Ancestry.com recently added a new feature to the online family tree:
DNA matches for my Great Great Grandpa Jeremiah? Boy oh boy, did I go down a rabbit hole. But guess what? I found one of Great Grandma Katie’s first cousins that my Grandma Gerry wrote about in one of her letters. “Michael Sullivan” was born in Ireland, then came to the Bay Area in his adult life.
“Michael told me that he was never raised at home. There were so many kids that they were farmed out with relatives. He came to this country later than my grandparents. He was a fireman.”
He was a fireman who lived in Oakland.
1940 Census
2537 12th Avenue in 2009
The house has seen better days, but this picture is 16 years old, so maybe it’s got a fresh coat of paint on it now. I’ll do a drive-by in the daytime when I get a chance. According to my online directions, it’s just six minutes away. Six minutes away from my Great Grandma’s cousin’s old home. I think the DNA match feature is a success.
Thursday, February 6th, 2025:
Theresa Donahoe 