Interesting finds and learning to search

I was browsing through SF City Directories for O'Reilly, Wilson, Winkler, Watson, et al. I come across a listing for Frederick Winkler in the 1907 Directory living on College Ave. Since he passed in November of 1907, my assumption is that the book is a little behind just as our current telephone books are.

They also didn't list spouses in the 1907 Directory. So, I continue looking and find Gazella, his widow listed in the 1911 Directory on College Ave.

Suddenly, a light goes on in my head, I look at the 1910 Census where we found Gazella living with she and Frederick's daughter Freda, along with some people named Vincent J. and Ella Sognara listed as head of household and wife. Zella is listed as daughter and Freda as grand daughter. They're at the same address on College Ave.

Move forward to the 1918 directory and Gazella is now living there with her husband Charles Watson.

So, for all you genealogists among us, watch those addresses and compare them from source to source. If they match from a source you know to be accurate, you've more than likely got the right family.

Also, that Sognara thing has had us confused for a while since we have no idea where the name came from. In Vincent J.'s obit, he is listed as John V. Wilson, Ella's lists her as Sarah Ellen both of them with the last name of Wilson. Vincent's parents were from Austria and Slovenia and he was born in Austria. Sognara certainly isn't a german name.

Previous censuses show their name as Wilson. Vincent and Ella had a son that has been listed as Vincent Jr. and the Vincent name has been carried on two more generations as far as I can tell. The only reason I can see for the name change is either Sognara is Vincent's real last name and he changed it when he got to the USA or it was a census taker mistake. Censuses are well known for errors.

Try not to get frustrated when the information doesn't seem quite right or you can't find someone. Try searching under variant spellings and sometimes first names, just initials, or partial names. Don't forget the abbreviations for names, especially for men's names, that was quite common. Jos. for Joseph, Wm. for William, etc. Women often used variants of their names too. A Google search for 'variation of ____' sometimes adding the year, might give you some options. Another tool could be baby name books or websites. Least, but not last, try the spelling the way it would have been spelled in their native country. Juan=John type thing. Variations sometimes aren't as obvious as you would think