Budget Genealogy offers professional genealogical services at an affordable cost
01/06/2026
🎉✨ ¡Feliz Día de los Reyes! 👑🐪🌟
Growing up, Día de los Reyes was never just a date on the calendar—it was a story passed down, a tradition lovingly kept alive. I have relatives who observe this day with care and devotion, reminding me that traditions live on because families choose to carry them forward. 🇵🇷🤍
On January 6th, we remember the journey of the Three Wise Men (Los Tres Reyes Magos)—following the star, guided by faith, and bringing gifts to the Christ child. That same spirit of faith, generosity, and wonder still fills many homes today.
On the night of January 5th, children prepare with excitement, placing grass in shoeboxes for the Kings’ camels, believing in the magic of the morning to come. Music fills the air as families gather, singing aguinaldos, sharing laughter, and welcoming one another with open hearts. 🎶✨
The celebration continues around the table, where dishes like lechón asado, arroz con gandules, and sweet tembleque bring everyone together—stories are shared, memories are made, and generations connect. 🍽️🤍
For many, the day is also marked by prayer and reflection, attending Mass to honor the deep spiritual meaning behind the celebration. 💒🕊️
From my family to yours, from the heart of Puerto Rico to wherever you may be, may Día de los Reyes be a reminder of faith, heritage, and the beauty of traditions lovingly passed down. 🎉💫
📸 I’d love to see how your family celebrates—share your traditions below. ⬇️
🎊👑🐫💃🌴
01/06/2026
On this day, 3 years ago...
12/31/2025
✨ 2025: Stories, Discovery, and Growth ✨
This year, Budget Genealogy, LLC became an LLC, earned BBB accreditation, updated our website, and expanded our outreach—helping us uncover remarkable family stories across the U.S., Canada, Europe, and beyond.
We traced lives from the Wisconsin Beske brothers and an Illinoan waitress, to Mississippi sharecroppers descended from enslaved families, an Irish sergeant defending Canada, and an Armenian conscript captured by Italians who daringly escaped.
Every story reminded us that genealogy is about identity, resilience, and restoring lost voices.
Thank you to all the families who trusted me with their stories—2025 was unforgettable. 🧬✨
12/30/2025
🔍 When DNA and family stories don’t match… mysteries happen.
In this fascinating case study, we used genetic genealogy and historical records to uncover a previously unknown paternal line. By analyzing DNA matches and tracing historical context, we identified a highly probable candidate for a client’s biological grandfather and reconstructed a multi-generational family tree.
A genetic genealogy case study demonstrates how DNA and historical records were used to identify a biological paternal grandfather, solving a complex family history puzzle.
12/29/2025
12/29/2025
Some stories shouldn't wait another year.
As we approach the new year, this is your chance to honor the past & preserve your family’s legacy - while holiday pricing is still available.
Sale ends December 31.
🔗 Link in bio
12/29/2025
⏳ Final Days of Our Holiday Sale ⏳
With just a few days left, our holiday genealogy specials are coming to an end.
This is your chance to begin uncovering your family’s story—or preserve it for generations to come.
🌳 Research
📜 Preservation
📖 Legacy
👉 Explore our services and book before New Year’s Eve!
🔗 Link in bio
12/29/2025
December 28, 1904
Today, I honor the birthday of Inocencia Nieva.
She was born on Calle Santa Isabel in Mayagüez, Puerto Rico—a street at the heart of the city’s urban core, close to churches, markets, and the rhythms of daily community life.
Her birth did not happen in isolation; it took place within a neighborhood where families were known and lives unfolded in plain view, even when certain truths remained unrecorded.
Inocencia entered the world in a Puerto Rico still adjusting to new governance—no longer under Spain, now under the United States. Her life began amidst transition, both for the island and for her own family story.
At her birth, her father’s name was not recorded. Though absent from official papers, it is likely her family—and perhaps even Inocencia herself—knew the truth. It would only be formally acknowledged after her death: her father was a man from a powerful Spanish family, deeply tied to the early settlement, leadership, landownership, and economic life of Mayagüez.
Her childhood unfolded in a blended household. Her mother lived with a man who stood as her husband in every way but ceremony—a stepfather who helped raise her alongside a brother and sister, and later two little brothers who died very young. One belonged to her stepfather, the other likely from her birth father years after her stepfather’s passing.
Her early life was marked by love, loss, and the complexity of family ties.
Her life was brief. Inocencia died in January 1926, just months after giving birth to my grandmother. She did not live to see her daughters grow, yet her legacy endures—in every generation that followed.
Her story reminds me that history is not only shaped by those whose names filled records, but also by women whose lives carried unspoken truths, quiet strength, and lasting impact.
Today, I speak her name.
Inocencia Nieva
Born December 28, 1904
Gone too soon. 🤍
12/29/2025
A brief life, a lasting legacy.
Meet Inocencia Nieva, my great grandmother, born on this day, 121 years ago & just 25 years later, after Guadalupe's birth.
12/26/2025
🎄 Holiday Sale Reminder 🎄
Our holiday genealogy specials are available now through New Year’s Eve ✨
It’s not too late to give a meaningful gift—or start the new year by uncovering your family’s story.
🌳 Genealogy research
📜 Family history preservation
📖 Legacy projects
👉 Visit our services page to take advantage of holiday pricing!
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My grandmother Lydia passed away in 2005 in her Bronx apt. While my family and I were sorting through her belongings, I realized how much I didn’t know about her life and family. I remember sitting beside her going through old family albums. She shared stories in her native tongue, Spanish, as we looked at each picture. So sadly, because I am not fluent in the language I felt what she had shared with me was utterly lost.
Or was it?
Looking back I think of her imparting a special blessing to me, one that she knew I would one day delve into, welcome and walk in a path dedicated to preserving our family history. Her Bible ...was the starting point. Of all my grandmother’s belongings that I could choose to bring back with me, what drew me most was her worn, black leather-bound bible and another religious book. Hidden inside was a funeral card with a name I had never heard of, William Horacio Vargas. William I learned was her father, my great grandfather. The first clue.
Months later... after I had forgotten about the other religious book, on a particular day I felt drawn to it, pulled. When I opened it up, numbers were written across on the first page. “Why did she write these numbers down?” I thought to myself.
With both of my grandparents gone and no known family history, I was surprised to learn the mystery numbers were their social security IDs which then led to their applications. The applications gave their full names, birth-dates and birth places, both parents names and also where they were from and even more vital information. The second clue.
This was key to the beginning of my genealogy quest.
It all started with my own family, building our tree, one branch at a time. Every clue led to new discoveries and family lines. Connections with lost family. Oral stories considered myth or legend proven reality! A rich and colorful family history and a few ancestors remaining hidden waiting to be discovered. There’s an Indian princesses and the ancestors who met Columbus on the shore. Young Spanish maidens and a bishop knighted by the Queen of Spain. French settlers in New Orleans. The Jews who fled Spain in 1492. The President of Venezuela and his family who fled to Puerto Rico. The African slaves and highly suspect white slaves too. There are stories of pirates, story-tellers and writers, witch doctors, the wealthy and prominent settlers falling in love with the unaccepted undesirable poor, family dramas and political wars. And it doesn’t end.
During my years researching my own family history, I joined a local genealogy group. Soon after, I was asked to lead the group and it was then that I met my genealogy partner, Tom Kanagie. Together we co-founded Genealogy Detectives. Through Genealogy Detectives is where I started Budget Genealogy and had my first client. Since then I have completed over 25 genealogy cases and managed several of my clients’ DNA accounts; connecting them to their genetic family.
Fast forward 14 years later... I am ready to take this journey to the next level. Trusting God every step of the way moving forward. I invite you to partner with me as our ancestors resurface from the dusty old pages, stored in a web covered chest, forgotten in musty basements and attics... waiting silently to be found... for their stories to be told and their lines to flow once again in us, through us, down into the ages yet to come.
