I still haven't found her birth record. I don't know her mother's name. I don't know if she had blue eyes or brown, if she laughed loudly or quietly, if she was kind or cruel.

I searched for her children. I found a death certificate for a man named Pedro Flores. In the margin, a clerk had written: "Madre: Salome Gil, fallecida 1889, parto." (Mother: Salome Gil, died 1889, childbirth.)

We all have that one ancestor. The one who isn’t just a name on a faded census record, but a mystery that keeps you up at night, scrolling through pixelated microfilm at 2:00 AM. For me, that ancestor is Salome Gil.

I found the burial ledger. It was entry #407. No plot number. No marker. Just: "Salome Gil, 27 años, soltera. Causa: fiebre puerperal." (Unmarried. Cause: childbed fever.)

The Ghost in the Family Tree: My Obsessive Search for Salome Gil