This is going to sound like a paid advertisement so delete right now if it gives any of you that type of flavor. I've heard that AI can assist with genealogical research and I think it really can. Now the example I've listed below was for a very simple transcription/translation but the possibilities are there. Also there is a free version but I'm used the $49/year version which gives you a limit on usage per day almost double the free version but it also gives you access to the more advanced ai versions. Basically I went to Poe.com and subscribed to the "starter" version which gives you 10,000 points to use per day (use or lose). I've understood that the below example only used a small amount of points but just use the free version for simple examples. I simply asked it to translate the uploaded document (attached below) into English and preserve the original spellings of names and got the below. For us beginners who have limited Spanish this might be the or one of the tools to use:

Translate this into English and preserve original spellings of names. 

9:44 AM Claude-Opus-4.6 Thinking... Let me carefully transcribe and translate this Mexican Catholic baptismal record from the early 19th century. Let me read through the handwritten Spanish text:

 "En la Yglesia de Santa Maria a dies y nuebe de Henero de mil ochocientos onze. Yoel Presbitero D. Jose Thadeo Suares, Bautize solemnemente a Maria Guadalupe Española de Guacasso de quince dias de nacida en lunes. hija Legitima de Pedro Flores, y Maria Josefa Tamires, Abuelos Paternos Jose Flores, y Maria Ynes. Maternos Diego Ram[ire]z y Maria Luiza. Padrinos Dionicio Marquez y Maria Rafaela Aguiñes adverti su obligacion y parentesco Espiritual y para que conste lo firme con el Snr.

I'm seeing the signatures at the bottom—Cayetano de Ybarra and Dhé Thadeo Juarez—but let me re-examine the text more carefully since some of the handwriting is difficult to parse. Looking back at the opening, it appears the location might be Guadalajara rather than what I initially read, and I need to verify the exact spelling of some of the family names and dates. I'm parsing through this baptism record from 1811 in the Church of Santa Maria, identifying the key details: the priest Jose Thadeo Suares performed the ceremony for Maria Guadalupe, noting her racial designation as "Española" and her parents Pedro Flores and Maria Josefa Tamires, along with the godparents and their spiritual obligations. I'm realizing the "Guada" is likely just a line break interrupting a word, probably part of the year or an abbreviation rather than "Guadalajara." Given the citation references Santa María de los Angeles, the church name is already established, so I should focus on parsing the date itself—it appears to read January 19, 1811, with the text continuing across lines in a way that's fragmenting my initial reading. I'm second-guessing the line breaks and trying to parse where "Guadalajara" fits in—it could be a location reference in the margin or woven into the text itself. Looking more carefully at the structure, I think the date spans across lines, with the year "mil ochocientos onze" appearing on the second line, and the priest's name "Jose Thadeo Suarez" continuing from there. The margin notes seem to reference "Española" and "Guacasco," though I'm wondering if "Guadalajara" might actually be the parish location rather than what I initially thought.

Now I'm reconstructing the full baptism record—it appears to document the baptism of Maria Guadalupe on January 19, 1811, performed by Priest Jose Thadeo Suarez, with details about her parents, grandparents, and godparents, followed by signatures from the priest and the parish official. The second signature might read "José Thadeo Suarez" rather than what I initially parsed, and I'm working through the translation to capture the formal ecclesiastical language accurately. I'm working through the uncertain readings in this baptismal record—the mother's surname could be Ramirez rather than Tamires, and I need to verify the godparents' names more carefully, particularly whether the godfather is Marquez or something similar, and whether the godmother's surname is Aguiñes or Aquines. The signature at the end also needs clarification—it looks like it could be either Juarez or Suarez for the second signer.

Translation In the Church of Santa Maria, on the nineteenth of January of one thousand eight hundred and eleven [January 19, 1811], I, the Priest D. Jose Thadeo Suares, solemnly baptized Maria Guadalupe, Española [Spanish], from Guacasso, fifteen days old, born on a Monday, legitimate daughter of Pedro Flores and Maria Josefa Tamires. Paternal grandparents: Jose Flores and Maria Ynes. Maternal [grandparents]: Diego Ram[irez] and Maria Luiza. Godparents: Dionicio Marquez and Maria Rafaela Aguiñes. I advised them of their obligation and spiritual kinship, and so that it may be recorded, I signed it with the Señor Cura [parish priest]. [Signed] Cayetano de Ybarra — Jhé Thadeo Suarez ________________________________________ Notes: • "Española" refers to the colonial-era caste/racial classification indicating Spanish descent. • "Guacasso" appears to be the locality or rancho of origin. • The marginal annotations on the left read "Española" and "Guacasso." • The parish is Santa María de los Angeles, Jalisco, per the citation. 9:44 AM

Hello everyone! I’m very excited to be part of this group and am hoping for assistance in researching my family history.

I am searching for information about my grandfather, who lived and passed away in Los Angeles, California, in 1994. He lived under a different name in the United States, but I have some details about his family of origin in Mexico. His parents were Demetria Gomez and Celestino Martinez from Villa Obregón, Cañadas de Obregón, Mexico. I believe his birth name may have been Ventura Gomez Martinez, although this has not been officially confirmed. He also had a brother named Maximino Martinez. I knew Maximino and his family, but they are not aware of the earlier family history.

I have come across several family surnames in my research, including Martin, Martinez, Barajas, Gomez, and Reynosa. While I have found information on other members of the family, I have located only one record connected to Ventura Martinez.

I am hoping to connect with long-lost relatives or anyone who may have additional information. Any guidance or insight would be greatly appreciated.

Good day.

I would like to share a summary of the findings Jorge Barba Gómez and I addressed recently regarding Captain Diego Romo de Vivar (see Facebook).

In 2024, we discovered that the parentage attributed to Captain Diego Romo de Vivar for decades was incorrect. A baptismal record from Rielves, dated March 12, 1589, had been erroneously linked to him due to a paleographic error. That record actually identifies a Diego, son of Diego Alonso (written as "Diego Aº") and Catalina Pérez, not Diego Romo. This distinction is further confirmed by the file INQUISICION,1222,Exp.12.

Our latest research confirms that the Captain, while a resident of San Felipe, Guanajuato, the home of his wife’s family, the Rangel Peguero, had a brother named Alonso de la Fuente in 1630 (see Siglo XVIII Asuntos Varios: Morelia. Registros varios 1630). We have verified that he was indeed his brother, not his brother-in-law.

Furthermore, researcher Manny Diez shared a finding indicating that an Alonso de la Fuente, also a resident of San Luis Potosí, was a native of Torrijos. Given that Torrijos is only a few kilometers from Rielves and Fuensalida, this aligns geographically with where the Romo, Rincón, and Vivar surnames are concentrated.

In these surrounding villages, we also find the Fuentes de Fuensalida family (potentially "de la Fuente") intermarried with the Rincón, Romo, and Vivar lines For instance, Juan de Fuentes, who married Inés del Rincón, was the son of Pedro Rico and María Romo (PARES | Archivos Españoles). These families claimed kinship with one another in Nueva Galicia, forming a complex family network that spanned several towns, including Fuensalida, Rielves, Torrijos, Escalonilla, Quismondo, Borox and Maqueda.

These findings also highlight the importance of reviewing the link between this family and Captain Diego de la Fuente Rincón of San Luis Potosí, who was married to Teresa Pérez de Bocanegra y Arizmendi Gogorrón.

Best regards,

Erik Reynoso.

At this point, our family is descended from almost every child of Simon Báez (c1630-1659) and Maria de la Cerda (c1633-aft1690).

Our most recently discovered Báez ancestor is Ignacio Báez de la Cerna:

1st generation - Ignacio Báez de la Cerna (c1658-????) cc Juana Gutiérrez de Mendoza (c1661-????)

2nd generation - and then Ignacio and Juana's son, Francisco Báez (c1680-1702) cc  24 Aug 1701 to Catalina/Catharina de Salazer alias Beloso/Veloso, daughter of Antonio Beloso de Sotomayor and Teresa de Salazar, all Espanoles.

But who is Teresa de Salazar?

Many genealogists have Luis Lopez Ramirez and Sebastian Lopez Ramirez as brothers because Jaime Holcombe incorrectly  stated in his cartas that they were brothers.  They have even put this false information on wikitree and stated that it was a fact.  These two men are related through marriage, but they aren't brothers. I won’t go into how they are related by marriage here in order to not confuse the issue as my intent here is to show that they aren't brothers.

Luis Lopez Ramirez is the son of Luis Lopez and Isabel Sanchez.  This Luis Lopez Ramirez is married to Catalina Rubio, daughter of Pedro Hernandez and Maria Rubio.

Sebastian Lopez Ramirez, aka Sebastian Ramirez, is the son of Andres Lopez and Isabel Ramirez, and Sebastian’s wife, Ana de la Cueva aka Ana de la Cueva y Sandoval, is the daughter of Pedro Garcia de la Cueva and Maria Teresa Sandoval (Pedro is the son of Alonso Hernandez de Rebollar and Maria Hernandez de la Cueva).

Andres is the son of Alvaro Lopez and Catalina Lopez.

Alvaro Lopez is the son of Sancho (Sanchu) Lopez and Beatriz Gonzalez, and his wife Catalina is the daughter of Juan Lopez and Ines Lopez. (There are two couples named Juan Lopez and Ines Lopez in the family tree).

The credit for researching these families, and finding the correct genealogies, goes to Jorge Barba Gomez.. 

The evidence for these genealogies can be found in the book “López, López, López, y Otros, Toledanos en la Nueva Galicia” authored by Jorge Barba Gómez, 2025.”   Primary sources that include wills, letters between family members, and marriage dispensations were used to identify the family relationships.   

Rick A. Ricci

Hello everyone!

Can anyone direct me to resources available in print or online, that specifically addresses the Tlaxcalan and Otomi families of Las Lagunas, Buenavista and the Pueblo de Moya?

I purchased and read Mario Gómez Mata's book, INDIOS, but it reads more as an historical narrative of the pueblos - which it is - but not as a genealogical work. 

The majority of our Indio ancestors are Tlaxcala and Otomi and from very specific families: Rhea, Hernández del Aguila, San Joseph, de Luna y Tapia, etc. 

Has anyone compiled the genealogies of the founding and early families of the Pueblos in Lagos de Moreno? 

I'm trying to document our ancestors from Moya and Buenavista, but it's like pulling teeth to trace them prior to 1660 or so, with all the surname changes. 

In one document, someone may be named Pedro de la Cruz and another, he's Pedro Hernándes, and then in a third document, he'll be called, Pedro del Aguila. It's a very tedious process, and I don't want to reinvent the wheel here if someone else has done this work already. 

Does anyone here have any suggestions?

Best,

Travis

Happy New Year To All!,

Did we ever get to the bottom of the origin of Francisco Magdaleno/Madaleno cc Elvira de Mendoza? If not, I may have found another clue in the recently released treasure trove of the Morelia archives:

Petricion de Gonzalo Fernandez de Abrego para recibir herencia de su madre - Beatriz de Talavera. (Morelia - 1602)

In this petition we find out that Gonzalo is the son of Andres Fernandez de Abrego cc Beatriz de Talavera. Furthermore, we have testimony from a couple of interesting witnesses: Francisco Magdaleno, who declares that he's the uncle of Gonzalo. This given that Gonzalo is the son of his sister Beatriz de Talavera!. Furthermore, we have another testimony from Geronimo Magdaleno de Mendoza who testifies that he's a "primo hermano" to Gonzalo. This would be the same Geronimo who was the son of Francisco cc Elvira de Mendoza. 

I think this is a very interesting clue into the origins of the Magdalenos/Madalenos of Michoacan and Jalisco. In looking for more clues on Beatriz de Talavera, I found mentions of her being married to a Lic. Pedro de Villafranca, I assume before/after her marriage to Andres Fernandez de Abrego? Does anyone have any additional clues on Beatriz de Talavera or the Magdalenos for that matter? 

Thank You,

Daniel Serna Valencia

A few years back the website was a crossroads and the future looked dim. The site was down and Rosalinda Ruiz took the bull by the horns and organized the Nuestros Ranchos WorkGroup (Many thanks Rosalinda). Via that group a small group of individuals formed the Tech Group: Lee, Rosalinda, Wesley, Arturo and I but above and beyond the Tech Group was spearheaded by our Elite Webmaster Lee Ingram (Muchisimas!!!). Anyway as a result of the larger Workgroup a fund raising effort was started and with the help of 26 members a total of $776.24 was collected. Since 2021 when the site was revived Lee Ingram has been working tirelessly to get the site up and keep it up to date. During that time Lee had certain expenses with the work and just recently I was able to reimburse him for out of pocket monies spent and to pay forward for the webhosting and domain registration (Lee could explain it better). Anyway this email is to say that the approximate $800 was well spent for the past 4 years as well as covering out of pocket monies through approximately February 2031. If you get a chance to thank Lee please feel free to overwhelm him. Thanks go as well to our past Webmaster who for years carried the group on his shoulder, Arturo!

Now it might seem like 2031 is 6 years away (well it is and 6 years will go by in a flash). We currently have approximately 1000 members. Imagine if each one chipped in $1. Please don’t send me money as the Workgroup needs to do some work on WHERE future fund raising money should go. Maybe we need an elected Treasurer. I’m not sure how that works, we’ll see. Just wanted you all to think about the future of the NR group. For now we’re good but the future is well coming soon

Joseph Puentes

Hello and Happy New Year!

I have a question: when someone is called "criollo" in colonial records it usually implies they are born in Mexico from two Spanish parents, correct?

Is this a hard rule? Why would someone be called both mestizo and criollo in the same record? Because he is the son of one parent who was born in Spain, perhaps?

Cristóbal de Santoyo alias Pérez, "mestiso soltero i criollo," probable, but unproven, son of Juan de Santoyo alias Pérez (possibly Spanish) and Antonia de Villegas alias Mendoza (noted as mestiza in multiple sources), both of Lagos. Cristóbal de Santoyo alias Pérez married June 1, 1668 to Ana Burgeño, daughter of Ysidro de Araujo and Beatris Burgeño alias López, in Santa Maria de los Lagos.

https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/3:1:9392-G5RG-Y

My Spanish isn't proficient enough to understand the entire record - especially the notation in the margin. Would someone please look at it and translate or explain the record for me. This could be a game-changer for our tree. Cristobal's probable parents are our ancestors several times over - we are descended from many of the grandchildren of Juan de Santoyo alias Pérez and Antonia de Villegas alias Mendoza.

Thank you,

Travis

One of our brick walls is Manuel de Lizalde. He is in my tree on Ancestry at https://www.ancestry.com/family-tree/person/tree/27355561/person/2049287080/facts The surname has many variant spellings: Lisalde, Lisarde, Lizarde, Elizalde (which is the actual original name in Basque) - with and without the "de".

The earliest record for him is his 19 Feb 1697 marriage at Cuquio, Jalisco, with Maria de Robalcava. It shows his mother are Cathalina de Carbaxal but does not show his father. The m,arriage record is at https://familysearch.org/pal:/MM9.3.1/TH-1-18455-52689-9 

While his records are at the church in Cuquio, they actually lived south of Yahualica at los Ranchos de Apozol. So, Cuquio was not where they actually lived and is well south of where they lived.

I went page by page through all the Cuquio baptisms from about 1680 back to about 1660, and he was not among those baptisms.

I am working my way back through the Nochistlan baptisms now but have not yet found him, although there is a good way yet to go.

Does anyone have solid records for him before the 1697 marriage? Is there any record that names his father?