the harsher barking of a larger dog) and this is very specific.  Because she has exhibited fear, which is uncharacteristic for her overall friendly temperament, I don't want to leave her at a groomer and groom her myself.  I recently took her to a benefit for the shelter and she peaceably sat near a massive Irish Wolf Hound and German Shepherds.  All well behaved.  The dogs at the groomers were further away, leashed, and also well behaved, but yet the VOCAL SOUND of dogs either made her think she was going to meet a long lost relative (maybe her mother) or an enemy!

My dog can't tell me what she's feeling or thinking in any moment, but it's clear she is reacting.  Memories are inside her - maybe her mind which is part of the body, or her body itself as mind.

WHAT DOES THIS HAVE TO DO WITH HUMAN BEINGS?

I'm convinced that some people practice genealogy to gain a different perspective on themselves, by way of getting to know more about the people they are genetically related to, especially so if that person has always felt different, as if they were born into the wrong family.  (At last you've found an eccentric sea captain a few generations back who seems to be the only other person in the family besides yourself who loved to sail!)

I'm also convinced that some people are very influenced by their past lives.  (You sailed and were the sea captain yourself!)

Some people think that there is no such thing as past (or future) lives, as is the case for reincarnation, but that people do have BODY MEMORIES and these can be inherited.  (You love to sale because you have the body memory of the sea captain!) A body memory might, as in the case of my dog, give you a reaction - positive or negative - that  maybe makes no sense.

Say tuned for more on Body Memory in the future posts of ANCESTRY WORSHIP - GENEALOGY

C 2013 Ancestry Worship Genealogy