Mary Poppins: Life before No. 17 Cherry Tree Lane

Mary Poppins, practically perfect in every way I don’t know about you, but I just assumed Mary Poppins had always been a nanny when she arrived on the doorstep of No. 17 Cherry Tree Lane in London. Well, imagine my surprise when I discovered she started out as a telephone operator in San Francisco, California. That’s right. A telephone operator. And a registered Democrat! Records prove it, of course…

Mary Poppins in CA Voter Registrations 1900-1968, Ancestry.com Voter registrations are an excellent census substitute, filling in the gaps between decennial federal censuses. They provide an address of residence, perhaps an occupation, and political affiliation. An address can lead to clues about neighbors and relatives, and neighborhood demographics can be derived from surnames and occupations. In Mary’s case we learn her marital status–Miss Mary Poppin. But of course, we already knew that, didn’t we?

Telephone operator with an eery resemblance to…