The Research Journal
I've Been Searching...City Directories
[Research Journal #5, Entry #9]
Since the 1880 census was a bust, I went back to the Oakland Public Library had buried my head in city directories. I wanted to see if I could find Margart (Kelly) and Thomas Jones and Martin Kelly. My hopes were that they’d be living near each other.
I soon realized there were at least two Martin Kelly’s floating around San Francisco. I made note of them all just in case. I started with 1900 and worked my way back. I found no connection between Jones and Kelly families. I knew my family owned boardinghouses so I made note of either surname owning boarding houses.
It wasn’t until 1872 that I found what I was looking for. I found Thomas A. Jones at 112 Jessie St.--a blacksmith. I didn’t find Martin Kelly in 1872, but I found one in 1874 at 111 Jessie St. He ran a boardinghouse. Coincidental? I went back to 1869. There was my connection. In that year, Martin Kelly, boardinghouse owner lived at 112 Jessie St. That’s the place Thomas and Margaret Jones lived at just two years later.
It turns out that the Kelly’s lived at 112 Jessie St. from 1861 to 1869. Thomas Jones was living on Jessie St. as early as 1868 (269 Jessie) I don’t really know how long Jessie St. is or how close those addresses were.
Unless some unknown relative tells me the story of Thomas and Margaret, I’ll never really know. The fact that they lived on the same street prior to marriage tells me that they must have been in contact. It’s possible that as a blacksmith, Thomas might have had contact with the Kelly’s. Martin also was a horse trader. He might have had need of a blacksmith’s services. Young Thomas might have been the delivery person and at the Kelly boardinghouse he met a young lass name Margaret. They fell in love… or maybe he rented a room from the Kelly’s at some point. Who knows? I do know the paths crossed. And, the Kelly’s and Jones’ families were forever linked.
Since the 1880 census was a bust, I went back to the Oakland Public Library had buried my head in city directories. I wanted to see if I could find Margart (Kelly) and Thomas Jones and Martin Kelly. My hopes were that they’d be living near each other.
I soon realized there were at least two Martin Kelly’s floating around San Francisco. I made note of them all just in case. I started with 1900 and worked my way back. I found no connection between Jones and Kelly families. I knew my family owned boardinghouses so I made note of either surname owning boarding houses.
It wasn’t until 1872 that I found what I was looking for. I found Thomas A. Jones at 112 Jessie St.--a blacksmith. I didn’t find Martin Kelly in 1872, but I found one in 1874 at 111 Jessie St. He ran a boardinghouse. Coincidental? I went back to 1869. There was my connection. In that year, Martin Kelly, boardinghouse owner lived at 112 Jessie St. That’s the place Thomas and Margaret Jones lived at just two years later.
It turns out that the Kelly’s lived at 112 Jessie St. from 1861 to 1869. Thomas Jones was living on Jessie St. as early as 1868 (269 Jessie) I don’t really know how long Jessie St. is or how close those addresses were.
Unless some unknown relative tells me the story of Thomas and Margaret, I’ll never really know. The fact that they lived on the same street prior to marriage tells me that they must have been in contact. It’s possible that as a blacksmith, Thomas might have had contact with the Kelly’s. Martin also was a horse trader. He might have had need of a blacksmith’s services. Young Thomas might have been the delivery person and at the Kelly boardinghouse he met a young lass name Margaret. They fell in love… or maybe he rented a room from the Kelly’s at some point. Who knows? I do know the paths crossed. And, the Kelly’s and Jones’ families were forever linked.
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