Genealogy, History, Heritage, How To
I don’t know why Magdelaine Mazeres left France for America. She arrived in the late 1870s, a single woman, navigating the bustling city of San Francisco alone. She ended up in a bad situation. Would she survive the challenges ahead of her as a single parent alone in the city? Let’s find out. Here is…
Did you know that women were employed through the WPA during the Depression just like men? The 1940 US Federal Census is one place where we can find out if our relatives were working for the WPA. Look under the employment section. If you see WPA in the Industry column, it means the person was…
My grandma and grandpa had to uproot their family during the Depression in hopes of finding work. When they moved from Oakland to Salinas, my grandmother was like a fish out of water. She found friendship in her sister-in-law’s sister, Eva Nunes. The young mothers found common cause. There was a 40 year gap in…
I have several favorite photographs. But, a wedding photo from the early 1900s, has captivated my interest ever since the day it fell into my hands Not Your Usual Dour Turn of the Century Wedding Photo You ever notice that no one seems particularly happy in old wedding photos? It seems that the gravityy of…
I’ve written many times about how my great grandfather fled Hawaii when he was diagnosed with leprosy. They had a fresh start in Oakland, California, but what kind of a fresh start was it really? I found many details about the home they lived in when they first arrived. At the end of the article,…