Discovering my Family History in Spain
This section contains the main genealogy research published on Genealogy John. Most articles follow real investigations into Spanish family history, using parish registers, civil records, archive collections, historical newspapers, property records and family documents to trace people, places and relationships across generations.
Some stories begin with a single certificate or baptism record. Others start with a photograph, a witness signature, a forgotten address or a name written in the margin of an old document. Not every lead turns into an answer. Quite often one discovery creates three new questions.
The articles here cover Spanish genealogy research, family history methods, archive visits, migration records, DNA testing, local history and the practical challenges of working with historical records. Alongside the research are occasional reflections on the process itself, including the frustrations, dead ends and unexpected moments that make genealogy both fascinating and occasionally maddening.
Whether you are researching Spanish ancestry yourself or simply enjoy the detective work involved in uncovering family stories, these articles document the ongoing search for connections hidden within historical records.
I resisted DNA testing for years. Not because I didn’t believe in it—I did. Not because I was worried about government surveillance—I’m a historian, half the things I research are probably on some kind of watchlist anyway. No, I avoided it for a much simpler reason: I was terrified of what I might find. Genealogy … Read more
There’s a fine line between passionate research and completely losing your mind. I fear I may be slipping across it. I’ve spent the last few days fixated on why my great-great-great-grandfather (another Juan, obviously) died in Toledo in 1823 instead of Madrid, where every other record placed him. Why did he go there? Was he … Read more
The problem with genealogy is that nobody tells you where the real records are. Sure, there are the big, official archives—the National Archive, the municipal records, the church registers—but the things you really need? Those are always hiding. Sometimes literally. Case in point: I spent four days chasing a death certificate that, as far as … Read more
I have spent the last week trapped in a sea of Juans and Marías. They are everywhere. I am drowning in them. My family tree no longer resembles a branching structure—it is just a dense, knotted mass of identical names and sheer historical spite. Genealogy has many cruel jokes, but this one might be the … Read more
There are people who think genealogy is a precise, well-ordered science. These people are wrong. Genealogy is chaos. It is a mess of contradicting records, illegible handwriting, and bureaucratic black holes designed specifically to make you question your own existence. I learned this the hard way last night, sitting at my desk at 2 AM, … Read more
You would think a man obsessed with history, a man who has spent decades navigating labyrinthine archives, decoding ancient scripts, and tracing the movements of people long since turned to dust, would have a better sense of direction. You would be wrong. I have lived in Madrid for a month now, and I have been … Read more
You think you know a city by its history—its archives, its records, the whispers of the past preserved in dusty rooms. But let me tell you, you do not truly know Madrid until you have tried to walk across it with bad knees. I have spent a lifetime poring over maps of old Spanish streets, … Read more
There’s a moment, about an hour into standing in a Spanish government office, when you begin to wonder if you are, in fact, still alive. Maybe you died at some point during the process, maybe you’ve been wandering through the afterlife this whole time, doomed to an eternity of waiting rooms and forms you don’t … Read more