The Beauty of Online Indexes

Although I knew when Margaret (Kelly) Jones died, I still knew very little about her. I needed to figure out what sources would replace the documents that were destroyed in 1906.

By chance, I learned that the Call Monitor, an early San Francisco newspaper, was in the process of being indexed. I couldn't find any mention of Margaret's death, so I decided to see if there was a marriage entry. I found a Thomas Jones and Margaret Kelly who married in 1869. It had to be them.

I wrote the person who created the index to see the original. I learned the date of marriage and that they were married in San Francisco. That was about it! At least I could confirm their existence in San Francisco as early as 1869!

Tip Toe through the Cemetery

I was beginning to find obituaries on the Jones family and learned that many of them were buried at Holy Cross Cemetery in Colma. I sent off a letter to see if I might get lucky.

The cemetery sent me a bunch of xeroxed cards. I sifted through them and found Thomas Jones by himself. And, then I found Margaret Jones! They were not buried together.

Margaret died 13 Jul 1889. The baby who died at the same time was named Francis (not Clara!). The part of the story was checking out, but I didn't have any other details about Margaret. The problem I had was verifying this was Thomas' Margaret and not another Margaret who married into the family.

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.

Getting Some Surnames

Research Journal #5, Entry 2

I knew that my Great Grandmother was Margaret Jackson. Her father was Thomas Jones and her mother Margaret according to my Grandma. I needed to firm up the names. My Grandmother got confused sometimes and I wanted to make sure that she didn't have her mother and her grandmother mixed up. I decided to get Margaret Jackson's death certificate.

Margaret died in 1965. Her death certificate shows that she was born in San Francisco in 1880. Her parents were listed Thomas Jones and Margaret Kelly. I also learned that Margaret (Jones) Jackson was buried at the big Catholic Cemetery in Colma, Holy Cross.

At least, I now knew my gr gr Grandmother's name was Margaret (Kelly) Jones.

A Woman Named Margaret

Research Journal #5, Entry #1

In research journal #4, we found out Helen (Pacheco) Correia's two sets of parents. In research journal, we explore my Grandmother's maternal line.

My Grandmother knew quite a bit about her Grandfather and next to nothing about her Grandmother. She was Irish and her name was Margaret. She married Thomas Jones and they lived in San Francisco. She died giving birth to my Grandma's Aunt Clara. And, that was it.

I didn't really know how to go about finding the details about Margaret. I did not know her maiden name, when and where she was born, nor when she died. Her parents and siblings were a big question mark. She lived in San Francisco which meant that unless she died after 1906, there would be no public records to delve into beyond the census.

This was going to be one tricky research project!