My Trails into the Past

The ship list for the arrival of the Jerry and Mary (Sheehan) Sullivan family has been elusive. The common name is not helpful. They had nine children. One would think with that many children, the ship list could be found, but all the names of the children are common as well, so searching for them makes it difficult, too. One of the strategies I use when trying to solve a tough problem is to review previous research with a distinct focus. My research question is “When did the Jerry & Mary Sullivan family arrive in the U.S.?” Review Census Records The first census that Jerry and Mary were enumerated in was in 1870 in Franklin Township, Houghton County, Michigan. Four children lived with them: Jeremiah, 12; Daniel, 11; Peter, 10; and Michael, 9 months. All are born in Ireland except Michael. This suggests they came to the U.S. between 1861 and 1869. [1] The 1880 census in Moran Township, Todd County, Minnesota, has three of the above children living with them: Daniel, 20, Peter, 18, ...

  It's  Saturday Night  -  Time for more  Genealogy Fun!  Our mission from Randy Seaver of Genea-Musings is to:   This SNGF is based on the Migration map that my friend J. Paul Hawthorne  made on Facebook on 18 November.   He used Birth dates and Places for his paternal line.  1)  For this week's SNGF, make your own migration map for whichever surname or ancestral line you want.  Use a World Map or a country map.  Choose birth, marriage, death, or migration year to put the spots on the map and label them with the year. 2)  Share your map with all of us by writing your own blog post, writing a comment on this blog post, or put it in a Facebook post.  Please leave a comment on this post so others can find it. Here's mine:   I created my map using PowerPoint as well. I highlighted all of the elements and grouped them and then right-clicked to save as an image. The first one is of m...

This past week I attended a class at the Salt Lake Institute of Genealogy called “From Sea to Shining Sea: Researching Our Ancestors’ Migrations in America.” [1] We learned so much about migrating families in the United States these some 400 years. We have learned about trails, roads, canals, and railroads that took them to new places. We learned about possible economic and social reasons (and push and pull of migration) that prompt their moves. Moving to a new place often were due to seeking freedom, a better life, free land, or being with family. I started thinking about why my ancestors moved. Of course, any of the above reasons probably factored in their moves, depending on the time period and their circumstances. Specifically, what brought my Hork family to California in the early 1920s? Cyril’s Move Cyril Hork had married Anna Sullivan in Butte, Montana on Thanksgiving Day in 1922. [2] At the time of his marriage, he was working as a warehouseman with the Northern Pacific...