I am back with another Mystery Photo of the Week. Can you help us identify these children? How about pinning down the time frame? This one comes from the collection of my cousin, Bobbie. Three children beautifully attired and very serious and we have no idea who they are. Bobbie is related to both sides…
Author: Melody Lassalle
Your Ancestors Can’t be in Two Places at the Same Time
Geography is important in genealogy. Knowing where your ancestors lived at any given times provides context to your family tree. But, people cannot be in two places at the same time. How is this possible? Online family trees, of course. Through the power of creating one’s own narrative, my relatives manage to be in California…
Antoine Lassalle Belongs in My Family Tree
A few years ago, a cousin sent me a photo that showed her Lounibos relative in front of his liquor business with a man named Antoine Lassalle. It was taken around 1900 in San Francisco, California. He was thought to be a cousin, but the connection was not clear. I had no Antoines in my…
Why Portuguese Surname Research Doesn’t Always Work
The desire to link people of the same surname from the same region is strong. After all, how many families with the same surname in a small Portuguese village? The problem is that Portuguese surnames are fluid, they evolve, they come out of thin air (or so it seems). Five children might use five different…
Relationship Notes on Photographs Can Be Deceiving
A cousin shared some of her unknown photographs with me. One was taken around 1915-1920 and was labeled “My nephew Freddy with his first pair of short pants”. We almost missed identifying little Freddy because the real relationship with the person who owned the photograph was different than the note implied. In order to solve…




