Elyse's Genealogy Blog

Nearly a year ago, I made the decision that I was going to completely redo my genealogy because I was so frustrated with not having sources on 95% of my work. I was so angry and fed up with my poor work that I just decided to start all over. So that is exactly what [...]

I live in Lomita, California (which, doesn’t have very interesting history) so I decided to instead research the town over, where my boyfriend lives: San Pedro, California. For those of you who don’t know where San Pedro is, it is located right across from Long Beach and borders the Los Angeles Harbor.  (For you locals, [...]

Every one has that immigrant ancestor who came to America looking for a new life full of freedom and opportunity. It’s thrilling to find this ancestor, because they give you a new appreciation for the struggle that they endured just to come to this country. But figuring out the U.S. Naturalization laws for the time [...]

So a couple of weeks ago, I was talking to my Auntie Shirley about genealogy.  We began talking about her dad’s line of genealogy, which I always thought was a German line.  However, Auntie Shirley gave me a new insight. According to Auntie Shirley, her father’s line is actually Irish.  During the potato famine, the [...]

I tried to resist jumping on the bandwagon – but I couldn’t. 99% of the time, I will probably not cite my sources. Why? Because it is a blog, and I don’t believe a blog is a source: It is a starting place, a place to pick up tips and helpful websites and a place [...]

As I said in my last post, my family has been going through a bit of a chaotic time.  My Auntie Shirley is very sick and has a hospice with her.  Everyone has been visiting her and giving her phone calls.  Despite the sad days that have been happening, she is in great spirits. As [...]

My Great Auntie Shirley has been very sick for a long time, and in the last week or so she was moved back to her home with hospice nurses.  They have been giving her medication and trying to keep her comfortable.  They’ve been wonderful. Today, my mom and I called her to pay our respects. [...]