A biography is a history of a person's life. In a biography you may find information about a person's birth, marriage, and death, as well as the names of parents, children, or other family members. Biographies often include photographs, family traditions and stories, and clues about an ancestor's place of origin, residences, military service, and community activities. The information must be used carefully, however, because there may be inaccuracies.

Family Information

An individual's family can be an important source of biographical information. Contact family members for unpublished life histories they may know of. Write down genealogical information, life stories, and memories collected from those family members.

Compiled Biographies

Hundreds of brief biographical sketches have been collected and published in compiled biographies, sometimes called biographical dictionaries. These collections most often include biographies of early settlers and well-known citizens of a particular country, state, or community. Others feature biographies of ecclesiastical leaders, military men, politicians, writers, or other prominent individuals.

An example of a compiled biography for a country is:

Yaben, Jacinto R. Biografías Argentinas y Sudamericanas (Argentine and South American Biographies). Buenos Aires: Editorial Metrópolis, 1938–1940. (FHL book 982 D3ya; film 1,162,493, items 1–3.) Examples of compiled biographies for all of Latin America are:

Azpurúa, Ramón. Biografías de Hombres Notables de Hispanoamérica (Biographies of Notable Men of Hispanic America). Caracas: Ediciones Mario González, c1986. (FHL book 980 D3a.)

This is a facsimile edition of a work originally published in 1877.

Archivo Biográfico de España, Portugal e Iberoamérica (Biographical Archive of Spain, Portugal, and Latin America). New York: K.G. Saur, c1990. (FHL fiche 6002170–172.)

This collection of biographies is compiled from 306 biographical works, including 700 volumes published between the seventeenth and twentieth centuries. The collection includes 1,144 microfiche.

Indexes

An index to the Archivo Biográfico de España, Portugal e Iberoamérica is found in:

Indice Biográfico de España, Portugal e Iberoamérica (Biographical Index of Spain, Portugal, and Latin America). New York: K.G. Saur, c1990. (FHL book 920 In2.)

Another index to published biographies of Latin Americans is:

Lo, Sara de Mundo. Index to Spanish American Collective Biography. Boston: G.K. Hall, c1981. (FHL book 980 D33L.)

National and Local Sources

Most Latin American public libraries have collections of biographies. They also have national and regional compilations of biographical material, such as Quién Es Quien? (Who's Who?). Collections of biographies about residents of a town or municipality are especially helpful for family history research. Most local histories also include separate sections containing biographical sketches of local residents. See the “History” section of this outline for further information about local histories.

Records at the Family History Library

Compiled biographies at the Family History Library are listed in the Locality section of the catalog under:

[COUNTRY] - BIOGRAPHY[COUNTRY], [STATE] - BIOGRAPHY[COUNTRY], [STATE], [COMMUNITY] - BIOGRAPHYLATIN AMERICA - BIOGRAPHY