I will give you a list of some documents for you to collect. When you get any of them, you can post here what the document says and that will help us to figure out what to do next.

So, first, get a copy of her obituary from the newspaper in the town or area where she died. It would likely list her surviving siblings, possibly deceased ones also, which is one thing we need to know.

Second, get a copy of her death certificate from the State of California. They have a space on it, to list her parents names and where they were each born, plus exactly where she was born. We need that.

Third, since she lived to be 82 it's very likely she applied for Social Security. When you do this, they ask you who your own parents were and where they were each born and where you were born exactly. We need this. This is called a Social Security Application Card, and you get it from the Social Security Administration. So you need to get that as well.

Those are some things to start with, which should keep you busy.

Will Johnson, Professional Genealogist