Calling on the Archdiocese

I knew that the city of San Francisco did not have a copy of the marriage record because they were destroyed in 1906. I also knew that the state of California did not begin recording vital records until after 1905. I didn't know where to go from there.

I was fairly sure that Margaret and Thomas were Catholic. I wrote a letter to the Archdiocese of San Francisco to see what they might have on hand. My hopes weren't very high. If the city records were destroyed in the earthquake and fire, chances are church records were also destroyed.

When I saw the envelope in the mail box, I wasn't thrilled. It wasn't very thick and I could see a handwritten letter in side. One sheet of paper wasn't a very good sign.

Boy, was I surprised!!! Although the letter was short, it contained some very important details. They did not find a marriage record for my gr gr grandparents. What they found was an obituary for Margaret in the Catholic newspaper "The Monitor". It confirmed that the person buried at Holy Cross Cemetery was the wife of Thomas Jones. It also had a surprise for me. I was always told that Margaret was born in Ireland or San Francisco. Neither was right. She was born in Manchester, N.H.!

I now had some more details to work with. I still needed to find out who Margaret's parents were and I wasn't sure how to get that information.