Hi... Ed Blanchard owned and operated a grocery or merchantile store in Oakland in the 1920's, 30's and 40's, I believe he also owned a hotel. Can anyone tell me how I would go about finding names and locations of these two businesses. Was there a directory of some kind that would have listed the name of the business as well as the owner? Any help you can give me will be greately appreciated. Thank you, Jean Day jday@foothill.net

Ah Jean....the wonderous sorting out of "Smiths"......I found the following in a book I have, the History of Washington Township, which mentions an F.M. Smith with ties to Oakland and since I track down even the most tenuous possibilities thought it might be of interest to you.....excerpt Irvington [part of Washington township]: "In earlier years the tule pond was a great resort for hunters. In the fall of 1883, F. M. Smith, of Oakland, established a Gun Club there; houses were built and tended by keepers, but the pond being small and not many flocks of ducks flying, it has been abandoned as a hunter's resort. The tules from this pond are gathered each year in bales, numbering several thousand, and are sold to the California and other nurseries, whre they are used for the packing of trees and plants for shipment." Newark [part of Washington township]: "The marshes about the bay afford good duck-hunting and many gun clulbs have preserves in this neighborhood. Mr. F. M. Smith, of borax fame, has rented the shooting privilege of the Brigg's ranch for fifteen years and has built a commodious shooting-box"... Time period is ambiguous, but appears between paragraphs citing 1876,1882 information and 1899 information....... Decoto: The Decoto Sanitary District was formed on 20 Sep 1937 and immediately constructed a fine modern disposal plant on the Alvarado-Niles highway..the first such plant in the township...members of the board of commissioners included George Smith...[president Bernie Joseph, secretary Fred D. Sanchez, other membersClarence Freites, and Manuel White. Gonzales Paniagua operator of the plant] J.G. Vivian started the Niles Herald on 2 April 1896, selling it almost immediately to Albert R. & Herbert J. Waters. In 1904 E. B. Thompson consolidated the Herald with his Washington Press, eliminating the Herald name. Chris Runckel bought the Washington Press in 1906 and soold it to Miles Smith in 1917. Mr. Smith tells us that the Press was subtitled under the Township Register, until he sold the Register to Fahey and Smith in late 1921, when the old 1887 Washington Press went out of existence. Mr. Smith still holds the rights to this old paper. If you think your family might have links to Henry C. Smith, founder of Alameda county, I have quite a few references for you. Hope some of this might help. Connie .... Falls Church VA In a message dated 3/25/99 11:06:16 AM Pacific Standard Time, LolaGF@aol.com writes: << Good Morning! I am researching the family of Marcellus L. SMITH, who resided in Oakland, CA, Alameda County. His wife Rosa MOTE. Their daughter Edith Mote SMITH a singing Cantrice started singing at the age of 17. She trained at with Von Meyerinck in S.F. She was also the granddaughter of W.W. SMITH of Oakland. >>

Good Morning! I am researching the family of Marcellus L. SMITH, who resided in Oakland, CA, Alameda County. His wife Rosa MOTE. Their daughter Edith Mote SMITH a singing Cantrice started singing at the age of 17. She trained at with Von Meyerinck in S.F. She was also the granddaughter of W.W. SMITH of Oakland. And the niece of Hon. & Mrs. J.R. ROBINSON. Edith was also a student of Snell Seminary. M.L. SMITH was living in Oakland in 1909. Rosa's father is Dr. Wm. MOTE, his wife's father is Wm. TURLEY. Edith was born in Placerville, CA, June 11, 1891. d April 8, 1968, Orange County, CA. I have quite a lot of information about Edith, but not her family. Edith is my Grandmother. Hoping to find family links through your help. Thank you, Jean Hehn Colorado

Hello. I am looking for information about this man and his family. James Merrill Laughton, son of John Sherman Laughton and Mary Emma Merrill. Born in Ripley, Somerset Co., Maine 19 Feb 1907. James, in 1936, lived near San Francisco and worked for Bethlehem Steel. Thank you, Stephanie Denver, CO

Hello. I am looking for information about this Ray Laughton and his family. Below is what was written on the death certificate. He was killed in a hunting accident in Lassen County and was buried in Berkeley so I assume his family was from Berkeley. Ray R. Laughton born 12 November 1891, California Father: Lee, Laughton, Mass. Mother, Alice Sims, Ill. wife Elmire Laughton Died 10 September 1920 Buried 12 September 1920 at Berkeley, CA Source, Deaths, Lassen County, Book 2, Page 284 I would appreciate any information about Alameda County Laughtons. Thank you. Stephanie Denver, CO

Jack, Thanks for the rail web pages. Found out some information on Sacramento Northern which ran by Claremont Jr. High that I did not know before. My uncle was a driver on the Piedmont Horse car line around 1890. Ralph Anderson Boulder, CO rkaboulder@bwn.net

At 06:11 PM 3/22/99 -0800, Larry Kuttner wrote: >I'm fairly certain there is at least one Key System This is just a few URL's I found using a search engine. Most memtion the Keysystem. KeySystem mentioned on this site. http://www.nbn.com/~bstaley/electric.html Its own site. http://www.ccnet.com/~allanf/KeySystem.HTML Other California Rail lines. http://cencalrails.railfan.net/ Train Museums. http://www.fta.dot.gov/transcity/trans/musms.html San Francisco Trains. (other) http://www.sfmuseum.org/hist1/index0.2.html#streetcars All or most of old SF railroads. http://www.ccnet.com/~allanf/BayRails.HTML Old Market Street Railway Info. SF. http://www.streetcar.org/MSRYESTERDAY.html Hope this helps some. Jack

I'm fairly certain there is at least one Key System book that is sold thru railroad book stores and should be available from public librarys. Let me know if you want details and I'll look it up. It will have pictures of operations, but I've never actually seen a copy. larry k. ============================================= At 10:14 PM 3/21/1999 -0700, Ralph Anderson wrote: >Edward, > >The Key System was sold in 1946 to National City Lines who shortly >thereafter replaced all the street cars with busses. The Key System trains >to San Francisco continued to run until 1958 when they were replaced by >buses. I am not familiar with the line to East Oakland as I mainly rode the >C line to Piedmont or the Claremont Ave. Line. There were 4 or five Key >System lines in the 30s and also lines run by Southern Pacific. Hey, the >50s aren't so long ago! > >Ralph Anderson >Boulder, CO >rkaboulder@bwn.net > >

Your emails about the transportation systme in San Francisco and Oakland reminds me that my great aunt Beda was married to a fellow that owned the/or a streetcar system in San Francisco/Oakland. She had threee husbands: I don't think it was her first John Henry Johnson, so that leaves either John Button or John Swanson. Anybody out there have anymore info than that? -- Dianne Rabchak Coordinator of the Peace Gen Web http://www.rootsweb.com/~abpeace/peacehome.html the East Peace Gen Web http://www.rootsweb.com/~abepeace/eastpeacehome.html and the Fairview Gen Web http://www.rootsweb.com/~abfairvi/fairviewhome.html Rabchak's Home Page http://www.telusplanet.net/public/drabchak/rabchakhome.html

A wonderful New York volunteer has found the bio of one of my 4th great grandfathers. Here are two of his granddaughters from another son that married and came to California from New York with their husbands. The bio was written in ** 1875. Daughters of Asa Hall Jr. - b.in Thompson, Conn Dec 26, 1796, and wife Paulina T., daughter of John Mack of Hanover. They were married Dec. 1820. Family lived in Westfield New York. -* Sophy C. HALL- wife of * A.C. CRANE, loan and real estate agent, San Francisco; -* Emma M. HALL- wife of * Stephen G. NYE, a lawyer and county judge of Almeda Co. California. Their other three children were; -Charlotte, wife of W>P>Culberson, a lumber merchant and manufacturer, Fulton, Ill.; -Robert M. who married Flora A. Driggs and is a farmer in Westfield; -Frank A. who married Susan B. Loomis, and who is the publisher of the Westfield Republican. If there are any decendents of these two ladies and their husbands doing geneology research, please write to me at GVRICHARDS@AOL.COM. Vicki Richardson

What time period are you talking about for Aunt Beda? Ralph Anderson Boulder, CO rkaboulder@bwn.net

In the early 1960's, the Key System was taken over, merged into, or transformed itself into A-C Transit, which is still operating in [A]lameda-[C]ontra Costa Counties, and still runs commuter buses to the old San Francisco Terminal. The only remaining old-style streetcars in the Bay Area belong to the San Francisco Muni and the San Jose systems. A. Sharp ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

In my research I have come across an Anna Simons of Hayward CA. APparently she died in January 1998 at 110 years of age !!! Does anyone remember this woman, I gather she became a bit of a local celebrity. Jessie Moniz, Bermuda

Edward, The Key System was sold in 1946 to National City Lines who shortly thereafter replaced all the street cars with busses. The Key System trains to San Francisco continued to run until 1958 when they were replaced by buses. I am not familiar with the line to East Oakland as I mainly rode the C line to Piedmont or the Claremont Ave. Line. There were 4 or five Key System lines in the 30s and also lines run by Southern Pacific. Hey, the 50s aren't so long ago! Ralph Anderson Boulder, CO rkaboulder@bwn.net

I was thinking of the Key System in Oakland recently--the interurban rail transit between Oakland and San Francisco in the '50s and was wondering [1] when it was discontinued and [2] where it terminated in Oakland. As a child, I rode the Key System cars to SF an back with my parents. My vaugue memory tells me it ended near High Street, not far from Foothill Blvd in Oakland, but it was so long ago, I cannot be sure. Also as an infant, my parents told me that there was a rail system that traveled down E. 14th St from Oakland to Hayward. E. 14th St. is wide enough, but the rail must have been discontinued when I was very small--back in the 40s or early 50s. Does anyone have any info on that. I grew up only a block away from E.14th St. in the 50s and don't remember any tracks there south of 106th Ave in Oakland [the city limits]. Any info could resolve a puzzle I've had for years. Thanks again. Sincerily, Edward, Sr. -- ============================================================ CAGenWeb County Coordinater -- Kern and Imperial Counties, CA Kern Co: http://www.compuology.com/cagenweb/kerncty.htm Imperial Co: http://www.compuology.com/cagenweb/impercty.htm ============================================================

Trying to find information on Doris PANOSIAN from Oakland. She graduated from Oakland High School in 1943. She had a son that was born sometime in the summer of 1945. I don't know if she had the baby in California. We heard that she had the baby either in Texarcana, Texas or Texarcana, Arkansas. Thanks, Julie Hendrix

To All Whom It May Concern: This message is to inform all genealogists, researchers, historians, teachers and students, about a very important web site that has a searchable database of over 1, 650 U.S. Regular Army soldiers who once served at the short-lived Buffalo Barracks between 1835 and 1846. Many of these soldiers went on to fight in the Mexican War and the Civil War. The 1840 Census of Buffalo, NY lists Colonel James M. Bankhead and a total 'quantity' of 671 individuals, ranging in age from 1 to 60, under his command and/or his responsibility. Unfortunately, the census does not list each of these barracks residents by name....only by quantity. HOWEVER, The Buffalo Barracks Historical Web Site has made available, free of charge, the names of all officers and soldiers (and some of their wifes and dependants...see Barracks Notes) who lived at this federal military post located on the Niagara Frontier. The URL for this outstanding web site is: [ www.buffalonet.org/army ] There, you will discover the "Descriptive & Historical Register Data for Enlisted Soldiers in the U.S. Army," as well as a wealth of information pertaining to the Buffalo Barracks and it's unique historic value. I encourage everyone to take the time to visit this site. Perhaps you have an ancestor who once served there? Enjoy your visit, Cliff Williams 104740.372@compuserve.com buffalobarracks@hotbot.com

Looking for any information on Doris PANOSIAN. She lived in the Oakland area. She graduated at Oakland High School in 1943. If anyone knows of this name, please let me know........ Thanks, Julie Hendrix searching: SLEIGHT, STEELE, ECK, PAULSON, ANKLAM, MACLACHLAN, SPIES, LAWYER, SHAW, SCHAFFER, EMERICH(K), MOE, SHORTELL, PANOSIAN, ASTOR

At 12:05 AM 3/14/99 EST, Dfammjd@aol.com wrote: >Hi Everyone, > >I have copies of some mortuary records for family members that list the >newspapers which carried the obituaries for the deceased persons. The deaths >were in Hayward & having grown up there I recognize the Oakland Tribune & the >Hayward Review but have never heard of the Post Enquirer or Thos. Dias, which >are both listed on records from 1947. Does anyone know anything about either >of these & where I might find them? Don't know about "Thos. Dias" (though the "dias" hints of a spanish language paper). The Post Enquirer is an Oakland paper (merger of the Post and the Enquirerer I'm assuming) and can be found in the periodical room of the Oakland Public Library. --Laurel

Fawn, The Post -Enquirer would probably be the Oakland Post Enquirer, the Hearst paper. You should be able to get micro film copies of the Oakland papers through inter library loan from the California State Library in Sacramento. Ralph Anderson Boulder, CO rkaboulder@bwn.net