How do I find who my ancestors were?

Question:My situation is this, my parents and even my grandparents were born at home in a small town in Mexico...I was actually the first born in a hospital (Oregon). How do I discover who my ancestors were when my family has no paperwork? My last name is Valle and my family is originally from Zacatecas, Mexico.

Best Answer - Chosen by Asker: My situation is this, my parents and even my grandparents were born at home in a small town in Mexico...I was actually the first born in a hospital (Oregon). How do I discover who my ancestors were when my family has no paperwork? My last name is Valle and my family is originally from Zacatecas, Mexico.

You may never find them.

Your best bet would be to write to the church in that town and ask if they would search the records for you, for a fee, and if so, how much.

If your parents and grandparents were not baptised, married and buried from that church, you'd be stuck.

The Mormons have some vital records for Mexico on

http://www.familysearch.org/Eng/Search/f...

The search engine demands a first and last name. I used Jose, which is a common first name in Mexico, and used the state of Zacatecas. I got

1. Jose Luciano TORRES VALLE - Vital Records Index
Gender: M Birth/Christening: 07 Jan 1847 Juchipila, Zacatecas, Mexico

2. Jose Meliton BALLE SANDOVAL - Vital Records Index
Gender: M Birth/Christening: 01 Apr 1848 Juchipila, Zacatecas, Mexico

3. Josef de Santhiago DEL VALLE LARIOS - Vital Records Index
Gender: M Birth/Christening: 30 Jul 1795 Mezquital del Oro, Zacatecas, Mexico

4. Jose Ylario BALLE BARELA - Vital Records Index
Gender: M Birth/Christening: 13 Jan 1827 Mezquital del Oro, Zacatecas, Mexico

I picked Jose Ylario there because I'd never seen a Mexican named "Hilary", and clicked on him. I got

Jose Ylario <BALLE BARELA>
Sex: M
--------------------------------------...
Birth: 13 Jan 1827 Place: <Mezquital del Oro, Zacatecas, Mexico>
Christening: 19 Jan 1827 Place: Mezquital del Oro, Zacatecas, Mexico
--------------------------------------...
Parents:
Father: Antonio BALLE
Mother: Casiana BARELA
--------------------------------------...
Grandparents:
Father's Father: Magdaleno BALLE
Father's Mother: Vasilia LARIOS
Mother's Father: Juan Jose BARELA
Mother's Mother: Antonia YNIGUES
==========================

(Note that "Balle" and "Valle" sound alike in Spanish, so he popped up for "Valle" in Zacatecas.)

That was just an example. You may be able to go back a bit. You may not. The fact they have the grandparents on some records is amazing. You'll have to ask your grandparents, if they are alive, who their grandparents were. If they have passed on, ask your parents. The vital records will go up to 1900 or so and back, in some cases, to the 1500's.

try something like myheritage.com