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Using a Timeline & Relationships to Narrow a Research Focus

This past week, I worked on my first project of the year focused on a female ancestor. Mary Jane Sheridan (abt. 1843-1919) is a paternal 3x great-grandmother. She began her life in New York, eventually moved to Ontario, Canada, and later Cleveland, Cuyahoga Co., Ohio. While I have a good deal of information on her, the one crucial piece of information missing is the record of her marriage to Philip Cassidy.  A first step no matter what the research question is to create a timeline of known events in the person's life. I spent some time looking at several existing sources to discover what is currently known about Mary Jane: Mary Jane's profile on my family tree on Ancestry Mary Jane's profile on the FamilySearch Family Tree Other Ancestry-user trees where Mary Jane appears WikiTree and Geneanet trees Information I already have in files from past research (including paper and digital files) Past blog posts written which included Mary Jane. Mary Jane's starting timeline...
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FAVORITE PHOTO

by Nancy Gilbride Casey


This favorite photo of many I have taken over the years comes with a special anecdote.

When our daughter Anne (then known as Annie), was preschool age, she dedicated great parts of each day drawing with markers, painting with watercolors, coloring in books. In summer, she drew with chalk on the sidewalk. 

Every gift-giving occasion was another opportunity to buy a new box of crayons or paints, and reams of paper, tablets large and small, and sheaves of manila and construction paper to feed her never-ending appetite to draw.

Her artwork covered our refrigerator, was sent on to grandparents, and hung on our office bulletin boards. 

Art was already ingrained into her little personality.

Each day Annie created literally a dozen or more creations, in a free flow of imagination, wild, exotic, and uniquely from her sometimes funny and observant perspective.

On the occasion of this photo, I captured her one morning, sitting at her little art easel, paintbrush in hand, engrossed in one of that day's many creations.

"Are you going to be an artist when you grow up, Annie?" I asked.

Without taking her eyes off her artwork, and without skipping a beat, she replied,

"But Mommy...I already AM an artist!"

To this day, I can't argue with that.

 

Until next time...
 
This post was inspired by Amy Johnson Crowe's 52 Ancestor in 52 Weeks Challenge. 

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