Much of what my Grandma Shellabarger told me about her family turned out to be myth or exaggeration. She got one thing right. One of her ancestors owned boarding houses in San Francisco. That ancestor was my Great Great Great Grandfather, Martin Kelly. Martin was born sometime around 1820 in County Roscommon, Ireland. I’m not…
Category: California Genealogy
Saturday Night Genealogy Fun: Your Most Unique Ancestral Name
This week Randy asks us to name our ancestor with the most unique name for Saturday Night Genealogy Fun. I couldn’t come up with anything in my ancestry for a first and last name combination, so I’m going with the most unusual first name. I found my maternal Great Great grandfather in several records but…
Working with the California Divorce Index
Ancestry.com has the California Divorce index, 1966-1984. I’m searching through it to fill in some holes in my descendants list and to answer a few questions about people who seemed to have too many kids and not enough spouses and vice versa 😉 I’m working with surname searches for now so as to find groups…
Wedding Belles: Beyond the Ceremony
I have seen some beautiful wedding photographs from the turn of the century. This photograph of Wilma Larcher and Alfred Souza married in Oakland, California, in 1939 is a prime example. But, I’ve often wondered what the special day was like without the photographers and the poses. A couple of years ago, a cousin sent…
Voter Registrations: The Unmarried Meincke Sons
Mary A. (Kelly) and Frederick Meincke had four sons. Two married and two did not. The unmarried sons were Frederick Jr., born in 1878 in San Francisco, and Ralph, born in 1891 in San Francisco. Both lived with their mother and sister Gertrude well into their adult lives. Frederick Joseph Meincke Jr. Notes: Frederick first…