From day one, I was told that my ancestor, Martin Kelly, owned a boardinghouse, maybe two. Family lore was that he and his wife made a living renting rooms to people coming up to the city of San Francisco. They owned a “mile” house which marked how many miles the traveler had to go to…
Category: Newspaper Research
52 Ancestors: The Short Life of Charles Hilleary
It’s difficult to explain how finding a relative’s story can impact you. Even moreso when the person you’re worked up about isn’t really related to you. You know, the son of the cousin’s neighbor’s brother kind of thing. So it was with one little news boy It started with a newspaper clipping I was working…
That’s Old News: Portuguese Immigrants Charged A Fee In Hawaii
I thought I had a pretty darn good idea of the process Portuguese immigrants went through during the sugar plantation era. They signed a contact to work on a plantation while still at home. The applied for a passport. They got on the ship and were listed on the ship manifest. They arrived in Honolulu…
The Alameda County Newspaper Record Collection at FamilySearch
FamilySearch.org has a database that many California genealogist might not know about, but will find very useful. It’s the California, Oakland, Alameda County, Newspaper Record Collection, 1985-2011. If you relatives lived in Alameda County, California this collection is going to be useful to you. What This Collection Is and Isn’t Let’s clarify what this database…
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…