Introduction

Still grieving the loss of my Grandmother, I spent most of 2017 researching our family history. Despite my Grandparents being married for 63 years, my Grandmother's family is the only one I've ever known. 

Even though I was raised in Southern California, I've only ever identified with my Grandmothers' New Mexican Spanish roots. The thing is, her family settled in America so long ago, that none of us has ever known what the Spanish and Basque origins of our family was or how/when our ancestors came to America.

It's interesting that all of my cousins have different ways of how they identify ethnically. Some of my cousins identify as Spanish and Basque. Some of my cousins identify as Mexican (not Spanish or Basque). Some identify as Native American - some say Jicarilla Apache, some Navajo, some Cherokee, others don't know. Culturally, I think we all definitely identify as New Mexican.

Although I'm undeniably Mexican (through both my Father and Maternal Grandfather) having been raised in a household with such strong Spanish pride has left me with a lifelong struggle to identify with my Mexican heritage. By not realizing how important it was for me to identify with my Mexican roots, until now, I've robbed myself of being part of and celebrating, such a rich and beautiful culture - so its been incredibly important to me to research those roots as well.

Learning about my family history hasn't been easy, it's taken a great deal of time, energy and financial investment. I'm blessed with being a housewife (to an amazingly supportive husband) and a mother (to a student at an out-of-state university) which has allowed me the time and space to indulge in this family history project.

I know that not everyone has the time or tolerance to comb through thousands of pages of microfilm or spend entire days at the library researching through hundreds of books. Finding answers about our ancestors and the history of the lands they come from is a major investment of time. This is why I've chosen to start this blog and share what I've discovered with you. I'm not a professional genealogist, so I've had to learn the ropes with a great deal of trial and error. Along with the information I've collected on the ancestors I've researched, I'm providing you with lists of a great deal of the resources I've found interesting and helpful. 

The number one thing I've learned is that you won't get very far if you don't know the long and complicated history of New Mexico or its distinctive culture. For this reason, I'm sharing with you as much as I can about this mysterious and captivating state. So let's get started!