Week 6: Maps (52 Ancestors in 52 Weeks)

They say X marks the spot. I don't know if that's true, but I do know that maps are great resources for our research! Think about a time when a map helped you discover an ancestor. Another way you could approach the theme is think about an ancestor would could have really used a map. Feel free to be creative!

When I started out my genealogy quest 40 years ago, in my late teens, I needed a map of my state, as I was traveling to various courthouses, cemeteries, libraries, etc. or I might have gotten lost. Okay, I did get lost, but having a map meant I wasn’t totally lost.

While visiting one of the many libraries I use to visit, I came across plat maps. I decided to look at one and it blew my mind. It had land owners names and the boundaries of their land. They had schools marked and even cemeteries. It took a while, but I found my family on such a map. In the map below you will find several of my ancestors. 

James Crinion (1832-1923), my paternal 2nd great-grandfather on my surname line. Near him was his son, Charles (Chas) Crinion (1873-1933). To the West is Mrs. M J McDonald, which I believe is my 2nd great-grandmother through my father’s mother’s surname line, Catherine Quinn McDonald (1829-1914) since her husband Michael McDonald (1827-1910) had passed in 1910. They had a son William (1863-1954). Between these two landowners I found Wm Gadow, my 2nd great-grandfather, through my paternal grandfather’s mother’s surname line. William was born on Aug 22, 1844, whom I share my birthday with and died Dec 7, 1923.

I think seeing this map made genealogy more fun for me. I compared the map to a current map and tried to find the land. I realized that the roads did change a little over time. This map was from a time before cars were popular and thus horses probably could go more freely than cars. I know they had some sort of roads for wagons and such. The biggest thing is that I could visually see how close of neighbors my family really was. How a Crinion and Gadow might have met and how a Crinion and McDonald might have met. They were neighbors who probably helped each other out, attended church together, perhaps attended the same one room school house. My family is in the upper right hand quadrant. 

Check out Amy Johnson Crow 52 Ancestors in 52 Weeks: Themes for 2022 to receive a weekly email with ideas for using the prompts or to check out the Themes for 2022.