I am researching records in Jalisco for a friend.
I am confused about what to enter in the fields in the genealogy program I have (Ancestral Quest).
For example, one record from the early 1800s has the Baptism listed at the church in San Diego de Alexandria, and the first sentence says "encomienda de Jalpa", and the child was born at "Rancho de Calabasas". For "baptized at" do I enter Jalpa, San Diego de Alexandria, and in Birth place I guess I enter Rancho de Calabasas, Jalpa, San Diego de Alexandria, Jalisco, Mexico"?
I am confused because here in the US we only have States, Counties (or Parishes), and Municipalities. It seems in Mexico they seem to have many more classifications of localities, such as encomiendas, jurisdiction, hacienda, rancho, etc.
Thank you,
Emilie
Port Orchard, WA
Baptism Info
Hi Emilie,
“Polity” is the word I think you’re looking for: a state or a political entity. And those have changed a lot in Mexico over the centuries, as we've all learned!
I use the modern names of the towns/cities and states, and then in the “notes” section, I list the name or names of the encomienda, alcaldia mayor, rancho, hacienda, labor, puesto, real, etc.
This tends to help when working on different platforms.
Saludos,
Manny Diez Hermosillo
Entering place names
Emily
When I have the baptism information I enter the name of the church (or parish), then town, state, and country. Since larger towns likely have more than one church it is important to note the name. For older records it is safe to assume that the churches were all catholic, but for modern records if the church is not catholic, the denomination should be noted.
When I have have birth information I enter the specific place (rancho, hacienda, etc) when given, then town, state, and country.
The manual that came with your software should give guidance on the style to use for place names. Since Ancestral Quest is Family Tree/Family Search compatible is likely uses the same style as those applications. You can consult the Family Search wiki for more information on place names.
George Fulton