My Dead End Is Alive!

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Okay, so the title sounds like I revived Frankenstein's Monster! Resuscitating a dead research line is just as challenging. But, it's so rewarding when you do.

Awhile back I wrote an article for the Genealogy Forum Newsletter recounting the tales of my great great grandmother, Margaret (Kelly) Jones. At the end of the article, I stated that because of the loss of records due to the 1906 San Francisco earthquake, I would probably never be able to take my Kelly-Dolan line back any further. Well, I am happy to say that I wrong!

At the time I wrote the article, it seemed the odds were against me. The 1906 earthquake destroyed St. Patrick's Church, in addition to most of San Francisco's written record. And, my great great grandmother had the audacity to die between the 1880 census and 1900! All I had was the family story that she died giving birth. Although there are many alternative sources such as city directories to trace males, females are often invisible prior to the turn of the century. I felt like I had reached the end of the research road.

I couldn't have been more wrong than the day I wrote that article! After taking a year off from my befuddling Irish ancestry, I took another stab at it. I started by assessing what I knew and what I needed to know. Then I made a checklist of the alternative sources that might get me passed my roadblock. And, darn it! I was going to try every single item on that list if I had to.

First, I wrote the Archdiocese of San Francisco to see what church records might have survived. Perhaps they were in the habit of writing duplicates for their archives or had some other resource that I was unaware of. They had an extensive archive so maybe I would luck out.

When the letter came from the archdiocese, I was initially disappointed. The envelope was too thin to hold anything of importance. How thrilled I was when I opened the letter and read it's contents. The handwritten letter reported that all the church records for the area where my ancestors lived were destroyed. However, the person checked the Catholic newspaper, "The Monitor," and found my great great grandmother's obituary!

This was the break I needed. The obituary had minimal, but important details about Margaret. For one, she was born in 1849 in Manchester, NH, not Ireland. She died 13 Jul 1889 in San Francisco. I could consult San Francisco newspapers for her obituary now.

I found her obituary in the San Francisco Examiner. It confirmed that this was the right person. I added a few more details to my file such as where she was buried, her father's name, and that he was alive when she died.

These tidbits opened so many doors for me. I was able to find the cemetery records which confirmed the story of Margaret's death. Buried with her was the baby, Frances, who died 10 days after Margaret. In addition to this, the cemetery found out that the Kelly family had to move burial plots from Mt. Calvary Cemetery to Holy Cross. All were purchased by Patrick Dolan, Margaret's Uncle who I had no information on. Not only did I get this new lead, but found two other children of Margaret's who were unknown to the family.

The trail didn't stop there! Because of that one little obituary, I was able to trace the family from San Francisco to Massachusetts and finally to New Hampshire. I know that they were originally from County Roscommon, Ireland and can begin down that path. Instead of stopping at 1906 with vague family stories, I now have the family documented to 1840. Some dead ends have signs like "Do Not Enter" or "Trespassers Will Be Shot." On the genealogy trail, those same signs seem to pop up everywhere--although it may be tight lipped relatives holding them! It isn't easy finding alternated routes, but don't give up! When you finally uncover that little detail that changes everything, it's oh, so sweet!

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