I would a find grandparent with different yrs of birth?.

Question

Manuel Gonzales born either in Mexico 1898?. Birth years are 1889,1888,1887 or 1986 or 1891. Died in Bastrop Cesar creek Texas 5/16/1965 Died certificate has about 75yrs of age no birth year. Race is all Whit, Hispanic and OT any help appreciated.
Shannon

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Manuel Gonzales

 in the Texas, Death Certificates, 1903-1982

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Name:	Manuel Gonzales
Gender:	Male
Race:	Negro (Black)
Age:	75
Birth Date:	abt 1890
Birth Place:	Texas
Residence:	Bastrop, Bastrop, Texas, USA
Death Date:	16 May 1965
Death Place:	Bastrop, Bastrop, Texas, USA

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Manuel Gonzales

 in the U.S., Social Security Applications and Claims Index, 1936-2007

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Name:	Manuel Gonzales
Gender:	Male
Spouse:	Minnie Sims
Child:	Robert Gonzales

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Nice work, Betty!

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Thank you Ellen.

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Manuel Gonzales

 in the Texas, Select County Marriage Index, 1837-1965

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Name:	Manuel Gonzales
Gender:	Male
Marriage Date:	24 Apr 1913
Marriage Place:	Bastrop, Texas, United States
Spouse:	Minnie Slider
FHL Film Number:	966042

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Manuel Gonzalez

 in the U.S., WWI Civilian Draft Registrations, 1917-1918

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Name:	Gonzalez, Manuel
Birth Date:	31 Dec 1891
Birth Place:	Fort Stockton TX
City/County:	Pecos
State:	TX
Ethnicity:	W

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Birth date listed here:

Manuel Gonzalez

 in the U.S., World War I Draft Registration Cards, 1917-1918

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Name:	Manuel Gonzalez [Manuel Gonzales]
Race:	Spanish, American (Spanish)
Marital Status:	Single
Birth Date:	31 Dec 1891
Birth Place:	Texas, USA
Residence Place:	Pecos, Texas, USA
Physical Build:	Stout
Height:	Medium
Hair Description:	Not Bald
Hair Color:	Black
Eye Color:	Brown

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The death certificate is also available at FamilySearch, no subscription needed.

Answer 1

Manuel Gonzalez is a very common name, which complicates the search. Do you have a place of birth for him? Knowing the state would be good, but state and town would be a better indication of possible success.

Border crossing records will often give the place of last residence, sometimes place of birth, and age. But, with such a common name, you must be sure you have the right Manuel Gonzalez.

Doing a search for Manuel Gonzalez, born 1890 to 1899 for example, gives more than 800 hits at Family Search. The census should give his approximate year of immigration (sometimes these dates are not accurate) which can narrow your search results.

The Family Search indexed/extracted church records generally end in the 1880s. Ancestry.com has indexed civil records, which for births will sometimes go into the 1940s, but it depends on the location.

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my DNA Aguascalientes & Zacatecas Mexico. So how do I pick the right year and right person?.

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Basically you need some information that distinguishes your person’s from others of similar names. Any of these can help, the more you have the better. Such as

1. Parent’s name
2. Birthdate, or age in lieu of birthdate, but keep in mind that someone’s stated age could be in error for any number of reasons
3. The Pueblo, hacienda, or Rancho they came from. These are generally given in birth and marriage records
4. If you find likely candidates, try to find marriage and death dates, or births of children. These can tell you they may have stayed in Mexico.
5. Look at border crossing records. Did they come with a spouse or other family members. Compare this date with the immigration date in the US Census.
6. Look for the person in the 1930 Mexican National Census.
7. Talk to older family members, and find out what they know.
8. Lastly, keep in mind that not everyone is in the church or civil records. While these records are quite good, it is possible to find someone in a marriage record, and identify who the parents are, and where they came from, but not find them in the birth or baptismal records, even though the rest of the family is clearly there.

Not all the civil and church records have been indexed. Family Search is better for indexed church records, Ancestry is better for indexed civil records.

Some the names have been misspelled or misread in making the indexes. Sometimes you need to be creative. Look at all records that seem close.

If you only have minimal info, this can be a long search.