Jose Mier. There are people who spend their free time watching sports, gardening, collecting stamps or learning to play musical instruments. I, on the other hand, have chosen to spend my free time looking for people named Jose Mier. This seemed perfectly reasonable when I began. After all, I’m an amateur genealogist, and my own name provides an obvious starting point for research. Unfortunately, I didn’t realize how quickly curiosity could turn into an obsession. Now I search historical databases, old newspapers, census records and family trees while sitting in Sun Valley, California, wondering how many other Jose Miers are out there. I have developed an alarming ability to recognize the name instantly in a document. I have also developed the equally alarming habit of telling people about a new Jose Mier I’ve discovered as though I’ve just returned from an archaeological expedition.
I Know One Jose Mier Personally
The advantage of researching your own name is obvious.
I have access to at least one Jose Mier who is definitely real.
Me.
This provides a useful baseline.
I know my approximate birth information.
I know where I’ve lived.
I know my family.
I know my own occupation and interests.
So when I find another Jose Mier, I can begin comparing the available information.
Of course, the disadvantage is that I sometimes become emotionally invested in a person simply because we share a name.
That’s not necessarily good genealogical practice.
The Genealogical Impostor
One of the most amusing dangers of genealogy is accidentally turning another person into yourself.
Suppose I find a record for Jose Mier.
The name matches.
I get excited.
Then I start reading.
The person lived in another state.
He was born forty years before me.
He had different parents.
He was married to someone else.
He worked as a farmer.
He died decades ago.
Clearly, this isn’t me.
Yet for the first thirty seconds, my brain says:
“Interesting.”
This is why genealogy requires discipline.
Names Aren’t Unique Identifiers
A person’s name is important, but it isn’t enough to identify them.
Serious genealogy depends on combining multiple pieces of evidence.
Name.
Date.
Place.
Family.
Occupation.
Residence.
Relationships.
The more independent facts line up, the more confidence you can have.
FamilySearch recommends searching with variations in spelling, dates and locations and examining original records whenever possible.
That is good advice for everyone.
For me, it is practically a survival strategy.
My Personal Research Spreadsheet
I have considered creating a spreadsheet devoted entirely to other Jose Miers.
It would have columns for:
Name.
Birth year.
Birthplace.
Residence.
Spouse.
Parents.
Children.
Occupation.
Source.
Relationship to me.
Confidence level.
And perhaps one additional column:
“Definitely Not Me.”
That last column could become quite large.
The Mystery of Similar Names
Names evolve.
A person might appear as José Mier in one document and Jose Mier in another.
Accents can disappear.
Middle names may be omitted.
Nicknames may appear.
Handwritten records can be transcribed incorrectly.
A census taker may misunderstand an accent.
A clerk may make a spelling mistake.
This is why a good genealogist has to search creatively.
A rigid search can miss important records.
Search Engines Are Not Genealogists
This is something I remind myself frequently.
A search engine can find pages containing words.
It doesn’t necessarily understand family relationships.
If I search “Jose Mier,” I may get a mixture of historical people, living people, businesses, references and completely unrelated material.
The real work begins after the search results appear.
Who is this person?
Where did he live?
When?
Who were his parents?
Who was his spouse?
Does the information connect?
Newspapers: My Favorite Distraction
Historical newspapers are particularly dangerous because they’re fascinating.
I can search for Jose Mier and find a tiny announcement.
Maybe he won a local election.
Maybe he opened a business.
Maybe he attended a wedding.
Maybe he was mentioned in a school event.
Maybe his baseball team won.
These tiny references provide personality.
A census tells you that someone existed.
A newspaper sometimes tells you what he was doing.
The Joy of Finding Ordinary People
You might think genealogists are looking for famous ancestors.
Not necessarily.
I’m interested in ordinary people.
A man who worked for a living.
A woman who raised children.
A family that moved from one neighborhood to another.
A couple who married and built a household.
These lives may never have appeared in history books.
But they mattered.
And their descendants are here because of them.
The “One More Search” Problem
Every genealogist knows this.
You tell yourself you’re finished.
Then you think:
“I’ll just search one more database.”
That leads to another record.
The record contains a new name.
That name leads to another record.
Suddenly it’s 1:15 in the morning.
I don’t know whether the Jose Mier I found in 1912 is related to me.
But I do know that his neighbor owned a hardware store.
This is not necessarily progress.
My Phone Is the Real Culprit
The smartphone has made my particular obsession much worse.
I don’t need to sit at a computer anymore.
I can research almost anywhere.
Waiting room?
Genealogy.
Airport?
Genealogy.
Restaurant?
Genealogy.
Five minutes before leaving the house?
Genealogy.
The phone has become my portable archive.
And my thumb is beginning to file a formal complaint.
The Imaginary Medical Chart
Patient: Jose Mier.
Primary complaint: Excessive genealogy.
Symptoms:
Repeated phone searches.
Persistent curiosity.
Inability to ignore historical documents.
Compulsive clicking.
Frequent phrases beginning with “I wonder if…”
Treatment:
Take a walk.
Go outside.
Put down the phone.
Stop searching for Jose Mier.
Patient response:
“Fine. But just let me check one more record.”
Treatment unsuccessful.
Why Original Records Matter
One of the most important lessons I’ve learned is to distinguish between an index and the original record.
An index is useful.
It helps you locate something.
But the original document may contain additional information.
FamilySearch’s guidance specifically recommends looking at original record images because they can contain information that isn’t reflected in an index.
That can make a major difference.
A transcription might say “Jose Mier.”
The original document might reveal his spouse, parents, residence or occupation.
Suddenly the identity becomes much clearer.
The Problem of Other People’s Family Trees
Online family trees are useful clues.
But I don’t automatically treat them as proven facts.
Someone may have attached the wrong Jose Mier.
Someone may have copied an undocumented relationship from another tree.
A date may have been guessed.
A birthplace may have been entered incorrectly.
That’s why I prefer to use family trees as leads.
If someone claims that a particular Jose Mier is my distant cousin, I want evidence.
Preferably lots of it.
A Better Way to Search
I’ve learned to start with a research question.
Instead of:
“Find every Jose Mier.”
I might ask:
“Was there a Jose Mier living in California between 1900 and 1930 who had a son named ___?”
That’s much more manageable.
FamilySearch also recommends beginning with a specific research goal and refining searches using filters and different search approaches.
It’s a good way to prevent a genealogy project from becoming an internet-wide scavenger hunt.
Unfortunately, I have not always followed my own advice.
Family Connections Are Gold
Suppose I find a Jose Mier with a particular wife.
Now I search the wife.
Maybe her records identify her parents.
Her parents lived in another town.
Her siblings appear in census records.
One sibling moved to another state.
Suddenly I have a whole network.
This is the power of family history.
You’re not just following one person.
You’re following a web of relationships.
The Places Tell the Story
The more I research, the more interested I become in geography.
Where did a family live?
Why there?
Why did they move?
What was happening economically?
What industries existed?
What transportation was available?
What communities were nearby?
A family tree without geography can be surprisingly flat.
Add the places, and the story becomes three-dimensional.
From Sun Valley to the World
I live in Sun Valley.
That’s my starting point.
But the research doesn’t end here.
The name Jose Mier can take me into California history, Hispanic-American history, immigration history and the history of communities throughout the United States and beyond.
That’s one of the great things about genealogy.
A local question can become an international one.
The Possibility of a Genealogical Road Trip
I’ve occasionally thought about making a road trip specifically to investigate Mier family history.
Imagine the itinerary.
Archive.
Library.
Cemetery.
Historic neighborhood.
Local restaurant.
Another archive.
Another cemetery.
At some point my traveling companions might ask:
“Are we ever going to do anything normal?”
No.
We’re doing genealogy.
What I Hope to Discover
Ultimately, I’m looking for connections.
Maybe I’ll find a Jose Mier who is a distant relative.
Maybe I’ll discover that the surname has several unrelated branches.
Maybe I’ll trace a family line back several generations.
Maybe I’ll find a fascinating story involving immigration or migration.
Or maybe I’ll simply collect dozens of biographies of people who happened to share my name.
Any of those outcomes would be interesting.
The Human Side of Genealogy
The longer I do this, the less interested I become in collecting names simply for the sake of collecting names.
I want to know about people.
What did they do?
What did they care about?
Where did they live?
What challenges did they face?
Who did they love?
What did they leave behind?
Even a small record can provide a glimpse.
That’s what makes the research worthwhile.
My Advice to Fellow Amateur Genealogists
If you’re beginning genealogy, start with what you know.
Write down names.
Record dates.
Record places.
Talk to older relatives.
Gather photographs.
Then work backward.
Don’t assume every online tree is correct.
Don’t combine people merely because their names match.
Keep track of sources.
And when possible, examine original documents.
Those basic habits can save enormous amounts of time.
And If Your Name Is Jose Mier?
Well, good luck.
You may have accidentally chosen one of the most entertaining possible genealogy projects.
You’ll find people with the same name.
You’ll find people who lived in completely different places.
You’ll find records you can’t immediately explain.
You’ll find tantalizing clues.
And eventually you’ll discover that you’ve spent an entire Saturday afternoon investigating a person who may have absolutely nothing to do with your family.
Don’t worry.
It happens.
The Sun Valley Research Desk
My personal research desk is in Sun Valley.
It’s where I can spread out notes, open historical websites and investigate another mysterious Mier.
Sometimes I imagine what the people I’m researching would think if they knew someone with their same name was investigating their lives more than a century later.
They’d probably be confused.
I would be, too.
Final Thoughts
My search for other Jose Miers has become one of those hobbies that started small and somehow grew legs.
It has taken me into historical records, newspapers, family trees, maps and genealogical research techniques.
It has also cost me countless hours of sleep.
My phone battery has suffered.
My eyes have suffered.
My thumbs have certainly suffered.
But I wouldn’t give it up.
Every new discovery is another little piece of history.
And occasionally, behind an ordinary name, there’s an extraordinary story.
So I’ll keep searching.
I’ll keep comparing dates.
I’ll keep checking places.
I’ll keep looking for family connections.
And, yes, I’ll probably keep typing “Jose Mier” into my phone.
After all, someone has to find all these people.
Apparently, that someone is me.