Connecting in Latin America

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Connecting in underrepresented countries can be quite a challenge. The WikiTree platform and genealogical culture centers strongly in Western Europe and English-speaking countries like Canada, Australia, and the United States, making it feel like it could take hundreds, if not thousands, of profiles before reaching the main tree. This also makes it hard to have notable profiles connected to the tree that are also closely connected to these countries, through both cultural background and CC7s. Finally, with immigration from these countries occurring primarily in living memory, it can be challenging to connect without relying on living profiles.

But fret not! There are still ways to manage this, and still have fun. Connecting in whatever way works for you is of course the most valid methodology, but this free-space is meant to offer pointers that will help force the light of the end of the tunnel to appear more quickly. This is partly inspired by Fran of the England Project's own Connecting How to Page which has helped many, including myself, and uses many of the basic tenets.

There are three primary strategies I use: Fran's (Surname-Location) Method, Surname Method, and the Gringo Method.

Contents 1 Fran's Method 2 Surname Method 3 Gringo Method 4 Stipulations

Fran's Method

Please take a look at her page for more details, but essentially the format is as such:

• Wiki+ is your best friend. Use her excessively.
• Take stock of the surnames in the branch you're trying to connect, and the locations.
• If there are any unusual surnames, or conversely, names associated with major families, take note of those.
• Run surname-location combinations from your unconnected branch of choice through Wiki+. Are there any that have a lot of WT presence? Remember sometimes to try the state + country if cities and towns aren't bearing results. Many times the connection may not have a town specified, only the state, or they can be found in nearby cities not indicated in the unconnected branch you are working on. Once you have identified profiles that overlap with a surname-location combination, you can use FamilySearch to explore the family tree and plot the connection.

Surname Method

• Some surnames, due to large families and deep-rooted connections, are significant in certain cities, states, and/or regions. Because profile coverage in Latin America can be very spotty, there are also some families that are well-represented on WT because there is or was an active descendant uploading GEDCOMs or manually adding to the tree. Use Wiki+ to get a handle on what surnames are popular in certain areas that overlap with your branch. Write them down. Use FamilySearch to explore the tree until you come across one of those surnames. Compare the existing tree on WT, or the equivalent tree on FS, and identify the MRCA (Most Recent Common Ancestor).
• A FSP with major family names is under development.

Gringo Method

The most popular method! While it can become tedious depending on the tree, this method is likely a guarantee that you can connect a branch. This method involves relying on FamilySearch until the right profile is identified. Typically, the surnames you are looking for are of English origin, due to WT concentration in the United States and United Kingdom. But, German surnames are definitely worth checking, as well as French surnames.

• First, pick a starting profile. Do they or their descendants have any surnames of "gringo" origin? If yes, follow the surname until you reach the immigrant ancestor in their country of origin. Once there, follow Fran's Method.
• No surname of English origin? Go up one generation, and repeat; checking each descendant's spouses, children, and children's spouses surnames. Pick a consistent way to do it - go up one paternal generation first, then check the maternal, or vice-versa. Doing it in the same pattern will keep yourself from getting confused. Repeat, checking both parents' families until you find a relevant surname.
• Make it to the oldest sourced profile and maxed out their descendants? Go back down until you've reached an ancestor of the starting profile you hadn't explored yet and repeat.
• Checked the other descendants of every ancestor of your original profile? Pick a spouse, open a new window, and repeat the same steps. Have some strategy to track who you have already looked at; spouse of the oldest child first, the next married child second, etc, and then move up the next generation.

Stipulations

• Many trees on FamilySearch are unsourced. Access to sources are starting to improve, but make sure to only check sourced avenues while exploring a FS pedigree tree. This may result in longer connection trails but in the case of conflated profiles (which are, unfortunately, very common on FS) will save WikiTreers more work down the road. You can verify this by clicking once on a profile, which opens up a small window indicating Details, Sources (#), and Memories (#).
• The Gringo Method works best on aristocratic and wealthy families. These families are likely to mix with English and American-immigrant families, who usually moved to South America to be involved in lucrative plantations, businesses, international relations, etc. They are also likely to have studied abroad in the United States or England, and married into families there. If you know the unconnected branch you are focusing on is not a family of means, the other two methods will be more likely to be successful - though you can always keep an eye out on those non-latin/hispanic surnames!