Archive for 'Uncategorized' Category
I Voted Just Like my Grandmother and Great Grandmother Before Me
17 October 2008Last night I filled out my absentee ballot. Today it went off on on civic journey to the land of the registrar of voters. On November 4th, someone will check my signature on the back, slit the envelope open, and I will be yet another voter taking part in a historical election.
I’m not the first [...]
The 1906 Earthquake Leaves a Mark on My Relatives
29 July 2008My relatives were native San Franciscans with a history that went back to the early 1850s. At 5:13am, 18 April 1906, an earthquake shattered the lives of everyone in the city and many others of the Bay Area region. My relatives were impacted by this horrific event in more ways than [...]
Did my great grandmother commit voter fraud?
16 July 2008I have been working fervishly in the voter registration indexes for California. What a surprise to find my Great Grandmother registered to vote in 1936. It’s a surprise because she wasn’t a US Citizen. She wasn’t even in the country legally.
My great grandfather contracted leprosy while they still lived in Hawaii. [...]
Tips for Researching Ancestry.com’s Voter Registration Index
15 July 2008Ancestry.com added the California Voter Registration indexes awhile back. They are excellent resource for anyone searching for ancestors between 1900-1950 or so. If you are researching Portuguese Hawaiians who left for California, these records may help you locate where they were residing.
The indexes can be tricky to search. Surname searches are too [...]
Sanborn Maps and Google Street View
12 July 2008I’ve been having a heck of a time identifying which houses on E. 25th Street my ancestors and cousins lived in. Since most of the family lived on the street sometime between 1905-1960, it’s a safe bet that each house held someone I knew. But who lived where?
I ran into trouble trying to [...]
Finding my Relatives’ Houses with Google Street View
29 June 2008I’m so excited! Google Street View has finally added the streets I need in Oakland, California. Yeah!
I couldn’t wait to try out some searches. A couple of months ago, I tried to find my Grandparent’s house. Google gave me an approximation. I knew instantly it was the wrong house.
I was thrilled [...]
Funny day at the microfilm reader
6 June 2008I have Azorean roots. So, along the way I had to learn a little Portuguese in order to read the Azorean records. I’m self taught and use vocabulary lists, research guides, and a trusty dictionary to get me through.
One day, I was up at the local FHC working on baptismal records in Maia, [...]
Changing Direction on this blog
5 June 2008I apologize for the lack of entries over the last 6 months. Family health problems have left me drained and I have had trouble getting the “must get dones” finished let alone the “want to get dones”
If there are any readers left, I’d like to let you know that this blog will be changing [...]
Happy New Year!
1 January 2008I would like to wish all my readers a Happy 2008! May it be a prosperous, enjoyable year filled will whatever you want it to be.
I have to apologize for the lack of posts on this blog. For some reason, I completely forgot about the research journal and left the Boisvert’s hanging by [...]
Marriage Index Find
18 June 2007On a whim, I started to search for Philias and Elzyre on the internet. Who knows? Maybe I’d luck out and find them in cemetery or church index.
I put in the search boisvert + duclos + lowell. BINGO!!! I came up with a marriage index page that looked promising. It [...]