Project Updates
This page documents ongoing research updates, clarifications, and methodological shifts as work progresses.
Updates are shared to maintain transparency, track changes in scope or framing, and provide context for how evidence continues to refine the project over time.
January 2026
Shift Toward Network-Based Analysis
Research continues to prioritize endogamous Sephardic family networks over individual ancestor-based claims. Emphasis is placed on density, repetition, and overlap across multiple connected branches rather than isolated lineage points.
Clarification on Geographic Scope
Several regions are now framed explicitly as geographic containers rather than identity claims. Former territories historically administered under Zacatecas are included when archival, economic, and familial overlap with documented mining networks is present.
Jalisco Exclusion Note Added
Jalisco is addressed separately due to the historically high presence of the Inquisition in the region. Records suggest earlier integration of Sephardic-linked families into Spanish Catholic and Indigenous populations, rather than the sustained endogamous networks observed in Zacatecas and Durango.
Expansion of Naming Analysis
A new reference page, Common First Names, has been added to document recurring naming patterns across connected family branches. This page complements the Confirmed Surnames index by highlighting continuity beyond surnames alone.
New Page: Endogamous Networks
A new reference page, Endogamous Networks, has been added to document historically interconnected family networks identified through marriage patterns, archival records, and geographic continuity.
This page establishes Zacatecas as the primary historical anchor, focusing on mining communities where endogamous family networks are documented across multiple generations. Adjacent regions, including northern Durango, Aguascalientes, and select areas of Michoacán, are included only where documented family presence and network overlap demonstrate continuity with Zacatecas-based communities. Several locations are explicitly noted as former territories of Zacatecas, reflecting historical administrative reality rather than modern state boundaries.
The purpose of this page is to shift analysis away from isolated families or modern regional labels and toward network-based continuity, providing a structural framework for understanding how families, resources, and identities persisted over time.
February 2026
Expansion of Archival References
Work is currently underway to identify and record the locations of genealogical materials within Inquisition-era archives held in Mexico. These references are being documented to enable public access, citation, and future research, and to support transparency around source locations used across the site.
Judaizante Records (518/518 recorded)
Judaizantes Records (56/56 recorded)
Judio Records (146/146 recorded)
Judios Records (52/52 recorded)
Relajado Records (43/43 recorded)
Moises Records (94/94 recorded)
Total indexed Inquisition records: 904
Added A Private Contact Form.
Visitors can now reach CryptoRootsMX directly with corrections, records, or family connections—no account required, and messages are kept private.
Updated Common First Names & Confirmed Surnames
Both lists now include common first and last names found in Mexican Inquisition records.
Confirmed Surnames count is now: 203.
Common First Names count is now: 77.
Expanded Endogamous Founder Network — Zacatecas Region
Additional members of the early Zacatecas colonial elite have been incorporated into the database, emphasizing the dense intermarriage patterns that linked founding families across Pánuco, Zacatecas, Juchipila, and surrounding territories.
Total individuals identified within this endogamous network is now: 13.
Confirmed Sephardic ancestry entries: 10.
Unconfirmed or under review entries: 2.
Entries with direct Inquisition documentation: 1.
Created Surname Page.
Added 158 surname pages, each including historical records and context to help families explore possible connections in their own family trees. These surnames appear repeatedly across colonial records due to centuries of intermarriage, so a single surname can link many different lines.
March & April 2026
Launched YouTube Content
Created CryptoRootsMX YouTube pages and published new videos outlining a brief history of Sephardic Jewish families in the western Zacatecas region. These videos serve as an introduction to the broader research network and historical context being developed across the platform.
Map Feature Development
The interactive map feature is currently in active development and testing. This tool is being designed to visually connect towns, families, and archival records across regions such as Zacatecas, Durango, and surrounding mining corridors.
First Transcription Published
Completed the transcription of the first Inquisition record, The Confession of Francisco de León, Judaizante-284, originally recorded in Mexico City in 1647. This document is now available in paperback format and represents the first completed archival transcription published through CryptoRootsMX.
This page will be updated as research continues and additional archival findings are documented.
