Genealogy Research

[R Valdez]

I don't know if anyone can help me with this question, but who knows.

I am planning for my first Camino in September of this year. Through the modern miracle of Ancestry.com, internet research and DNA testing I am pretty confident that one of my ancestors immigrated from Oviedo, Spain to Mexico City, then to New Mexico USA in the late 1600's.

I am therefore considering spending a few days in Oviedo after my Camino and hoping to do some research of the public records in the hopes of finding more family information. So my question: Is there a governmental office I could contact that has records that far back? If so, what agency would that be?

Any advice of help would be greatly appreciated!

Gracias!

 

[DanielH]

I don't know if anyone can help me with this question, but who knows.

I am planning for my first Camino in September of this year. Through the modern miracle of Ancestry.com, internet research and DNA testing I am pretty confident that one of my ancestors immigrated from Oviedo, Spain to Mexico City, then to New Mexico USA in the late 1600's.

I am therefore considering spending a few days in Oviedo after my Camino and hoping to do some research of the public records in the hopes of finding more family information. So my question: Is there a governmental office I could contact that has records that far back? If so, what agency would that be?

Any advice of help would be greatly appreciated!

Gracias!

I love genealogy. If by chance they were Catholic, you may want to check the church records. Once you find their home church there are usually baptism, confirmation and marriage records in the books

 

[jsalt]

Hi
Try this link as an aid in finding resources in Spain:

http://www.cyndislist.com/spain/

Have fun, and good luck! My hobby is family history research and I am a member of The Guild of One-Name Studies (London, UK).
Jill

 

[jsalt]

Hi again
From Cyndi’s List I found the following:

Oviedo Spain Family History Center
Calle Tito Bustillo, 8-10
OVIEDO ASTURIAS 33012
Directions
Website
+34 34-98-5275667
Hours W, F 17:00-19:00

On the website link it gives an email address:
Teléfono: +34 34-98-5275667
E-mail: ES_Oviedo@ldsmail.net
Horario de atención: miércoles, viernes 17:00-19:00

Jill

 

[Felipe]

The most trustful resource on genealogy is Family search https://familysearch.org/ No wilful family reconstructions, just raw data from public and parochial archives (a copy of the original document is many times provided) even from centuries ago. It requires some patience and tweaking (if you family name is Valdez, it could appear as "Valdes" or even "Baldez").
For Spanish genealogy, another resource is Geneanet; it is favored by historians and generally mention the sources http://en.geneanet.org/
Good search!

 

[Anemone del Camino]

This is fascinating. I will look into this as well. As my family left Spain in 1936 it should be much easier to track my lot than for the OP to track his.

In Quebec there is a fascinating site which allowed me to track my father's ancenstor to the first one that touched land on this continent back in the 1600s. It also provided a few funny annecdotes like the one who says one of the ancestors was killed by his mistress' husband, which apparently was not a big loss as he was a bit of a thief as well! Be careful what you go looking for.

 

[KinkyOne]

I found this Forum community fascinating. I guess whatever a problem you have some forum member(s) will have an answer to it or at least offer some help.

 

[R Valdez]

This is fascinating. I will look into this as well. As my family left Spain in 1936 it should be much easier to track my lot than for the OP to track his.

In Quebec there is a fascinating site which allowed me to track my father's ancenstor to the first one that touched land on this continent back in the 1600s. It also provided a few funny annecdotes like the one who says one of the ancestors was killed by his mistress' husband, which apparently was not a big loss as he was a bit of a thief as well! Be careful what you go looking for.

Thank you. No kidding about finding unexpected things. I just saw that one of my ancestors was murdered by her husband ....... and she was only 19 years old!

 

[R Valdez]

Thank you everyone for all the very helpful suggestions!

 

[SYates]

... If by chance they were Catholic, you may want to check the church records. ...

By chance? In 16th century Spain? What else they would have been? Buen Camino and happy researching, SY

 

[Anemone del Camino]

y

Thank you. No kidding about finding unexpected things. I just saw that one of my ancestors was murdered by her husband ....... and she was only 19 years old!

I guess some things don't change much, sadly. Isn't it wonderful to be able to access such information. The magic of paper that lasts longer than electronic documents, and the wonders of computers as searching tools.

 

[NorthernLight]

There may also be an Archives department office with additional information. The French ones have websites with a lot of resource material, so the Spanish ones may have as well.

And, check with the local library. Sometimes there are books/resources of local historical information that seem to only exist in local libraries.

Don't forget local military and poll tax records...

Check their office hours to make sure they aren't closed for renovations when you plan to be there.

 

[Steve morales]

Hi
Try this link as an aid in finding resources in Spain:

http://www.cyndislist.com/spain/

Have fun, and good luck! My hobby is family history research and I am a member of The Guild of One-Name Studies (London, UK).
Jill

Not sure what that group is but coming to England and Scotland to go deep with family roots. Is this something that would help?

 

[jsalt]

Not sure what that group is but coming to England and Scotland to go deep with family roots. Is this something that would help?

Hi Steve, Cyndi’s List is a genealogical finding aid worldwide. She has links to genealogical resources that you may never have ever thought of. Go to the home page and navigate through to the country you are interested in. I have experience in family history research in England and Wales (not Scotland), and am happy to try and help with a particular query if you send me a private message. Jill