Does your family have roots in Mexico? ¡Felicidades! There are a wealth of online genealogy resources to help you begin discovering your Mexican ancestors. Mexico has a long and detailed history, and understanding where to look for the records you need is the first step towards building your family tree. For example, you may have an ancestral line that runs as far back as the Spanish colonial era in the 16^th century- or farther! This article provides a listing of some of the best websites for Mexican research. Let’s get started!

Ancestry

Ancestry is a great option for researching Mexico family history. Ancestry is a paid subscription site, and a World Explorer membership or higher is required to view non-U.S. genealogy records. Check out this article for an in-depth comparison of Ancestry’s subscription offerings.

The Mexico family history research page gives you an overview of the Mexico records available in Ancestry’s catalog.
Explore more information about Ancestry’s Mexico records, plus cultural background, Mexican history, and information about Ancestry’s DNA testing and how it can help your research.
The Ancestry Research Center provides help for researching Hispanic Family History.
The Ancestry Support Center has several pages about researching Spanish Records, including:

MyHeritage

MyHeritage is a subscription site that offers its own unique collection of Mexico records. Unlike Ancestry, MyHeritage does not have separate subscription levels for U.S. and international records- but full records access is a separate subscription tier. Check out our full review of MyHeritage for more details.

Browse the MyHeritage collections of Mexico records and give their search feature a try on the Mexico family history research page.

FamilySearch

FamilySearch is a free genealogy research site. All you have to do is create a free account, to gain access to thousands of online databases and record images. Read our full overview of FamilySearch.

The best place to start here is the FamilySearch Wiki, a virtual encyclopedia of family history topics. Here are just a few of the many Wiki pages devoted to Mexico genealogy:

The Mexico Genealogy landing page has tons of valuable resources, including an interactive map, links to research pages for all of Mexico’s jurisdictions, a Spanish genealogical word list, Spanish handwriting guide, research tutorials, and more.
Check out the video series guide on using the Mexico Genealogy Research Wiki which covers important topics such as immigration and citizenship records, reading records in Spanish, civil registrations, church records, and more.
The Wiki page devoted to finding your family’s Mexico Town of Origin provides tips and search strategies, plus a questionnaire for relatives, to help family historians piece together information.
There is an entire page devoted to Mexico Colonial Records, which go back to the early 16^th century.
Be sure to bookmark the Online Resources for Mexico Genealogy research Wiki.
The Mexico Online Genealogy Records page provides a listing of available records on FamilySearch and other genealogy sites.

Also check out the FamilySearch research page for Mexico, which allows you to search through their Mexico record collections, watch tutorials from the FamilySearch Learning Center, and provides a detailed list of available Mexico records in the FamilySearch catalog.

The FamilySearch Blog also has some helpful articles about understanding Mexican records and tips to find your Mexican family history.

GenealogyBank

GenealogyBank is another subscription website that specializes in historic newspapers, and they have a unique collection of Spanish-language newspapers. They do offer a free trial – learn more about GenealogyBank options.

GenealogyBank’s Spanish-language newspapers go back to 1810- learn more and check out their available titles. Check out one example of family history found in a Spanish-language newspaper on the GenealogyBank blog.

Online Links and Lists

Be sure to bookmark these websites, which are full of links and resources for researching Mexican ancestry.

Cyndi’s List is one of the best-known websites for genealogy links, and Mexico genealogy is no exception. Check out the lists of general resources, how-to guides, and societies and groups that specialize in Mexico family history.
Legacy Family Tree also provides a list of websites to help start your Mexican family history research.

Websites specific to Mexico family history research

These sites focus specifically on Mexican and/or Hispanic genealogy.

Mexican Genealogy can help you discover your Mexican and Spanish Colonial genealogy. This site is a treasure trove of information, and highlights include a free eBook of 100 resources and tools to help find your Mexican roots, free articles about Mexican Genealogy research, resources sorted by Mexican state- plus a blog, podcast, and much more!
Archivo General de la Nacion de Mexico (General Archive of Mexico) has an online catalog with over 300 record collections some which may be searchable by name.
- The Mexican government also provides a searchable Military Historical Archive , which includes military files from 1821-1921.
- Plus, the government offers a National Directory of Archives, which is searchable by state. Use this directory to find local archives in your ancestor’s home town.
You will also want to check out the Spanish National Archives, or PARES- Portal de Archivos Espanoles, for researching Spanish Colonial ancestors. Records are collected into several categories, which are easy to navigate and browse the collections.
For identifying Mexican names and places, check out the online versions of the Geographic, Historical and Biographical Dictionary of the United Mexican States by Antiono Garcia Cubas. A PDF version is held by the University of Nuevo Leon .
For locating local churches, check out the National Directory of Mexican Parishes.
The Colorado Society of Hispanic Genealogy is located in Denver, but has a ton of information on their website, including a massive list of links for Mexican genealogy research.
The Genealogical Society of Hispanic America also has numerous resources available on their site.
Genealogist Colleen Robledo Greene offers a free online Mexican Genealogy Research Guide, plus many valuable resources on her website, covering topics such as occupations of Mexican immigrants to the U.S., social history, and more.

Be sure to also look for local resources in areas of the U.S. where your ancestors first settled. For example:

The Genealogical Society of Hispanic America lists dozens of local chapters throughout the country, each with their own unique research focus.
The New Mexico Genealogical Society (along with other state societies in the Southwest) has an interest in Mexican heritage.

Final Thoughts

Lastly, don’t forget to check out YouTube! A search for “Mexico genealogy” will turn up helpful videos from the major genealogy websites such Ancestry, well-known genealogists, and experienced researchers.

Family historians with ancestry in Mexico are truly fortunate- Mexican records are considered some of the best genealogical sources in the world. Not only are they easily accessible, they often provide more information than can be found in other countries’ records- plus, record-keeping in Mexico goes back centuries. Hopefully these online resources can provide a solid start to discovering your Mexican roots!

Mexican Genealogy Websites