Category Archives: Spain

Family Tree Live – here I come!

UPDATE: This event was cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic outbreak in 2020. Check the website linked below for further information and updates. This is definitely the week of exciting announcements (and this may not be the last – hint … Continue reading

Posted in Events, Genealogy, Spain | Leave a comment

See you at the Salon de la Généalogie Paris 15!

I am extremely pleased to announce that I have been invited to talk at the next edition of the Salon de la Généalogie Paris 15. The event, the largest of its kind in the French-speaking world this side of the … Continue reading

Posted in Archives, France, Genealogy, Spain | 1 Comment

Happy Birthday, DNI!

One of the least-used resources of family research in Spain, and yet perhaps one of the most valuable, is the DNI, the acronym of the Documento Nacional de Identidad (National Identity Document). This small piece of plastic, which nowadays features … Continue reading

Posted in Genealogy, Spain | Leave a comment

Finding missing children on your family tree

Next to tracing our ancestors, finding our ancestors’ children must be the hardest thing a genealogy researcher can be faced with. There is no shortage of records that will often point us in the right direction as to who our … Continue reading

Posted in Birth, Genealogy, Marriage, Spain | 1 Comment

Why don’t Spanish death certificates include a cause of death?

If you have ever had to order a death certificate from a Spanish registry office, you may have noticed that the cause of death is crossed out, or simply does not exist. To many of us, the absence of a … Continue reading

Posted in Civil Registration, Death, Spain | Leave a comment

Using DNA to find the common ancestor

If you have ever taken an autosomal DNA test with any company, be it Ancestry, 23andMe, FamilyTreeDNA, Living DNA, etc., you will have seen that your results will appear on the company’s database along with a (generally long) list of … Continue reading

Posted in DNA, Galicia, Genealogy, Genetic Genealogy, Illegitimacy, Spain | 3 Comments

Cancer & My Family’s Genetic Inheritance

Author’s Note: The below was written on 27 April 2017, and updated on 30 November 2018. We have all met someone who has had cancer. You might even be a cancer survivor yourself. Or you may well be battling cancer … Continue reading

Posted in Genealogy, Illness, Spain, Women | 1 Comment

How to order a Spanish death certificate?

One of the most common questions I usually get when discussing genealogy is “how can I get my ancestor’s death certificate from Spain?”. The procedure is actually pretty straight-forward and it usually takes a few days – if you’re lucky!- … Continue reading

Posted in Civil Registration, Death, Galicia, Genealogy, Spain | 1 Comment

Understanding Spanish Surnames

In recent times family researchers in England, the USA and beyond  have asked me to clarify a matter which concerns their Spanish ancestry. It is, in fact, one of the most common questions I tend to get: how does the Spanish … Continue reading

Posted in Genealogy, Spain | 2 Comments

Explore cousin-marriages… within your family tree!

Marry your cousin? No way, you’re probably thinking. But there was a time, however, when marrying close relatives was not just usual, it was also the norm, and more often than not, a desirable experience. Marrying a first cousin, or … Continue reading

Posted in Birth, Death, DNA, Engagement, England, Famous Genealogy, Genealogy, Italy, Marriage, Money, Spain | 4 Comments