About that Map...

Image by rawpixel.

Never let it be said I don't own up to a mistake! 

In last week's post, I used an 1854 map as one key in determining why my Sheridan ancestors may have moved from Buffalo, Erie, New York, to Evans, also in Erie County. The presence of a Catholic church as well as a shoe making business in the particular section of Evans Township known as North Evans was key in my mind to their desire to move there. 

And, while I wasn't entirely wrong...I was somewhat geographically challenged. It seems the section of Evans that I pointed out as the as-then-unnamed-North Evans was a little too far southwest! Oops! My Google-map-to-1854 map-comparison skills were not quite up to snuff that day!

But all is not lost. On an 1866 Erie County map I discovered North Evans clearly marked. In a smaller detail of the town a shoe shop and a Catholic church are also clearly marked, as is the Buffalo & State Line Railroad bisecting the town.¹

Here's North Evans located on the top right of the 1866 map:

I incorrectly identified the East Evans location as North Evans in my last post.

 

 And here's the North Evans detail:²

Red arrows indicate the shoe shop and the Catholic church in N. Evans, likely draws for the Sheridan family.

 

In the end, my theory stands: "...the Sheridans moved to N. 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."

But I'll be a little more careful with my map comparing in future!

 

A Project Update

I am winding down my research into Mary Jane Sheridan and have begun to translate that research into a narrative of her life. It's very gratifying to know so much more about her and her family, to follow their travels, and see fill in the missing pieces of their story. As always, I find myself both awed and moved by what Mary Jane experienced during her lifetime. I hope to have the beginning of her story here next week.

Until next time...

© Nancy Gilbride Casey, 2025. All rights reserved.

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NOTES 

¹ New Topographical Atlas of Erie Co., New York (Philadelphia: Stone & Stewart, Publishers, 1866), 49, Evans; imaged, FamilySearch (https://www.familysearch.org/library/books/viewer/997435/ : accessed 25 Feb. 2025); citing Central Library, Rochester and Monroe Counties, New York.

² New Topographical Atlas of Erie Co., New York (Philadelphia: Stone & Stewart, Publishers, 1866), 51, North Evans; imaged, FamilySearch (https://www.familysearch.org/library/books/viewer/997435/ : accessed 25 Feb. 2025); citing Central Library, Rochester and Monroe Counties, New York.