Mexican and Hispanic Ancestors: Parish and Civil Records
Mexican and Hispanic family history can often be traced back centuries in Catholic parish and civil records, many of them free. How names work, where the records are, and how to bridge the border.
Families with Mexican and other Hispanic roots often have extraordinary records to work with. Catholic parishes in Mexico and the Spanish colonies kept registers from the 1500s and 1600s, civil registration in Mexico began in the mid-1800s, and naming customs that record both parents' surnames make families easier to trace than in many other traditions. Millions of these records are free online.
How Spanish names work
Traditionally, a person carries two surnames: the father's first surname followed by the mother's first surname. A child of José García López and María Hernández Ruiz would be García Hernández. This is a huge help: each person's name tells you both parents' surnames.
- Married women traditionally kept their own surnames, sometimes adding "de" and the husband's surname (María Hernández de García). In records, search for women by their maiden surnames.
- In the U.S., families often dropped the second surname, or it was mistaken for a middle name. A man known as José García in Texas may be José García Hernández in Mexican records.
- Many people carry compound given names, like María de Jesús or José Guadalupe, and may have used either part.
Bridging the border
First, find where in Mexico (or another country) your family came from: the town and the state. Look in:
- U.S. records such as death certificates, naturalization papers, church records, draft cards and obituaries
- Border crossing records: the U.S. recorded many crossings from Mexico, roughly 1895 to 1957, at ports along the border. These are on Ancestry and FamilySearch, and can give birthplace, age, destination and a relative left behind.
- Mexican consulate registrations made by Mexicans living in the U.S.
- Family documents and stories
See Passenger Lists and Naturalization Records.
Mexican civil registration
Mexico's civil registry (Registro Civil) was established by the Reform Laws in 1859, and registration spread through the country over the following decades. Civil birth, marriage and death records often give parents' and grandparents' names. FamilySearch has digitized civil registration records for every Mexican state, many indexed and all free to browse.
Catholic parish records
Catholic parish registers of baptisms, marriages and burials are the main source before civil registration, and complement civil records afterward:
- Baptisms usually name the parents, often the grandparents, and the godparents.
- Marriage records name both sets of parents.
- Marriage investigations (diligencias or informaciones matrimoniales) were made before a wedding to confirm there was no impediment, such as a close family relationship. They often include testimony about the couple's ancestry and relationships, and can trace a family back several generations.
FamilySearch has digitized millions of Mexican parish records. Access to some more recent images is restricted under agreements with the Church; for those, contact the parish or diocese.
Other useful records
- The 1930 Mexican national census, indexed on FamilySearch
- Padrones, colonial-era censuses of parishes and towns
- Notarial records of land sales, wills and contracts, held in state archives
Hispanic roots in the United States
Hispanic families have lived in what is now the U.S. Southwest since the 1500s and 1600s, long before it became part of the United States. Spanish colonial and Mexican-era parish records exist for New Mexico, Texas, California, Arizona and Colorado, many of them published or online. Families from Puerto Rico, Cuba and other countries have their own excellent civil and parish records, many digitized by FamilySearch.
Research tips
- Read Spanish records with a word list for key terms: bautismo (baptism), matrimonio (marriage), defunción (death), hijo legítimo (legitimate son), padrinos (godparents), abuelos paternos / maternos (paternal / maternal grandparents).
- Search both surnames and each separately.
- Browse the parish books when indexes fail; parishes in small towns are often manageable to read page by page. See Mastering the FamilySearch Catalog.
- Watch for spelling variations, such as B and V, S, Z and C, or Y and LL, which sound alike in Spanish.