Southwest USA Genealogy & History

Mexican Genealogy | Website with a list of over 1700 names of male settlers of the Alta, California.

From Wikipedia: Alta California - covering the land that belongs to the modern-day US states of California, Nevada, Utah, northern Arizona , western Colorado, and southwestern Wyoming.

Next to each name is a number associated with the first time this name appears on the records of California. 1769-1800.

The names are compiled from mission registers of baptisms, marriages, and deaths  and company rosters, pueblo padrones, and thousands of miscellaneous documents  by Hubert Howe Bancroft in his book:

 The History of California, Vol. I 1542-1800. 

May 2007 Ancestry.com released a new database! Now you can search for your Mexican Genealogy Ancestors online!

The release of the first and only online collection of border crossing records for individuals who crossed the U.S. - Mexico border between 1903 and 1957 was unveiled for Cinco de Mayo. This new collection, includes more than 3.5 million names.

These border crossing records document early 20th-century Mexican immigration to the United States. During the first 30 years of the 1900s, more than 1 million Mexicans immigrated to the United States as a result of the Mexican Revolution in 1910, job opportunities during WWI and U.S. agricultural advances.

This collection represents a significant opportunity for Mexican-Americans to discover their family's footsteps to the United States Those of French, Russian and Chinese heritage may be surprised to find their ancestors in this collection.

These records contain insightful clues into a family's past, such as names and birthdates of travelers, names of friends or family in Mexico or the United States, as well as some signatures. Many of these border crossing records also include passport-type photos that were attached to the original documents.

Ancestry.com transcribed the names in the collection from more than 3 million documents. The records are from 24 land ports of entry from California to Texas. Among the busiest ports of entry were Laredo, Brownsville and El Paso, Texas; Nogales, Arizona; and San Ysidro, California.

All the documents are scans of original documents. Facinating just to look at.

In researching this data base here are a few names I found:

Apalatagus, Francisco - Crossed in 1908 from Uras, Sonora Mexico and it includes a photo at age 45.

Barberzina, Pomposa - born Tulausing, Hildago, Mexico - Crossed in Naco, Arizona , Final Destination - Jan 31, 1909… Bisbee, Arizona 

Salis, Pablo -  born Alamos, Mexico - crossed in Naco, Arizona November 1909 - Occupation - Miner

So many records … so little time.  All the records are listed by name or searched by date or crossing etc.

Mexican Genealogy Border Crossing Database at Ancestry.com