Sometimes the answer to the problem is right in front of your face. I was pretty sure the Jean Lassalle on this WWI draft registration card was my grandfather. The birthday matches. I was reluctant to say this was my grandfather since the physical characteristics were off. My grandpa was not medium height (unless their…
Category: California Genealogy
Why Wasn’t Martin Kelly Living in His Boardinghouses in the 1870s?
Yesterday, I wrote a post for the 52 Ancestors in 52 Weeks concerning my 3rd great grandfather, Martin Kelly. As with all things genealogy, I started writing about an attempted murder and I ending up thinking about boardinghouses. Specifically, the boardinghouses Martin Kelly owned. In the San Francisco Chronicle article about the shooting, it stated…
52 Ancestors, Week 11: Martin Kelly was a Lucky Man
This week’s them for 52 Ancestors in 52 Weeks is the Luck of the Irish. This week I’m going to write about my 3rd great grandfather, Martin Kelly, and his brush with the law. Martin Kelly was a native of County Roscommon, Ireland, who came to America during the Potato Famine. I don’t know much…
52 Ancestors, Week 10: Killed in a Wind Storm
It is time for the next 52 Ancestors in 52 Weeks post. This week the theme is weather. I have written about this story before, but as I can think of no other weather related event that affected my ancestors at this time, I’ll repeat it. San Francisco and San Mateo are known for their…
You never know who will have your family’s photos
This week I was reminded of the importance of networking on the web. It’s not a term you usually see associated with genealogy. But, we have to reach out on forums, blogs, message boards, and whatever sources we have because you never know who might have the tidbit of information you need or a forgotten…