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Por abram101 |

So I want to try to trace my American/Mexican ancestors so is there any other website like ancestry.com that you don't have to pay?If someone is subscribed to ancestry.com it would be very nice helpful if you could help me out on finding my ancestors that lived in the u.s?I would ask my father but he separated from my mother when I was like 2 years old and we do not stay in touch at all I believe he still lives in Texas.

Father:Rogelio Flores Born:San Antonio Bexar 03 Jul 1951
Parents:Roberto Diaz Flores & Petra Flores
My mother told me that my dads father was born in Mexico but she doesn't know what part of Mexico and that my fathers mother was born in Texas County Bexar
Roberto and Petra had approx. 6 children

Rosalinda F Flores Birth:24 Jul 1958
Bexar County Texas

Santa Flores
Birth
16 Apr 1965
Bexar,Texas

Ricardo Flores
30 Sep 1952
Bexar,Texas

Rogelio F Flores(Dad)
03 Jul 1951
Bexar, Texas

Jose Ruben Flores
19 Mar 1946
Bexar,Texas

Raul Flores
10 May 1948
Bexar,Texas

It would mean a lot to me if someone helped me out tracing my dads ancestry or just gave me directions on what to do.

I tried Ancestry.com and found them way too expensive and no results. I had no success with my searches and a friend of mine told me to use FamilySearch, which is free and quite helpful. I've had success in my searches with Nuestros Ranchos, Mexico Genealogy and familysearch. They are free and very helpful. Afer months of searching, Joseph found my Mother and I almost cried to see her birth certificate since than I stick with NR.

Ann Marie Gutierrez

I tried Ancestry.com and found them way too expensive and no results. I had no success with my searches and a friend of mine told me to use FamilySearch, which is free and quite helpful. I've had success in my searches with Nuestros Ranchos, Mexico Genealogy and familysearch. They are free and very helpful. Afer months of searching, Joseph found my Mother and I almost cried to see her birth certificate since than I stick with NR.

Ann Marie Gutierrez

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victorianonavarro (no verificado)

Hace 11 years 11 months

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If your grandfather was using the name Roberto Diaz Flores and all his children go the surname Flores, I wonder whether he used his full name unchanged (Roberto Diaz Flores) and here in the US the authorities just assumed Flores was his only surname, or if he switched the order of his surnames and his real birth name was Roberto Flores Diaz. If you search this name at familysearch you get some hits from US border crossings from Mexico.

As for using Ancestry.com, I agree with Mr. Fulton, you can visit your local library, or the library of a nearby university and they may have a subscription you can use. Maybe even your school.

Good luck with your search,
Victoriano Navarro

Victoriano,

I see so do you think one of the those Robertos might be my grandfather?I shall try going to the library and check if they do so.

Abram,

Yes, one of those Robertos might be your grandfather, although Roberto, Díaz and Flores are pretty common name and surnames, so chances are there were more people named like your grandfather during his lifetime.

Good luck with your search,
Victoriano Navarro

Abram

There is a border crossing record that may be of interest, but you would need some more information to determine if this is the right person:

Roberto Diaz Flores
b. 9-17-1928, Ags., Ags, Mexico
residence: Calle Madero #164, Ags., Ags., Mexico
Crossed the border at El PAso, 5 Jan 1946
unnmarried

George Fulton
Pleasanton, CA

Abram

Assuming your grandmother was born in the 1930's (not unreasonable with the info you provided) there is one Petra Flores born in Bexar Co., TX:

Petra Flores
b. 18 Sep 1931, Bexar Co.
Father: Mateo Flores
Mother: Andreas Casares

However, more inforamtion is needed to determine if this is the right Petra Flores. There are 12 other Petra Flores born in Texas in the 1930s.

There are also at least two female births with last name Flores, but no first name, in Bexar County.

Perhaps trying to find a marriage record for your grandparents would solve the riddle.

George Fulton
Pleasanton, CA

Many public libraries have a subscription to Ancestry.com; however you have to use it at the library.

The LDS Family History Centers also have access, but once again, you can only use it at the FHC.

At the Family Search website there is a source entitled "United States, Border Crossings from Mexico to United States, 1903-1957" which may be helpful. This is just an index of the files at Ancestry.com. Ancestry.com has images of these records. which may have more information than the index. In a few cases there are even pictures of the person, but that is rare.

There are a number of Texas resources at Family Search that you can search on the web, as well as others at Ancestry.com.

The 1940 Census may be helpful, although the names Roberto Flores and Petra Flores are not distinctive, so if you had any more information your chances of success would be improved.

Getting a copy of your father's birth certificate would be helpful, but it likely would only say his father is from Mexico, but there is always a chance that it may be more specific. There are restrictions on who can get copies of birth records. You would have to look at the rules at the Texas Department of State Health Services. There is also a fee for an official copy.

George Fulton
Pleasanton, CA

George,

May I have the link to that specific website because i couldn't find it.I tried looking for my fathers birth certificate on familysearch.org but was not successful it didn't mention birth records for people born in San Antonio Texas County Bexar;this is a lot different than looking for your ancestors in Mexico.

Name: Rogelio F Flores
Date of Birth: 3 Jul 1951
Gender: Male
Birth County: Bexar
Father's Name: Roberto D Flores
Mother's Name: Petra Flores
Roll Number: 1951_0005

The above is from Ancestry.com. It's a birth index. You have to order a birth certificate thru Vital Check in order to see the document. I still pay for this site, but after going through it today I might have to cancel. You used to be able to look at lot of records, now they want you to order all the sources. For the price that I pay I'm certainly over paying for it.

I found a family tree that is online at Ancestry.com of a family that seems to match, but there is very few facts attached to the tree.
From this tree the following info is on it. Again, not sure if this is your family.
Roberto D Flores
1922
20 Mar
Birth
Saltillo, Coahuila de Zaragoza, Mexico
3 source citations
1922
13 Nov
Baptism
Saltillo, Coahuila de Zaragoza, Mexico
1924

1949
Mar
Age: 27
Marriage to Petra Cantu
San Fernando Cathedral, San Antonio, TX
1 source citation
1952
15 Mar
Age: 29
Arrival
Eagle Pass, Texas, United States
1 source citation
1966
23 Sep
Age: 44
Death
San Antonio, TX
2 source citations
Occupation
Baker - Bakery

Roberto Flores Diaz
Maclovio Villegas' extended Family Tree
BIRTH: 20 Mar 1922 - Mexico
MARRIAGE: Mar 1949 - San Antonio, TX (Texas)
DEATH: 23 Sep 1966 - San Antonio, TX (Texas)
PARENTS: Maclovio Flores, Angela Diaz

Texas > San Antonio > 1960 > San Antonio, Texas, City Directory, 1960 > 638
Roberto D. Flores
Residence 1960 San Antonio, Texas
Occupation = Baker
Spouse Petra Flores

Petra Cantu

1921
Birth
Robstown, TX
1949
Mar
Age: 28
Marriage to Roberto Flores Diaz
San Fernando Cathedral, San Antonio, TX
1 source citation
1970
Age: 49
Death
San Antonio, TX

Abram,

You might want to contact Maclovio Villegas' extended Family Tree owner to see if you are related. His/her family tree is public so I think they are willing to be contacted. I would check my local library as people here have suggested. Only go the Genelogy Department to see if they have access to Ancestry.com.

I just noticed that some of the dates for children don't match the marriage date, so probably not your family, but I'll leave it up in case it helps.

Juanita Henniger

Hi there,

I was able to locate my father (Rogelio Flores) paternal and maternal grandparents. I have Roberto Flores Diaz who was born in Coahuila ,Mexico in March 20 1922 and died in San Antonio Texas in the year 1966.
My grandmother (Petra Flores) my fathers mother was born in Robstown, Texas in April 27 1921 and died in San Antonio, Texas in the year 1970.
I recently hit a brick wall and i'm completely stuck in Petra Flores side of the family. Petra Flores parents are Guillermo Flores and Manuela Cantu. Guillermo Flores I estimated he was born anywhere from 1883-1886 in Mexico im assuming according to the U.S census of 1920. He immigrated to Texas in the year 1900, and got married to Manuela Cantu in the year 1907 in San Patricio, Texas, and died in 1972. They had about 5 kids Gregorio Flores birth:1909 Julian Flores birth: 1918 Petra Flores birth:1921 Bentito Flores birth: 1912 Adelita Flores birth :1918. The brick wall that I hit is with Manuela Cantu. I have Manuela Cantu born in the year 1890 birth place:Texas. The parents I have listed down for her are Eliseo Cantu and Virginia Cantu. For some odd reason and what Im having trouble is there is another Manuela Cantu married to a different man (Rufino Flores) with the same surname as Guillermo? and also the same parents (Eliseo Cantu) (Virginia (Champion) and same birthdate (1890). Could it be that Manuela Cantu had two families at the same time? seems kinda impossible. I would appreciate any comments and any help will be greatly appreciated, thank you.

Abram

I found both of these families in the 1940 Census for Texas. Your family (Guillermo) is enumerated in Robstown, Nueces Co., TX, and the other family (Rufino) is in Cameron Co. I think you are just looking at a case of very similar names.

It does not make sense for a woman to have two families at the same time.

George Fulton

HI George,

Thank you for your input, I do find it very strange how similar these two families are. Due to my lack of experience searching in the U.S for my ancestors, I might run into a lot of problems like this, since all my research with my ancestors started of in Mexico with my mothers side of the family. Now that I'm doing my fathers side, it's a little bit more complicated. I still cannot find any info on Eliseo and Virginia Cantu other than information that belongs to a whole other family with very very similar names in Cameron co. I'm still really happy that I found the info that I found because I never met my father or his family and knowing everything that I know now about his family brings a smile to face, and makes me feel closer to them. I really wanna visit San Antonio, Texas one day.

Abram Flores-Armas

Abram

The census record for Guillermo Flores is quite interesting because it names the state in Mexico (Tamualipas) where he was born. Also, there seems to be a connection with the family of Candelario Flores that immediately follows his. Guillermo is the head of family #127 but Candelario is called the father in family #128. If this were a separate household Candelario should be called the head of the household, since he is not I am concluding that Candelario is Guillermo's father. Candelario is also from Tamualipas.

George Fulton

George

I just found a death certificate for Guillermo Flores, but I'm unsure if this is my Guillermo Flores. In the Death certificate it has his father listed down as Candelario Flores and Angelita Sauceda. What throws me off are his date of birth and where he was born. The date of birth that I have listed down for him is 1881-1886, and the location of his birth is Tamaulipas. In the Death certificate it has his birth year in 1871 and birthplace in Brownsville, Texas. I went ahead and looked at Brownsville, Texas on google maps, and I found out that Brownsville is the border town of Tamaulipas. Further into my research I found a little bit more on Guillermo Flores and his family, but I'm not 100% sure this is the same family. I found a baptismal record on Guillermo Flores born 24 June 1884 in Matamoros, Tamaulipas, son of Candelario Flores and of Angela Saucedo. I also found two more record of 2 of his brothers Santos, and Pedro Flores same location. I later than found another record which caught me with a lot of interest. In the 1910 U.S census theres a document that has Candelario Flores married to Angelita Saucedo living in San Patricio, Texas, same place where my Guillermo Flores married Manuela Cantu in 1907. For his race they have it down as an Octoroon 1/8th black, I found that to be so interesting. Towards the end it has his Candelarios father born in Mexico doesn't specify where and his mother born in Illinois. It also makes sense that Guillermo Flores is not mentioned in the household I'm assuming because he got married like mentioned before in 1907 and he probably had his own household by then. Lastly how can I verify if this is truly Guillermo Flores Family majority of the facts seem to match.

Name Candelria Flores
Event Type Census
Event Date 1910
Event Place Justice Precinct 7, San Patricio, Texas, United States
Gender Male
Age 38
Marital Status Married
Race 1/8 Black
Race (Original) Octoroon
Relationship to Head of Household Head
Relationship to Head of Household (Original) Head
Birth Year (Estimated) 1872
Birthplace Mexico
Father's Birthplace Mexico
Mother's Birthplace Illinois
Sheet Letter A
Sheet Number 19
HOUSEHOLD
Candelria Flores Head M 38 Mexico
Angelita Saucedo Wife F 25 Mexico
Pedro Flores Son M 19 Mexico
Lupe Flores Son M 18 Texas
Carmen Flores Daughter F 17 Texas
Condelario Flores Son M 10 Texas

Abram Flores-Armas

Abram

In my opinion, there is a very strong probability that this is your family. I found it somewhat surprising that the census record said that he and his father are from Tamaulipas as this level of detail is quite uncommon for people born in another country (the closest thing I've seen to this is distinguishing between French speaking vs English speaking Canada, although it is frequently just Canada).

Ages in US census records are not always correct, and should be considered approximate unless you have other evidence that substantiates it. The birthdate in a death certificate is not considered primary evidence - it is only as good as the knowledge or memory of the person providing the info. If you can follow a family in several US censuses it is not uncommon to see a person age more or less than 10 years from one census to the next, a little odd when the census is exactly 10 years apart.

The baptism info you found I would consider the right one for your family. The father's name and state of birth is consistent with the Census record, and the baptism date is pretty close match for the son's estimated birth year.

There are some Ancestry.com family trees for the Cantu-Champion family. Some have more documentation, others have less. These are worth looking at, but try to verify the information. There is a fair amount of Texas genealogy info at both Family Search and Ancestry.com that will be helpful. Some of the Family Search sources can only be used at a Family History Center if you are not LDS (I volunteer at a FHC and the public is always welcome).

"Champion" apparently derives from "Campione" which is Italian. There are a lot of Italian records at Family Search.

As far as doing US research compared to Mexican research, the process is generally the same. Depending on the state civil records start at different times, generally rather late in the Western US, and not as readily available. You often have to purchase the record ($10-25 is typical), although some states have them online for free - Texas death records at family search are one example. Privacy laws can complicate things, but for a near blood relative this is often not a problem.

The Find-a-grave website is sometimes very useful. This depends on the volunteer submitting the info, and how much is on the person's gravestone. Look for Texas GenWeb and other sites such as county genealogical or historical societities. There are county histories written in the late 1800s for many counties. Although not all families are in these (people usually had to pay for an entry), if you do find a family of interest there can be valuable clues hard to find elsewhere. A good place to look for these is the website archive.org for a digital copy (these are free). If a book you find iis not there, the website worldcat can help find it.

Sometimes you will not be able to prove a relationship, however you may be able to collect enough information to conclude that a relationship is highly probable. Document as best you can, and state your reasoning and conclusions based on those documents.

Best of luck!

George Fulton

George

Thank you for the advice and your help very appreciative. I have concluded that Guillermo's father and mother are Candelario Flores and Angelita Saucedo. In regards to the Cantu family, I'm not sure how to get through that brick wall. All the information that I have gathered on Manuela Cantu (wife of Guillermo Flores) matches with the other Cantu family where it says she's married to Rufino Flores, but then it makes no sense to have two families at the same time. Both Manuela Cantu's are born around the same time and they both have the same parents names, and both born in Texas.

Abram Flores-Armas

there are other free sites but they generally have the files of people who have done the work and are submitting their research. Rootsweb.com is one free site. I know when I put my files on Rootsweb.com I put the film # and page number you can find them at. Like you I don't use Ancestry.com because it is expensive but I did use them in the past. Familysearch.com offers me most of the same information for free.
good luck and don't give up because you will find that one special record that gives you that aha moment.
Linda Castanon-Long

Abram

I think I've made a breakthrough on Manuela Cantu Flores.

There are two different Manuela Cantu's that lived at very nearly the same time, and married two men surnamed Flores. Both families are well documented in the Texas census records from 1920 to 1940.

The family of Guillermo lived in Nueces County, and the other in Cameron County.

There are a number of posted genealogies on the family of Rufino Flores. His Manuela Cantu was born in 1890 and died in 1980. Her information comes from her death record, and from a fair amount of information at Find-a-Grave. Importantly from the census record she and Rufino did not have a child named Petra.

Guillermo and Manuela, of course, had a child named Petra (your ancestor) - she is named in the census. Among others, they had another daughter named Maria. There are death records for Guillermo and Manual, unfortunately they do not name the spouse. Two important points are that the person doing the notification for both records is Maria F. Salazar, who is called "daughter" on Manuela's death certificate, but her relationship is not stated on Guillermo's, and they are both buried in Robstown, which of course in the community the family lived in.The informer links the two records together, the fact that in one case the informer is called daughter implies the couple is married. You can also find them both on Find-a-grave. Manuela's Find-a-Grave record names her parents, which are the same as the death certificate: Hilario Cantu and Angelita Herrera. This is somewhat circumstantial since I have not found a marriage record for Maria Flores to Mr. Salazar that names her parents. If we found this record, it would remove any doubt.

The details from the death records are:

Manuela C. Flores, b. Aug 27, 1888 Brownsville (or possibly 1883 as the number is a little hard to read) and died Nov 13, 1978 Corpus Christie. Parents Hilario Cantu and Angelita Herrera. Buried Robstown Memorial Park.

Guillermo Flores, b. June 26, 1871, Brownsville, and died Sept 6, 1972, Corpus Christie, Parents Candelario Flores and Angelita Sauceda. Buried Robstown Memorial Park.

You can get the death records from Family Search, or from Ancestry.

George Fulton

Genealogy Research