Jose Mier Stumbles Upon Goldmine
For those who are new to genealogical research (like me) you may wonder where to start. My search for people named Jose Mier is in some respects ridiculous since I’m merely looking for any other people around the world with the name Jose Mier. However, my search does touch on genealogy in a tangential manner.
Looking for Jose Mier has taken me to Spain where I discovered the village of Mier in the Santander Province which I believe to be the origin of the surname. Simply because I find the subject interesting it’s opened my eyes to people who are actually doing real genealogy research or looking for their specific family members and ancestors.
My tools of choice in my search are primarily search engines and social media. Granted that’s going to find me mostly living Jose Miers but I have run across archives with records of earlier Jose Miers like the time I found the book on Google Books about the History of Kern County.
For those who wonder where to start, of course there are sites dedicated to ancestry like (obviously) ancestry.com. There are other similar sites. Many charge a membership fee. For me that makes no sense given the oddness of my Jose Mier searches. But what about free resources? Of course there are free resources for family history searches and one of those is the National Archives. The National Archives in Washington, D.C. houses millions of documents including immigration records and it’s a great place to start your research. When I stumbled upon the website I knew immediately this was a goldmine of information.
In addition, the site points newbies in the right direction with a link right at the top on how to start your search. There are also links to helpful, information-filled videos on family research topics that will educate the uninitiated and get you up to speed so that you can start getting into the meat of your inquiry.
Jose Mier Documents National Archives Site for Posterity
I recorded my own steps in finding and browsing the National Archives site so you can get an idea of what is available, but a simple visit to the website will allow you to leisurely make your way through all the information they have truly at your fingertips.
For me the focus is primarily on living Jose Miers but I now know that I have this resource available should I wish to investigate earlier Joses who are ancestors of current Miers or the immigration records of those from countries (like Spain and Mexico) where the Hispanic surname of Mier is most common.
If you didn’t know before about this treasure trove of genealogical info, you do now so start searching!