Spanish

The Spanish founded the first successful colony in North America at Saint Augustine in 1565. Over the next century, Spanish colonists and conquistadors seized and settled everything in the Americas from Mexico to the modern-day U.S. West and southward, with the exception of British Honduras, the Guyanas, and Brazil. In addition, the Spanish controlled Florida and much of the Caribbean.

Although the Spanish were eventually evicted from the New World by national independence movements and other European powers, they intermarried with the population of their territories to such a degree that almost all Hispanic Americans can trace at least part of their lineage back to Spain. Since 1820, immigration to the United States from Spain has been extremely small, averaging fewer than 2,000 people per year.

Contacts and Sources

Saint Augustine Historical Society
271 Charlotte Street
Saint Augustine, FL 32084
Telephone: (904) 825-2333
Publication: East Florida Gazette, El Escribano

Spanish American Genealogical Association
P.O. Box 5407
Corpus Christi, TX 78405

Institute of Genealogy and History for Latin America
316 West 500 North
St. George, UT 84770
Telephone: (801) 652-1710
Fax: (801) 674-5787
E-mail: lplatt@infowest.com
For more information about the Institute of Genealogy and History for Latin America, see the topic Institute of Genealogy and History for Latin America.

Web Sites

In Helpful Web Sites, you can find links to useful resources about Spain.

Books and Journals

• The Spanish Genealogical Helper, published quarterly by the Augustan Society
• In Search of Your European Roots: A Complete Guide to Tracing Your Ancestors in Every Country in Europe, by Angus Baxter
• Mexican and Spanish Family Research, by J. Konrad
• "The Spanish in America, 1573-1974." Ethnic Chronology, Arthur A Natella, Jr.
• Espa–a, Gu’a General: Divisiones Pol’ticas, by Lyman D. Platt, Ph.D.
• Hispanic Surnames and Family History, by Lyman D. Platt, Ph.D.
• Latin American and Spanish Census Records, by Lyman D. Platt, Ph.D.
• Spain: Research Guide, by Lyman D. Platt, Ph.D.
• Tracing your Hispanic Heritage, by George Ryskamp

For some tips on researching abroad, see the topic All about international resources.

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