You really can find your ancestors on the Internet

One recurring question is whether or not the vast number of records
being digitized on the Internet actually increase anyone's chances of
finding their ancestors? From my standpoint the answer is a resounding
yes. This last week had proof of the possibility, one from Sinaloa,
Mexico and another from the Midwest U.S.

It has been the case for sometime that the Family History Library had a
very high percentage of the Mexican Catholic Church Parish Registers on
microfilm. For many families, once an ancestor was found in a particular
parish, it was just a matter of looking at regular intervals to
reconstruct the entire family back three, four or more generations. Some
of the records go back into the 1500s. It does become difficult to read
the handwriting of the Priests, but that is not an insurmountable
problem. In the case this week, one of the patrons at the Mesa Regional
Family History Center was looking for a Great-grandmother from Sinaloa.
The FamilySearch Record Search has the Catholic Church records for that
state and the particular city from 1792. Within a short time, we had
located the particular marriage record for her Great-grandmother. With
that record, it should be possible for her to use the online records to
enter her entire family.

Read more...