TxSGS 2016 Speaker Spotlight: Mary Ozuna Torres

We are thrilled to introduce you to one of the dynamic speakers teaching at our 2016 Family History Conference in Dallas Texas on October 28-30! Online registration is now closed, but you can still register in-person at the event.


Mary Ozuna Torres

About the Speaker

I am a third generation Texan and have been doing genealogical research for over 16 years. I have traced my Hispanic ancestors from Texas back to the 1700’s in Mexico. I have been active in genealogy society management and currently serve as president of the Rio Grande Valley Hispanic Genealogical Society, vice president of the Tip O’ Texas Genealogical Society, (both located in Harlingen, Texas,) and District 1 Representative for the Texas State Genealogical Society. I also serve on the board of the Cameron County Historical Commission, the Harlingen Public Library and the Harlingen Arts and Heritage Museum.

I teach genealogy classes, providing assistance to both Hispanic and non-Hispanic researchers, and present programs on genealogy for local genealogy societies and civic organizations. This past February I was a speaker at Rootstech 2016 in Salt Lake City where I presented “A Case Study in Hispanic Genealogy.” I have attended 12 TSGS conferences; 14 Texas State Hispanic Genealogical and Historical Conferences and was one of the organizers of the 2012 conference held on South Padre Island in 2012; three Federation of Genealogical Society Conferences; two Rootstech conferences and the recent National Genealogical Society conference in Fort Lauderdale, FL. In 2014 I attended a workshop on using the resources at the Family History Library in Salt Lake City and have since made four research trips to the library. I have also conducted research at the Catholic Archives in Austin, Texas and other repositories.

Since 2007 I have written a weekly genealogy column, “Harlingen Happenings,” for the Valley Morning Star newspaper in Harlingen, Texas which has received several annual TSGS Writing Awards – Category V, Columnist Award.

About the Session

My Mexican American Ancestors: A Case History
The objective of this presentation is for participants to learn the basic techniques and resources needed to begin researching Hispanic ancestors in South Texas, Northeastern Mexico and beyond. It will cover the geography and history of the area, giving the context of time and place. The use of various resources will be illustrated such as genealogical websites, including FamilySearch.org and Ancestry.com; interviews with family members; census, church; civil and other record types.

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Miranda Whited
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