2018 TxSGS Family History Conference Sessions for Hispanic Researchers

TxSGS 2018 Family History Conference

Do you have Hispanic ancestors, or work with Hispanic patrons or clients? Join me November 2nd – 4th at the TxSGS Family History Conference in San Antonio, Texas! This year marks the 300th anniversary of the founding of San Antonio, the perfect location and opportunity to celebrate our Hispanic heritage.

I will be in attendance, and am also teaching two Hispanic research classes.

Following is a list of classes that I think will be of particular interest at TxSGS 2018 to those researching Hispanic ancestors.

Discounted Early Bird registration rates expire Saturday, October 6th.

I look forward to seeing you in San Antonio!

Please note that all class descriptions are directly quoted from the TxSGS website.


Hispanic-Focused Classes

These sessions focus specifically on Hispanic topics.

An Overview of Researching Hispanic Ancestry

This overview explains Hispanic genealogy concepts, immigration to and migration within the U.S., researching the homeland, and key reference tools for anyone doing Hispanic research.

  • Instructor: Colleen Greene
  • Date: Friday, November 2, 2018
  • Time: 2:00 p.m. – 3:00 p.m.
  • Track: Hispanic

Mexican Civil Registration: Reading Between the Lines

A review of traditions and relevant historical events that shaped the Mexican civil registry into what it is today and how you can leverage that knowledge to research more effectively.

  • Instructor: Evan Christensen
  • Date: Friday, November 2, 2018
  • Time: 5:00 p.m. – 6:00 p.m.
  • Track: Hispanic

Finding and Placing My Ancestors in History

Learn strategies for obtaining information about people who left few documents. Along with techniques for locating documents, this presentation will cover events in Mexico that impacted the decision to leave home and come to a foreign country, the United States.

  • Instructor: Mary Esther Escobedo
  • Date: Saturday, November 3, 2018
  • Time: 9:30 a.m. – 10:30 a.m.
  • Track: Hispanic

The Other Side of Jewish Genealogy: Sephardic Resources

In recent years, interest in Sephardic genealogy—those whose roots are in Spain and Portugal—has experienced a remarkable proliferation. Learn about Sephardic geography, customs, traditions, history, immigration languages, documents, online and archival resources, as well as Hispanic research as it intersects with Jewish genealogy.

  • Instructor: Schelly Talalay Dardashti
  • Date: Saturday, November 3, 2018
  • Time: 3:30 p.m. – 4:30 p.m.
  • Track: DNA

Tracing Mexican Immigrant Ancestors Across the Rio Grande

How to use immigration records from the U.S., Texas, and Mexico to trace your Mexican-American ancestors across the Rio Grande back to their town of origin in Mexico.

  • Instructor: Evan Christensen
  • Date: Sunday, November 4, 2018
  • Time: 9:30 a.m. – 10:30 a.m.
  • Track: Hispanic

Using a Common U.S. Source to Build an Immigrant Story

Immigrant Aurelia Compean’s 1963 obituary reads, “Matriarch Dies at 105; 21 Children.” Extended family knew little about the family history when asked in 2003. This case study demonstrates how to dissect an obituary to investigate each clue, the records and strategies used, and an analysis of the evidence discovered.

  • Instructor: Colleen Greene
  • Date: Sunday, November 4, 2018
  • Time: 2:00 p.m. – 3:00 p.m.
  • Track: Hispanic

Classes of Particular Relevance

Though the following classes are not geared specifically towards Hispanic research, these topics are highly relevant. None of these conflict with the Hispanic track sessions.

The Great War, Researching Your WWI Ancestors

Fought between 1914-1918, the “Great War” began with the U.S. officially neutral. As U.S. citizens got caught up with events on the world stage, thousands of Americans crossed the border to fight for Canada. Concern by citizens and uneasy tensions with Mexico led the U.S. to declare war on Germany on April 6, 2017. Discover your ancestor’s connection to WWI through genealogical sources that share the feelings and attitudes of this time.

  • Instructor: Michael Strauss
  • Date: Friday, November 2, 2018
  • Time: 9:30 a.m. – 10:30 a.m.
  • Track: Military

WHY? The First World War is often noted as the first major United States War in which Hispanics played a large scale role fighting on behalf of the U.S. and serving on the homefront to support the war effort. This is due in large part to WWI taking place in the midst of the largest wave of Mexican immigrant to the United States, during the Mexican Revolution (1910-1930). Despite the conflicted role that Mexico itself played in WWI, our Hispanic ancestors proudly served their new country.

Land, Lots of Land: Using Land Records to Find an Ancestor

Because Americans were so “land minded,” well into the 19th century over 3/4 of all males who lived to maturity owned land. Consequently, land records exist from the beginning of the first permanent settlements in America. Frequently one of the few identifying records from this early period, the older these records are, the more genealogical data there may be to obtain.

  • Instructor: Kelvin Meyers
  • Date: Friday, November 2, 2018
  • Time: 11:00 a.m. – 12:00 p.m.
  • Track: Records and Repositories

WHY? Our Hispanic ancestors have owned land here in what became the United States ever since the Spanish colonial era. The Spanish colonies, Mexican provinces, and the states that evolved from those regions allowed women to own land before the rest of the United States.

Baptism to Burial: In Search of Catholic Ancestors

Exploring the lives of our Catholic ancestors involves researching sacramental records, additional Church records, and other Catholic sources that can provide the key to uncovering otherwise impenetrable family mysteries. An understanding of both traditional and sometimes overlooked documents plus the formation of a research strategy can illuminate the lives of Catholic ancestors.

  • Instructor: Lisa Toth Salinas
  • Date: Friday, November 2, 2018
  • Time: 3:30 p.m. – 4:30 p.m.
  • Track: Records and Repositories

WHY? Catholicism is the dominant religion in Spanish-speaking countries. We cannot learn enough about how the Church impacted our ancestors’ daily lives and what records are available that tell those stories.

SEE: My March 2018 blog post about Lisa’s Catholic records webinar.

Researching Your World War II Ancestors

This is a 2-hour workshop and requires a $30.00 pre-registration fee.

The attack on Pearl Harbor on December 7, 1941, plunged the United States into its second global conflict of the twentieth century. On both the home front and battlefield our country started to mobilize to defeat the Axis Powers. Researching your ancestors who served during World War II can be rewarding, but not without some obstacles. With the Fire of 1973 in St. Louis, MO, that destroyed tens of thousands of personnel files genealogists need to focus their research on reconstructing lost or destroyed records. Some other primary sources of research include Draft Registrations and Classifications, Morning Reports, Submarine War Patrol Reports, and Missing Air Crew Reports. This workshop uses these records along with others presented as practical exercises to find your ancestors during World War II.

  • Instructor: Michael L. Strauss
  • Date: Friday, November 2, 2018
  • Time: 4:00 p.m. – 6:00 p.m.
  • Track: Workshops

WHY? Our Hispanic ancestors proudly served in the U.S. military during the Second World War. This war marked the first in which Hispanic Americans were fully integrated into the armed forces.

I Have My Ancestor’s World War I Record! Now what?

You’ve received your ancestor’s WWI service file! What do you do next? This presentation will take you through the resources and search strategies available to you online and in archives and show how to plot your ancestors’ wartime experiences.

  • Instructor: Debra Dudek
  • Date: Saturday, November 3, 2018
  • Time: 11:00 a.m. – 12:00 p.m.
  • Track: Military

WHY? See my explanation above about Hispanic Americans in WWI.

Researching Your Urban Ancestors

Genealogical research in larger metropolitan and urban areas is not without challenges or rewards as genealogists need to familiarize themselves with a broad range of research topics. By researching urban records such as city and business directories, maps, census, tax records, and other primary sources, documenting your urban ancestors can be done more effectively.

  • Instructor: Michael L. Strauss
  • Date: Saturday, November 3, 2018
  • Time: 11:00 a.m. – 12:00 p.m.
  • Track: Methodology

WHY? Many of our Hispanic immigrant ancestors settled in large urban areas, raising their families there. Learning more about the records specific to those areas helps us paint a richer picture of their lives.

The Genealogical Gems Found in Manuscript and Archival Collection Holdings

Have you explored private and little known archival collections? They are full of ledgers and account books, membership lists, and so much more! Store, business, and physician ledgers can link family members and provide many interesting details invaluable to your family history narrative. Using Archivegrid [sic] as a resource will also be discussed.

  • Instructor: Diane L. Richard
  • Date: Saturday, November 3, 2018
  • Time: 2:00 p.m. – 3:00 p.m.
  • Track: Records and Repositories

WHY? These types of archival collections are gold, and can be invaluable for piecing together the lives of our Hispanic ancestors, particularly for those ancestors who did not own property or land, who were poor, and who might have flown under the radar of most traditional types of records.


Take advantage of the full program of excellent sessions and workshops offered at the conference this year. Yes, the aforementioned are ones that I am specifically calling to your attention if you have Hispanic ancestry. But Hispanic researchers can benefit from all of the courses covering methodology, organization and preservation strategies, record collections and repositories, technology tools, DNA, and even other ethnic groups. Good genealogy is good genealogy, regardless of the focus group.

If you attend and spot me, please come up and say hello!

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