Matthew Hovious · Spanish Genealogy

31/03/2026

research took me to several scenic towns during March, but none lovelier than this one. And a good day at the archive always starts with good coffee and something tasty, so I make it a point to stop at Faragullas Mondoñedo once every trip - if you have the good fortune to visit Mondoñedo, do try the Red Velvet brownie! The view toward the archive's not bad, either.

25/03/2026

I may never again see an OCR indexing error this amusing.

You'll know when you spot it.

24/03/2026

It's NOT what you think! Find something blush-inducing under 'occupation' on your Spanish great-granny's census entry? The newest video on my Spanish Genealogy YouTube channel explains what it really means.

If you’ve found a female ancestor in a Spanish census with the text under “ocupación” as su s**o, el s**o, or la del s**o — don’t panic.In this video, I expl...

02/03/2026

research in February saw me travel to archives in, among others, Ávila, Guadalajara, Valladolid, Santander and Barcelona; of course, there were also tasks at archives in Madrid, too. Perhaps the month's most unexpected discovery were the names of a couple recorded in the files of the Spanish Inquisition as El Chorizo and La Ojones! Can March top that, I wonder?

22/02/2026

New video on my YouTube channel.
Is this good news? For sure!
Great news? Well — watch the video.
My hot take on the new FamilySearch/Spanish government deal:

This video discusses a new agreement between FamilySearch and Spain's Ministry of Culture to digitize historical documents. While initially presented as a si...

17/02/2026

Nobody expects the Spanish Inquisition!..unless you're a genealogist preparing to spend tomorrow searching through C18th records of 'Judaizers' prosecuted by the Inquisition of Seville. Then you definitely do.

(With apologies to Monty Python!)

10/02/2026

Expect the unexpected - essentially sums up the first month of 2026 for my projects. The rail disaster at Adamuz, though most tragic for victims and their families, sent shockwaves through Spain’s entire rail system, delaying research trips; winter storms exacerbated the disruption. Of all the photos I took in January, this one best captures the mood: an archive so short on space that the disused card catalogue drawers have been given a… creative new home. (I didn’t have the heart to check whether the cards were still inside.)

18/12/2025

It's been a great year for research - and an intense few weeks, as I travelled coast to coast around Spain, completing projects for delivery before 2025 draws to a close. As the focus moves from wrapping up projects to wrapping presents, I'd like to again thank everyone who has entrusted me with commissions this year. Let's keep up the momentum in 2026!

01/12/2025

Faces decorating upper-case letters, spotted as headings in an index to 1756 notarial records I worked with last week. Mind, the scribe didn't adorn the entire alphabet; I's without a face.

24/11/2025

I never thought it'd be necessary to consider the ethics of AI-generated 'ancestors', when I began working as a professional genealogist twenty-odd years ago; and yet here we are...

AI tools are moving fast — faster than most of us realize — and genealogy is being pulled along for the ride. In this video, I explore the potential impact o...