Some immigration paths are linear. Many of my Azoreans relatives left for Hawaii or Massachusetts between 1880 and 1900. Once they migrated, they made their new country their home. End of story. But one of my Azorean relatives took a more indirect route to the United States. And, if the records are to be trusted,…
52 Ancestors: Surviving as a Single Parent
Here’s a document you don’t normally see unless you go through someone’s personal files. Anna E. (Jackson) Shellabarger is my grandmother. This is her performance evaluation when she worked as a Accounts Maintenance Clerk for the US Naval Air Station in Alameda, CA in 1967-68. This job evaluation says a lot about her determination. She…
52 Ancestors: Martin Kelly, Political Influencer
The Martin Kelly saga continues. We’ve gone from simple boardinghouse owner to prosperous land owner. And now, political operative? It appears so. It all started with the mention of a divorce First, I had no idea my Martin Kelly remarried after his first wife died 1872. After learning that he lived in Colma not San…
52 Ancestors: The Depression and the Lettuce Workers Strikes
My grandma sent me a few letters in the 1990s detailing different times in her life. The snippets I am sharing here happened during the few years they lived in Salinas, California during the Depression. Better jobs in Salinas My grandparents, Joao Pacheco Smith and Anna Jackson, married in 1929 days before the stock market…
52 Ancestors: Grandma Having Fun At Work
I found this picture after my grandma, Anna (Jackson) Shellabarger, passed away, so I never got to ask her about it. All I know is she is at work in San Diego, California at the Naval Air Station where worked as a supply clerk. And, she’s having a good time. Why the silly hat? I…