Hispanic Heritage Month

Hispanic Heritage Month runs from September 15^th – October 15^th.  Hispanic Heritage Month started out as a weeklong event in 1968, authorized by then-President Lyndon B. Johnson.  It wasn’t until 1988 that National Hispanic Heritage Week became a month.  The purpose of Hispanic Heritage Month is to celebrate the culture and heritage of those with roots from Spain, Mexico, and the Spanish-speaking countries in South and Central America and the Caribbean Islands.  Some may be wondering why it starts in the middle of the month rather than the beginning.  September 15^th was chosen as the starting date because is the anniversary of 5 Hispanic countries celebrating independence – Costa Rica, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras and Nicaragua.  Also, Mexico and Chile celebrate their independence during the same week – Mexico on September 16^th and Chile on the 18^th.

Although Hispanic Heritage Month is only 1 month long, you can research your Hispanic roots all year long at the Government and Heritage Library.

A few resources in Genealogical Services at the GHL

• Platt, Lyman D.  Census Records for Latin America and the Hispanic United States.  Baltimore : Genealogical Publishing Co., Inc, 1988.  This book is an index of censuses taken in Latin America and Florida.  According to the index, “In every colony of the Spanish Empire at least one major census was taken during the colonial period (1492-1825). . .” (p. 7).  The book consists of lists of census records available for each country as well as a reference where these records can be accessed.
• Platt, Lyman D.  Hispanic Surnames and Family History.  Baltimore : Genealogical Publishing Co., Inc, 1996.  This book is an in-depth analysis of surnames originating from Latin American countries.  The first section of the book is a demographic analysis of surnames.  The second part of the book is a list of Hispanic surnames, and the third part of the book is a bibliography of resource that can be referred to in order to learn more about the name.
• Ryskamp, George R.  Finding Your Hispanic Roots.  Baltimore : Genealogical Publishing Co., Inc, 1997.  This book is a great tool for Hispanic research.  The book covers different research techniques using different Hispanic documents as well as the different types of records available for Hispanic research.