Hispanic Genealogy Records Available at the Dallas Public Library
Suzan Younger
The J. Erik Jonsson Central Library has wonderful access to online genealogical records. FamilySearch, Ancestry, MyHeritage, Find My Past, and similar websites provide an amazing number of records and consistently add more to their collections. However, they concentrate on large-volume record sets such as state or country vital records, land, or probate records. Smaller collections such as the records of businesses, churches, schools, or social organizations are not a priority for the large websites. Individuals and genealogical societies know about these collections and are usually the ones who transcribe or index and then publish the material.
Published material is subject to copyright laws and probably won’t be available on big genealogical websites unless the author gives special permission. While organizations holding small collections may allow access to transcribe or index the material, they may not agree to digitize and publish material for various reasons. That means that a significant amount of genealogical information is not available online.
Unless you have unlimited resources to purchase published books, or visit the small collections in person, then plan a trip to a library. And one of the best genealogical libraries in the United States is right here in downtown Dallas. The Lloyd DeWitt Bockstruck Genealogical Collection is consistently named one of the best genealogical collections in the country. The 8th floor of the Central Library is home to this collection.
The collection contains a large variety of material, but today I want to highlight resources for Hispanic genealogical research available in the Central Library. The first resource you should use is the knowledgeable and friendly staff waiting to assist you on the 8th floor. Check out their website at https://dallaslibrary2.org/genealogy/index.php, email them at genealogy@dallaslibrary.org, or call them at 214-670-1433. Library staffer Alex Garza knows the Hispanic collection very well, so ask for him when you visit. Use the online catalog at https://catalog.dallaslibrary.org/polaris/ to browse the collection.
Here are some links and highlights of the collection:
- View recently acquired Hispanic Genealogy books available at the DPL.
- View recently acquired Hispanic Genealogy Research books available at the DPL
- Microform holdings that include Mexico, Central America, South America, Puerto Rico and the United States (check out the border states)
- State & County Resources
- Passenger and immigration records
- Naturalization abstracts and indexes
- Map case: the drawer labeled “Latin America” includes Books for Mexico: International section, aisles 17 and 18
- Books by State, especially the border states.
- The Lloyd D. Bockstruck lectures and bibliographies:
- In-library access to online databases. You can access some of these databases at home if you have a Dallas Public Library card.
- American Ancestors (in-library use only)
- Ancestry.com (in-library use only)
- Handbook of Texas
- HeritageQuest
- HistoryGeo.com (see the first landowners of Texas)
- Newsbank
- NewspaperArchive.com (has a large collection of Mexican newspapers)
- Genealogy Circulating Collection: a few books you can check out.
- Mexican American Genealogical Research by John P. Schmal
- Cana Quemada: Relatos de a Vida en el Noroeste Mexicano by Ruben Rocha Moya
- El Quebrar y Sangrar de un Hombre Macho: Fobia de la Vida by Isabel Delia Gonzalez
- Finding Your Hispanic Roots by George R. Ryskamp
- Browse the general genealogical research books that can be checked out.
These resources are a great place to start, and with guidance from the genealogy section staff, treasures await you.
The library is open on Saturdays and Sundays, which makes it an easier drive. Check the website at dallaslibrary2.org for hours and closure dates. Parking is free in the underground garage accessed at the back of the library on Wood Street.
Why not connect with fellow genealogists and make it a “research day” with friends? Remember, only a small portion of genealogical records are online, and the library is a great place to start your search for off-line material.
A few notes from genealogy section staffers Mic Barnett and Alex Garza about resources for Hispanic DNA research:
- The “We Are Cousins” DNA project focuses on the YDNA and mtDNA of the progenitors of the many Hispanic surnames of Nuevo Leon, Coahuila, Tamaulipas and South Texas. Consult the website at wearecousins.info/dna/ for more information.
- The Texas State Genealogical Society (http://www.txsgs.org) oversees the Texas State Genealogical Society DNA project and the Early Texans DNA Project. Consult their website for more information.
