Spanish-American people at the fiesta. Russell Lee, Taos, New Mexico. July 1940. Farm Security Administration Collection. Prints and Photographs Division. LC-USF 33-12863-M4. full caption | bibliographic record

When Latinas want to search for ancestors both in the United States and abroad, they should first turn to the finding aid Hispanic Migration and Genealogy: Selected Titles at the Library of Congress, by Lee V. Douglas, a compilation of more than three hundred works that facilitate the construction of a family tree.

Another very important source is the Diccionario Heráldico y Genealógico de Apellidos Españoles y Americanos by Alberto and Arturo García Carraffa (Madrid: Impr. de A. Marzo, 1919-<1963>; CR2142.G3). The eighty-eight volumes of this work list more than fifteen thousand names and genealogical histories for Spanish and Spanish American families. A cumulative index of these names may be searched online from the Hispanic Reading Room's Web site.

Additional works on Latina genealogy include Fernando R. de Castro y de Cárdenas, Genealogía, Heráldica e Historia de Nuestras Familias (Miami, Florida: Ediciones Universal, 1989; CS222.C37 1989), an excellent source for Cubanas wanting to trace their families back to the island. If scholars visit the Local History and Genealogy Reading Room, they will be able to access the genealogical database Ancestry Plus free of charge. Within the Library, researchers can log onto the Biography and Genealogy Master Index under “Electronic Research Tools.”

Latinas have continuously contributed to the making of what became the United States. Nevertheless, important figures have yet to be identified as Latinas, and still others remain anonymous even today. As this listing of selected collections demonstrates, the Library of Congress offers many opportunities for researchers to uncover the lives of Latinas and give voice to their deeds and dreams.