Research Plan - Andrew Hanson

For the ProGen Study Group I’m fortunate enough to be a part of, we needed to draft a research plan for our homework, so it thought it might be interesting to some to see the one I drafted for a particular brick wall ancestor, Andrew Hanson of Massachusetts. While I’ve used research plans in the past, the exercise has already proven to be a great tool in furthering my research and I highly recommend the process to folks who haven’t used one as of yet.

Below is what I know. I’ve used a timeline for analysis of all existing records regarding Andrew Hanson collected, to date, which I can prove with a high degree of certainty is the same Andrew I am searching for.

Known Facts:
• Andrew historically lived in the Ward 2, Ship St, Ann St area of Boston, MA.
• Andrew had a son Andrew, born in 1818, daughter Abigail born in 1820 and son Abel born in 1824.
• Two of his children’s death certificates (Abel & Abigail) list their father’s country of origin as Sweden.
• Andrew Hanson, in between 70 & 80, was living as of June 1, 1840 when the 1840 Census was enumerated.

Working Hypothesis:
Based on the information collected to date, it is possible that Andrew originated in Sweden prior to when passenger records were kept and located in Massachusetts. It is also likely that Andrew was born in the mid to late 1700’s and died between 1840 and 1850 as he wasn’t found in Boston in the 1850 census.

Research Plan:
Below is a spreadsheet outlining each task to be performed based on what is currently known about Andrew Hanson, as well as actions taken to date and subsequent results. It seems most prudent at this time to focus on trying to find church records which could reveal his town/country of origin. As it appeared the family lived in the same general area for decades, trying to locate churches near those neighborhoods may yield results. Also, a death record for Andrew could reveal his country of origin, so that should be searched for. Additionally, numerous other records have been identified online that could offer tantalizing clues, but to date confirmation that those records are of the subject Andrew Hanson has not been found, so those will be researched as well to tie up any loose ends and perhaps yield an unexpected discovery. Will also check with Mass Hist. Society to get City of Boston Overseers of the Poor records, may have info about the Andrew and Abigail who died in 1843 & 1833 respectively, as both death records state “City Poor”