After I wrote my blog post last night about Mary Collis, daughter of Bridget Dolan, something occurred to me. How do I know that Mary Collis ever came to America? Every thing I know about Mary Collis came from the refiled probate records for her Uncle, Patrick Dolan. I have part of that file in…
Category: Irish Roots
How can I solve the mystery of Mary Collis?
Last week, I finished off my Individual Summary project with Mary Collis. Looking over the little information that I had for her made me want to find out more. This story starts with Patrick Dolan, my 3rd great uncle. He died in 1905, but his probate records were lost in the 1906 earthquake. His niece,…
Bridget (Coyne) Wall’s Individual Summary
I would have never known about Bridget Coyne if she had not contested the reopening probate in 1907 of Patrick Dolan. Before I found that file I had no idea that the Dolan’s had cousins in Massachusetts. It was a whole new branch of the tree for me. Name: Bridget COYNE-8521 Sex: Female Father: Patrick…
This Just Might Be What My Kelly Line Needs
My Gr Gr Gr Grandparents, Martin and Catherine (Dolan) Kelly, had the nerve to die before 1906. Beyond obituaries in San Francisco newspapers, I haven’t been able to locate a will or death certificate because they don’t exist. But, this document might change things. I spent sometime going through the San Mateo County Index to…
Mystery Monday: Just Who Are the Coyne’s?
Patrick Dolan didn’t know it but he left me one of the biggest genealogy gifts a researcher could ever ask for. He died in San Francisco two years before the earthquake and fire. Patrick owned property and had some money saved up when he passed away. His niece, Mary (Kelly) Meincke, was designated as adminstratix. …