Is Joanna Elliot the Mother of Dorah Darragh? Completing the 14-Day RLP Challenge

It's been a busy second week of the Challenge! I followed the Research Like a Pro process, step by step. I reached the finish line and have a report written up.

Here's what I did Day 8-14. 

Day 8 - Research Planning - "Today, you will review your hypothesis and your list of identified sources. Which sources in your list to you think will help you prove or disprove your hypothesis?"

As mentioned earlier, my best chance of finding either Joanna and Dorah's burial records, or Dorah's marriage record, would be in the Catholic church records, but my requests have thus far not been filled. However, there are still sources I can check, including a couple of Ontario Catholic church collections online:

• Ontario, Canada, Roman Catholic Baptisms, Marriages, and Burials, 1760-1923
• Ontario, Canada, Roman Catholic Marriages, 1827-1870

Some other collections on Ancestry and FamilySearch might reveal a civil marriage record naming Dorah's mother. These record sets are available online, so they are easily searchable:

• 1801-1948 Canada, Ontario Church and Civil Records, 1801-1948 
• 1801-1858 Ontario, District Marriage Registers, 1801-1858 
• 1801-1928, 1933-1934 Ontario, Canada, Marriages, 1801-1928, 1933-1934 
• Canada, Ontario Church and Civil Records, 1801-1948
• 1826 - 1938 Ontario, Canada, Marriages, 1826-1943

Day 9 - Source Citations - Today we were instructed: "To practice with citations, we will add source citations to the timeline you created. We all know that information without a source could be fiction. To go even further, our sources need to include a source citation that will lead us back to the source."

I have most of my citations completed. Here's an example of a citation for John Darragh's letter to the Marquette, Michigan, probate court:

Marquette Co., Michigan, Probate Court, 1869-1873, No. 66, Estate of Edward Bristol, filed 10 April 1873, petition of John Darragh, dated 17 Feb. 1874; imaged, "Michigan, Probate Records, 1797-1973," FamilySearch (https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/3:1:3QS7-99S1-99DB?lang=en&i=866 : accessed 29 June 2025); citing County Courthouse, Marquette. 

 

Day 10 - Source Citations - "Today we are practicing citation again." Though we were encouraged to try out one of the online tools if we struggle with writing citations, I rely on Evidence Explained to find the correct formatting for my citations. Writing citations helps my brain understand what I'm looking at.

Here's my citation "homework" for the day:

1851 Canada Census, Grey Co., Canada West, City of Sydenham, p. 41-42, line 23, John Darragh household; imaged, "1851 Census of Canada East, Canada West, New Brunswick, and Nova Scotia," Ancestry (https://www.ancestry.com/search/collections/1061/records/1199995 : accessed 26 June 2025); citing Library and Archives Canada, Ottawa. 

I wrote my citation from this document, the 1851 Canada census entry for the Darragh family.

Day 11 - Research Log - "It’s time to research! Today you’re going to refer to your research plan and search the first 2-3 record collections in your plan. You’ll log what you searched in your research log and include a complete source citation and a link to the record or database."

I did not have the best luck with my research plan. In fact, I turned up nothing. Recall I have been unable to obtain record lookups in my most promising source, the cemetery and church records housed at St. Mary of the Assumption in Owen Sound. So, I'm moving on to the less promising sources, such as some online Ontario vital and church record databases. Onward...

 

Day 12 - Transcribe & Abstract - Today's instructions: "If you find a longer document that's handwritten, you may want to abstract or transcribe pertinent details."

Even going with "Plan B," I have not found records for my research subjects in any of the databases I have checked. It's time for a shift! 

Turning to FamilySearch's Full-Text Search took, I looked for Dorah, Joanna, their husbands, or other family member which resulted in a few finds.

 

One was the Grey County Surrogate Court recording of Charles Dillane's will being proved and the will itself.

 

Here's my abstract of the registration of the will being proved:

 

Surrogate Court, Grey County, Province of Ontario, Canada

No. 5760

Entered/registered 5 October 1899 at 10 o'clock a.m.

Will of Charles Dillane, late of Township of Sullivan, County of Grey, Province of Ontario, farmer

Died on/around 7 May 1899 in Sullivan

Will proved and registered on 7 August 1899

Administration granted to John Doyle, Sydenham, County of Grey, farmer and James McLauchlan the younger, Owen Sound, County of Grey, merchant

Signed by N. A. Bishop, Registrar of the Surrogate Court, County of Grey

 

The will notes that Charles Dillane's heir and daughter, Margaret, was married to an Arthur White. Dorah's children, Jane and Daniel Darragh, were living with an Arthur White family in 1861 in Sullivan. This is an important clue to the children's connection to the Dillane and White families.

 

Day 13 - Report Writing—Today, we're to "...make an outline of what you learned following your research plan and doing the research. Use your research log to guide you and put what you learned in a logical order."

Before I created my outline, I referred to a recent RLP blog post written by Diana Elder, "Revisiting the Father of Cynthia (Dillard) Royston: Part 6 Writing the Report," on the Family Locket blog. It was a good refresher of what to include and how to structure a report. 

 Here's my outline:

Day 14 - Report Writing - Our final task of the challenge is to "...follow your outline and write a simple report telling what you found in the 'findings and analysis' section of your project document. You will also include a conclusion saying if you found the information you sought or if more research is needed."

It took me about a day and a half to get my report done to my satisfaction. I'm glad I already had about 90% of the citations I needed all ready to go in my research log. As I reread the document today, I realized I was missing a few facts or needed supporting citations for others. This is part of the beauty of writing a report: you find the holes in your research and can fill them in. 

Though I did not ultimately prove that Joanna is Dorah's mother—yet—I still consider this project a success. Why?

1. I conducted research in sources which were NOT helpful. I can cross them off my list.
2. I pivoted to include Full-Text Search in my research plan as my originally prioritized sources were not working out. 
3. I discovered a few other sources which support the close relationship between my target families.
4. I have a list of where to check next.

Image: rawpixel.com

If you'd like to read my research report, "Is Joanna Elliot the Mother of Dorah Darragh?" it is linked here: https://drive.google.com/file/d/1pELTz1JuJt9F4RSqciYGXP_th56DInPr/view?usp=sharing

To learn more about the Research Like a Pro method, visit the Family Locket website, listen to their podcast, or read their blog. You can find it all at FamilyLocket.com.

Until next time... 

© Nancy Gilbride Casey, 2026. All rights reserved.