The value of Indices...

Sunday, Mar 15, 2009

Dear Victoriano-

I have two feelings about indices. First, that they are good and help you to find someone quickly, if they are indeed listed. Second, that they are bad because you might skip over someone needed for your family tree. Personally, I would check the film completely at least once, if it was very important because even if you don't find the person you want, you might find other relatives.

Recently, I came across a Cipriana GODINEZ, daughter of Juan GODINEZ and Estefania DE LA TORRE. I have been looking for her brother for at least 30 years. She was in an index of Toluquilla, Jalisco. I had found her parents listed in another index for being married in Toluquilla but with the wrong year...someone had extracted it incorrectly by 10 years. That was many years ago.

Cipriana herself had said at the time of her marriage, 2 Nov 1907, in Atotonilco el Alto, that she was from Toluquila. None of her other siblings said that and since she was the only one and not on my husband's direct line, I didn't bother to order the film. Some of the other siblings had sent me off on other goose chases which resulted in NO new information.

The nice thing about finding Cipriana born on 9 Oct 1884 in Toluquilla, and I have now ordered that film, is that it pushed her brother Juan GODINEZ down a couple of years to where he should more correctly be listed. I still haven't found Juan, who is on my husband's direct line, nor 2 other siblings but I feel I am getting closer. Eventually as more indexes become available, I will find these errant GODINEZ people.

I hope my answer helps you decide what to do. As you can see, there is no exact science to Family History and sometimes even after very diligent work, nothing comes of it and then sooner or later the answer we seek appears.

Best of luck to you in your search.

Sincerely,
Patrica Burton
San Diego

--- On Sun, 3/15/09, victorianonavarro wrote:

> From: victorianonavarro
> Subject: [Nuestros Ranchos] IGI Indices.... Ancestors in Ocotlan, Jalisco...
> To: announce@lists.nuestrosranchos.org
> Date: Sunday, March 15, 2009, 6:21 PM
> Dear Patricia,
> Thanks for your message I don't really know for sure if
> I should be looking for VICTORIANO NAVARRO in Ocotlán.
> I found the names of his parents and grandparents in al old
> family tree prepared in 1935 by one of his grandsons.
> Recently I was able to confirm the names of his parents
> (MARIA ENCARNACIÓN SEPEDA & DOMINGO NAVARRO) by finding
> baptism records of his chidren from northen Coahuila. I
> still have to find out whether the names of his grandparets
> (FERNANDA SARAVIA & JOSÉ MARÍA NAVARRO and RAFAEL
> SEPEDA & ROSA SAUCEDO) are aso correct or not. I am
> trying to find a marriage or baptism record for Victoriano
> himself (hoping to find the names of his grandparents), then
> I would like to try to find the same for his parents, and
> only then I could make sure whether the records you mention
> do correspond or not to my ancestors. The only source of
> information regarding Victoriano's Ocotlán origin is a
> book regarding the Madero famiy genealogy written by Carlos
> B Madero, the youngest brother of President Fco. Madero. I
> wonder if he was actually from some other town in Jalisco.
> I know Victoriano was born about 1808, but I went to the
> IGI Indices of bapisms from Ocotlán around 1808 (found in
> this webpage) and I could not find his name. Do you or
> somebody else knows if these indices contain ALL the names
> included in the microfilms? Should I bother looking for his
> baptism record in these microfms if his name does not appear
> in the IGI indices?
> Thanks again fo the information.
> Warmest regards,
> Victoriano Navarro