Texas, Gonzalez de la Garza Genealogy Collection - FamilySearch Historical Records

United States Texas

What is in the Collection?
The genealogical card file of approximately 270,000 cards compiled by Rudolfo Gonzalez de la Garza represents thousands of families of Southern Texas and Northern Mexico. The card file is an index of families by surname, which includes basic information extracted from Gonzalez's books. The records are in Spanish and the cards contain numerous abbreviations. The card file is in the Laredo Public Library.

Rodolfo Gonzalez de la Garza collected genealogical data on hundreds of families in Northern Mexico and Texas. The collection includes information from the 1800s and 1900s. The card index was created to provide a rapid access to the information in the Gonzalez de la Garza collection.

What Can these Records Tell Me?
Each card contains different information. The cards may contain any of the following:


 * Names
 * Birth, marriage, or death dates
 * Relationships

How Do I Search the Collection?
To begin your search you will need to know:
 * The name of your ancestor.
 * The approximate date of birth.
 * The names of family members and their relationships.

Compare the information on the image to what you already know about your ancestor to determine if it is the correct family or person. You may need to compare several images before you find your ancestor.

View images in this collection by visiting the Browse Page then select the "Name Range" category.

For tips about searching on-line collections see the on-line article FamilySearch Search Tips and Tricks.

What Do I Do Next?
Whenever possible, view the original records to verify the information and to find additional information that might not be reported. These pieces of information can lead you to additional records and family members.

I Found Who I was Looking for, What Now?

 * Use the information to find other records such as birth, christening, marriage, census, land and death records.
 * Use the information to find additional family members.
 * Repeat this process with additional family members found, to find more generations of the family.
 * Church Records often were kept years before government records were required and are a good source for finding ancestors before 1900.

I Can’t Find Who I’m Looking for, What Now?

 * Try viewing the original record to see if there were errors in the transcription of the name, age, residence, etc. Remember that there may be more than one person in the records with the same name.
 * Collect entries for every person who has the same surname. This list can help you identify possible relations that can be verified by records.
 * If you cannot locate your ancestor in the locality in which you believe they lived, then try searching records of a nearby locality in an area search.
 * Standard spelling of names typically did not exist during the periods our ancestors lived in. Try variations of your ancestor’s name while searching the index or browsing through images.
 * Remember that sometimes individuals went by nicknames or alternated between using first and middle names. Try searching for these names as well.
 * Search the indexes and records of Texas, United States Genealogy.
 * Search in the Texas Archives and Libraries.

Citing this Collection
Citing your sources makes it easy for others to find and evaluate the records you used. When you copy information from a record, list where you found that information. Here you can find citations already created for the entire collection and for each individual record or image.

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