Using a Map, a Census, and Books to Understand a Migration

Evans, Erie, New York, in 1854.

I foolishly thought that it would take a month—tops—to research one of my female ancestors. But doing the deep dive that just one woman deserves has taken nearly two months, and I'm not done yet! I am going broad and deep, trying to understand each episode of Mary Jane Sheridan's life to discover the reasons why.

As an example, the why I'm searching for now is "Why did the Sheridan family move from Buffalo to Evans, New York?" The family spent about 8 years in Evans, located southwest of Buffalo along the Lake Erie shoreline, before they immigrated to Canada.

I found the key pieces to answering this why in a map, a census, several historical books, and insights offered by members of a Facebook genealogy group.

The New York State Census contains agricultural, mortality, and social information in addition to the general census of the population. I decided to take another look at the 1855 New York Census, the one state census where the Sheridans appear, to refresh my mind with what the family was doing or if they appeared in the other census sections.

In the section entitled "Churches, Schools &c," I saw a reference to a "Roman Cathalick Church," located in Evans. The entry showed that the church building seated about 100 people and had about 80-90 regular churchgoers.¹ But there was no church name. Could I track down the name and perhaps extant records for the Catholic Sheridans?

I first referred to a history of Evans in the The History of City of Buffalo and Erie County published in 1884. It noted: "Among the German and Irish residents of the vicinity were a number of Catholics who organized a church in 1830 and erected a plain house of worship the same year. Religious services have ever since been maintained in it under the charge of the priest at Angola."² 

Turning to the Western NY Genealogy Society Discussion Group for insight, members referred me to another book, The History of the Catholic Church in Western New York. That too, mentioned a small church in N. Evans, built in 1851.³ This was likely a mission church without a permanent pastor, but an occasional visiting priest, a common occurrence in the area before the Civil War.

Another member chimed in that her great-great-grandfather lived in N. Evans and Catholic Masses were sometimes said at his home before a church building was built. His name was mentioned with references to "St. Vincent."⁴ Was that the church name?

Another History of the Diocese of Buffalo expanded on these same facts, stating, "It is said that the little church here was built in 1851. Mr. H. Byron donated a lot, and the Catholics of the town formed a kind of bee in the winter season; and they proceed to Hemlock Grove, owned by Mr. Guiney, where they hewed enough timber for the building, which was erected by Joseph Setter. Many Catholics were employed at this time on the construction of the Buffalo & State Line R.R., and these assisted with their contributions in paying the necessary expenses connected with the building of the little church."⁵

I finally confirmed the name of the church was St. Vincent after googling it. After a strong history serving local Catholics and several consolidations of churches in the area, it is now known as Saint John Paul II Parish Community in Lakeview, New York. Sadly, any research I might have done for evidence of the Sheridans at St. Vincent was quickly foiled; it is against Diocesan policy to allow genealogical research in church records.⁶

Looking at an 1854 map of Erie County, I located the area that is now N. Evans but was just an intersection of road on this map then.⁷ Though there is no church marked, there are several businesses—a blacksmith, a wagon shop, hotel, and store. If the Catholic church there was very small, it might not have merited notice on the map.

Area of 1854 map where N. Evans is located now. Note the S.S. for shoe shop.

There was one more important business at that intersection—a shoe shop. That was an important discovery. Henry, Mary Jane's father, was a shoemaker. If this area had both a Catholic church and a shoe shop, could this be the area where the family lived in Evans?

In the 1855 census section "Industry Other Than Agriculture" two shoe making businesses in Evans are noted. One was operated by Mr. Jones who employed 3 workers who each earned $16/month. Another was operated by Mr. Wilcox and employed 12, who earned $25/month.⁸ In the city of Evans, 13 men were listed as shoemakers, including Henry Sheridan. It stands to reason that he was one of the men working for either Jones or Wilcox.⁹

One more bit of info gleaned from the diocesan history book entry: the Buffalo & State Line R.R. came through Evans about 1852.¹⁰ Like Buffalo and other increasingly industrialized towns, the coming of the railroad meant Evans would be drawing workers, increasing the population, and with it, their attendant needs for food, clothing, housing, shoes, and other services. 

So, like a puzzle, each piece—various history books, a historical map of the area, a census, and the insight of fellow genealogists—helped me make sense of this period of Mary Jane's family life. Together, they lead me to believe that the Sheridans moved to Evans for father Henry to take advantage of the employment opportunities there as a shoemaker, and the presence of a Catholic church where mother Catherine and the children could attend was an additional draw.

Until next time...

© Nancy Gilbride Casey, 2025. All rights reserved.

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IMAGES

Top:  Samuel Geil and Robert Pearsall Smith, Map of Erie County, New York: from actual surveys (Philadelphia: Robert Pearsall Smith, and Buffalo: John Angell, 1855); imaged, Library of Congress (https://lccn.loc.gov/2012593657 : accessed 4 Feb. 2025); citing Geography and Map Division, LOC, Washington, D.C. Middle: detail from same map. Bottom: 1855 New York Census, Erie County, V. Church, School, Town of Evans, np, line 2, Roman Cathalick Church; imaged, Ancestry (https://www.ancestry.com/search/collections/7181/records/1654574951: accessed 25 Feb. 2025).

 

NOTES

¹ 1855 New York Census, Erie County, V. Church, School, Town of Evans, np, line 2, Roman Cathalick Church; imaged, Ancestry (https://www.ancestry.com/search/collections/7181/records/1654574951: accessed 25 Feb. 2025). Note: These pages are missing from the images of this census on FamilySearch.

² H.P. Smith, editor, History of the City of Buffalo and Erie County: with Biographical Sketches of Some if its Prominent Men and pioneers (Syracuse, New York: D. Mason & Co., Publishers, 1884), p. 583, "N. Evans"; imaged, Internet Archive (https://archive.org/details/historyofcityofb01smit/page/n691/mode/2up?q=Evans : accessed 25 Feb. 2025); citing Allen County Public Library, Evansville, Ind. 

³ Rev. Thomas Donahue, D.D., History of the Catholic Church in Western New York: Diocese of Buffalo (Buffalo, New York: Catholic Historical Pub. Co., 1904), p. 393, "John Kinney"; imaged, Internet Archive (https://archive.org/details/historyofcatholi00dono/page/392/mode/2up?q=Angola : accessed 24 Feb. 2025); citing Boston University School of Theology.

⁴ Facebook, Nancy Gilbride Casey to Western New York Genealogy Society (WNYGS) Discussion Group, 23 Feb. 2025, "Wondering if anyone here..."

⁵  Rev. Thomas Donahue, D.D. History of the Diocese of Buffalo (Buffalo, New York: The Buffalo Catholic Publication Co., 1929), p. 244, St. Vincent Church, North Evans; imaged, Ancestry (https://www.ancestry.com/imageviewer/collections/12412/images/dvm_LocHist002894-00127-0 : accessed 25 Feb. 2025).

⁶ Lakeshore Catholic Faith Community of the Diocese of Buffalo (https://lakeshorecatholicfc.org/parish-history-2 : accessed 24 Feb. 2025), "Parish History." 

⁷ Samuel Geil and Robert Pearsall Smith, Map of Erie County, New York: from actual surveys (Philadelphia: Robert Pearsall Smith, and Buffalo: John Angell, 1855); imaged, Library of Congress (https://lccn.loc.gov/2012593657 : accessed 4 Feb. 2025); citing Geography and Map Division, LOC, Washington, D.C.

⁸ 1855 New York Census, Erie County, Section III, Industry other than Agriculture, Second Election District, Town of Evans, np, C&O Jones, Shoe Shop; imaged, FamilySearch (https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/3:1:33S7-8B53-9X4R : accessed 21 Feb. 2025). Also, 1855 New York Census, Erie County, Section III, Industry other than Agriculture, Second Election District, Town of Evans, np, Charles N. Wilcox, Shoemaking; imaged, FamilySearch (https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/3:1:33SQ-GB53-9DBQ : accessed 21 Feb. 2025). 

⁹ 1855 New York Census, Erie County, population schedule, Town of Evans, p. 48, dwelling 190, Henry Sheridan household; imaged, FamilySearch (https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/3:1:33S7-8B53-9XN7 : accessed 7 Jan. 2025).

¹⁰ Rev. Thomas Donahue, D.D. History of the Diocese of Buffalo (Buffalo, New York: The Buffalo Catholic Publication Co., 1929), p. 244, St. Vincent Church, North Evans.