Naturalization records a crucial part of family research

Chatter

By Sue Manning

We’re gearing up for a fashion adventure this season and what better place than Elna’s Dress Shop in Solvang to lead the way with our glamorous and fabulous take on style for you. Since spring is here as of March 20, take a look at our new arrivals.

ere is a bright new appearance of softer dressing for true comfort and style. We denitely can help with wardrobe planning, always keeping in mind what is best for you. Color, size, t, and versatility for all your needs. is is a good time to look over the clothes you haven't worn or didn't wear and donate them to a charity. Out with the old, hardly worn, or not needed and on to a new beginning. We've had a tremendous response to our Slim-sation pant by Multiples and part of our special for the month of March is to register for a free pair. ere will be three pairs of pants given away. Our customers are buying two to four pairs at a time. ey are classy enough to wear out or wear leisurely. If you haven't tried them on yet, now is the time while selection of sizes is at its best.

Remember to shop us for the third Wednesday of each month as we honor a 20 percent discount on all regular prices (does not include Danish Costumes). is month also includes 60 percent o our sales rack. Still some very good buys, although sizes are limited.

Wardrobe building is a free service of Elna's Dress Shop. Stop by and let any of our quali ed sta assist in helping you. Remember, while seasonal trends can feel short lived, the best clothes are meant to be just the opposite, long-lasting basic colors that you can accent with a "pop of color."

Elna's Dress Shop is open ve days a week —Wednesday thru Sunday. Store hours are 10 a.m. until 5 p.m. We are located at 1673 Copenhagen Drive in Solvang. Our phone number is (805) 688-4525.

Genealogy Tips

By Sheila Benedict FASHION

There are many genealogical and historical webinars and conferences still totally virtual and/or hybrid. I suspect it may be the new way of attending a choice of venues in the coming months, even longer.

Still, some groups have gone live, as it were, so the only way to take advantage of their information is to attend in person. It is really up to each person to decide the importance of the topic whether to travel or nd one where the only traveler is your ngers on the computer keyboard.

is month, we will once again discuss naturalization papers and immigration information. If you have family who came to this country in the past 100 or more years, there is a good chance they led for naturalization. It's a very important document as it is a source with a lot of vital information given by the person who was the emigrant. Many documents, for example a census record, probably lists only the country of origin but the naturalization le gives much more. It shows their place of birth along with the port of departure and what port of entry they came to in the U.S., possibly Canada, then U.S. Yes, there are separate les of passenger lists but I will always recommend obtaining the naturalization le rst as all that information is included on it.

Example: my father was a toddler when he came to the U.S. All his siblings were born here. When I obtained a copy of my grandfather’s naturalization le, the port from which he left and where he arrived was in it, but something amazing was there as well. e le not only listed my dad, who naturalized with his father, but all of the other children my grandparents had were listed even though they were citizens by birth here. One very important fact came out of those papers was the name of a female child who I knew had existed but died very young. She was alive when my grandfather les his paperwork and if all the children had not been listed, I might never have found her name and date of birth. Just a little aside is that often people went by nicknames and when lling out their paperwork, used the nickname as their rst name. For example, in Ireland it is quite common to see the name “Biddy” for a woman on many types of paper. In fact, on one marriage record obtained, the bride listed her name as Biddy. However, her birth name was Bridget. All these little pointers can assist in ways not expected. A relatively new researcher might think Biddy was her name and that the wrong person was found. at fact is just one reason why we never ever rely on one document to prove a family or an individual. ere are non-genealogical les that hold information so keep them on your to-do list and remember two things: read history over and over again and know the laws wherever you are researching. ey di er by states and countries everywhere. Next month: vital and legal records. Good luck!

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