Professional genealogical research
Do you suspect your family has Sephardic roots? Have you found surnames, customs, or DNA results that point to converso ancestry? We offer professional genealogical research services specializing in the Sephardic and converso history of Mexico.
Our team combines knowledge of colonial archives — parish records, inquisitorial files, notarial protocols — with the modern tools of genetic genealogy to trace family lineages across the centuries. This is not an abstract exercise: each investigation begins with what the client already knows — a surname, a family tradition, a DNA result — and follows the thread as far as the documents allow.
Sephardic genealogy in Mexico presents unique challenges. Centuries of forced conversion, inquisitorial persecution, and deliberate assimilation erased the most obvious traces of Jewish identity. Names were changed, religious practices were hidden, and families learned to leave no written trace of their faith. Reconstructing those lineages requires not only access to the right archives, but the ability to read between the lines — to recognize the signs that betray a converso past where a generalist genealogist would see nothing.
Why professional research?
Sephardic genealogy is not a weekend project on Ancestry.com. The records that document the lives of conversos in New Spain are scattered across ecclesiastical, notarial, municipal, and national archives, many of them undigitized. Paleography — the ability to read handwritten documents from the sixteenth through eighteenth centuries — is a technical skill that requires years of practice. A baptismal certificate from 1620 looks nothing like a modern birth certificate: it is written in letra procesal, uses Latin abbreviations, and follows conventions that disappeared centuries ago.
Moreover, the mere presence of a surname in an inquisitorial file does not prove converso ancestry. Many families shared surnames without being related. Professional research establishes verifiable connections — places, dates, family relationships — that distinguish a surname coincidence from an actual lineage. Similarly, a DNA result showing Middle Eastern ancestry requires historical and documentary context for proper interpretation: it may reflect Sephardic ancestry, but it could also reflect other Mediterranean roots.
An experienced researcher knows what questions to ask, where to look, and how to interpret what is found. They know that a notarial will mentioning the donation of assets to a particular confraternity may indicate converso affiliation. They know that certain marriage patterns — persistent endogamy within a small group of families, generation after generation — are characteristic of crypto-Jewish communities. They know that the absence of a record can be as revealing as its presence: a family that stops baptizing their children for a generation, or that suddenly changes parishes, may be hiding something.
How the process works
Each investigation begins with an initial consultation where available information is assessed: surnames, family traditions, places of origin, DNA results if available. From that foundation, a research plan is designed that identifies the most promising archives and sources for each particular case.
Documentary research can take weeks or months, depending on the complexity of the case and the availability of archives. Not all colonial records have survived — fires, floods, moth infestations, and institutional neglect have destroyed a significant portion of Mexico's archival heritage. When the documents do exist, however, they can reveal extraordinary detail: inquisitorial interrogations, for example, recorded the accused person's complete genealogy as far back as memory could reach, sometimes three, four, or five generations back.
Results are delivered in a detailed report that includes the documentation found, the genealogical reconstruction, and an analysis of the historical context. When the investigation identifies documented converso ancestors, the report establishes the verifiable connections between the client's family and those lineages, generation by generation.