Before or After 1906?

I decided that my next step was to find out when Margaret (Kelly) Jones died. If she died before 1906, there were no indexes to refer to. Women were not listed in city directories before 1910 unless they were widowed or single. My options were limited.

It appeared that the Census was the best place to go. I knew that Thomas Jones was born in 1850. If his wife was born around the same time, I had to figure out the time range. I knew she was alive in 1880 when her daughter, Margaret, was born. She would have been about 30 then. By the 1900 census, she would have been 50.

I pulled up the 1900 census first. I found that Thomas Jones was a widow and living with his yet to be married daughter, Margaret. They both lived in San Francisco.

The 1890 was not available, so I went back to the 1880 census. I found Thomas and Margaret in San Francisco with their 3 children: Josephine, John, and Margaret.

I now knew that Margaret died between 1880 and 1900. Without the 1890 census, I was going to have to figure out how to get her death date.