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Archiver > MEX-ZACATECAS > 2001-01 > 0979528557


From: "John P. Schmal" <>
Subject: [Zacatecas] FINDING IMMIGRANT ANCESTORS
Date: Sun, 14 Jan 2001 19:15:57 -0800


Posted on: Zacatecas State<br>Mexico Queries
Reply Here: http://cgi.rootsweb.com/~genbbs/genbbs.cgi/Mexico/Zacatecas/751

Surname: IMMIGRATION
-------------------------

Hi everyone:

I see postings from lots of new people just beginning their research on
Mexican ancestry. I have some helpful clues here for those of you who are
second, third, and fourth-generations Mexican Americans (or some other
immigrant background) who do not know what town or municipio your ancestors
came from.

One thing you can try if you have a non-citizen ancestor living in the
US during the 1940s (wartime). America wanted to keep track of all the
noncitizens during this time so they were registered.

The Alien Registration Program in 1940 required that all alien residents
of the United States register at their local Post Office. The registrations
from July 1940 to April 1944 are on microfilm in INS custody, searchable
by name, date of birth, and place of birth. You can write to this address,
saying you are requesting the info "under the Freedom of Information Act"
or you can obtain a Form G-639 and fill it out. If the person is deceased,
it might be good to send them a copy of the obituary, Social Security Death
index entry or a death certificate. Tell them everything you know, where
they lived in the 1940s, possible aliases, etc.

This is the address:
INS Freedom of Information
2nd Floor, ULLB
425 I Street, NW
Washington, D.C. 20536

To find out more information about the National Archives offices and their
microfilm holdings, consult these websites:

http://www.nara.gov/nara/searchmicro.html

http://www.hfhr.com/mexicanbordercrossing.html

Naturalization records after 1907 can offer the researcher a great deal
of information about his or her immigrant research. You can Email these
facilities to ask them about your immigrant ancestor. If you decide to
Email them, it is always good to try and give as much information as possible
about the person concerned, birthplace, birth date, when they arrived in
America, where they lived, address, and names of family members. Giving
approximate dates is better than giving no information at all.

Below is the website for NARA (National Archives and Records Administration).
This site will give the Email addresses of the various facilities around
the country:

http://merrimack.nara.gov/research/all/byloc.html

The genealogical significance of the National Archives facilities is discussed
at the following site:

http://www.nara.gov/genealogy/genindex.html

The Laguna Niguel archives is one of these facilities and can be found
at:

http://merrimack.nara.gov/regional/public/lagpubli.html#genealogy

The street address of Laguna Niguel is : 24000 Avila Road, Laguna Niguel,
Calif. 92677-3497. The mailing address is: Post Office Box 6719, Laguna
Niguel, Calif. 92607-6710. And their Email is .

The mailing address of the New York NARA archives is 201 Varick Street,
New York, New York 10014-4811.

The Chicago NARA facility is at 7358 South Pulaski Road, Chicago, Illinois.
The Email addresses for all NARA facilities are given at the NARA website
shown above.

Between 1903 and 1952, 1.5 million immigrants came across the border at
El Paso and their names, ages, birthplaces, and last permanent addresses
were recorded. You may write to the Immigration and Naturalization Office,
USINS El Paso District Office, District FOIA Officer, 1545 Hawkins Boulevard,
El Paso, TX 79925, to see if your ancestors were among them. But, I have
one caution here: The El Paso office called me to say that many records
were thrown away after a year, and that the records they were kept were
for those people who stated they were coming across permanently.

Someone should really do something about this website. It is split into
three windows and I can barely see anything. Ican barely see what I'm typing.
Please change this website so we can see what we are reading.

Happy hunting.

John P. Schmal


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