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Linda, We mostly start by looking in the IGI in the FamilySearch.org website and then spending hours at our local Family History Center poring over microfilms. Luck in finding information is mostly a matter of hard work. There is no easy way. You didn't give any dates in the sketchy information you gave on your ancestry, or which resources you used. It helps to know a little Spanish, but as limited as my Spanish is, I have learned a lot just by poring over the microfilms. The priests wrote everything in a certain format, and the Family History Center in your area (please note your location from now on so we know where you are) can get you a copy of their "Mexico Parish Record Extraction Training Guide" and their "Spanish Indexing Reference". It is instructions for their extractors, but you can tell them you need it for your extractions since they can't help you read records if they have no Spanish speaking staff. They have many people doing extractions that don't speak Spanish. One thing I had to learn on my own is the system they use for surnames. In Mexico they use both the father's surname and mother's surname, never just one surname. For instance my name here is Emilie Garcia. In Mexico I would be Emilia Olague Marquez de Garcia (Garcia is my married name--my husband would be Antonio Garcia Acosta). Perhaps you noticed that your father is listed in Mexico as Ramon Romero de la Torre, maybe even Jose Ramon Romero de la Torre (since everyone just about was named Jose or Maria) not just Ramon Romero. I have broken down many a wall by using both surnames in the IGI and using the "Use exact Spelling" when doing so. Then you have to try different spellings, since in Spanish then they used x or z for j or s, y for I, etc. Sometimes they would use a double "l" as in Padilla, or not, as in Padia. The double l is pronounced like a y. Sometimes the extractors read an e for an a, etc. There are also many abbreviations for names such as Je. for Jose, Ma. for Maria, Gdpe. for Guadalupe, etc. In very old records they used the Latin Joseph or Josef. If we can help you, be more specific about your roadblock, etc. There may be gaps in you lines, since many records have turned to dust or were burned during wars, or damaged beyond repair in floods. Emilie Garcia Port Orchard, WA.
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