Other Influencers
-Nancy Watson
Recent Posts
Quarry Workers Union
This small card represents far more than membership in a labor union. It tells the story of an industry that shaped Concord, New Hampshire, and unexpectedly connected both sides of my family. Issued in 1930, this withdrawal card belonged to my maternal grandfather, James Hannigan. It certified that he was leaving the Quarry Workers’ International […]
Marriage Certificate of James Hannigan and Margaret Dawson
Some family documents do more than record a moment in time—they mark the beginning of an entirely new story. This marriage certificate is one of those documents. On January 4, 1916, my grandparents, James Hannigan and Margaret Dawson, were married in Malden, Massachusetts. Both had been born in Ireland. Both had crossed the Atlantic seeking […]
A Two-Dollar Tax Bill
At first glance, this is hardly the kind of family keepsake anyone would expect to survive for more than a century. It is simply a tax bill from the City of Malden, dated 1916, notifying my grandfather, James Hannigan, that he owed two dollars in state and county taxes. Yet this small piece of paper […]
Birth Certificate of Thomas Edward Mulligan
At first glance, this appears to be the birth certificate of my great-uncle, Thomas Edward Mulligan. But as I looked more closely, I realized it tells a much larger story, not simply about one child, but about an Irish family that helped shape the history of my own. Thomas was born in Concord, New Hampshire, […]
Boot & Show Workers Union Dues Book
When I first picked up this small dues book, I thought of it as simply another family keepsake. The more I learned about it, however, the more I realized it represented one of the first chapters of my grandfather’s life in America. This was the 1915 membership book of the Boot and Shoe Workers’ Union, […]
Birth Certificate of Mary Katherine Mulligan
Sometimes an old family document reveals a story no one recognized at the time it was created. This birth certificate records the birth of my paternal grandmother, Mary Katherine Mulligan, on January 17, 1890, in Concord, New Hampshire. Although her birth certificate records her full name as Mary Katherine, she was known throughout her adult […]
My Daughters
There is nothing in my adult life that shaped me more than the birth of my daughters. There is simply nothing else that influenced the direction of my life and my goals as profoundly as becoming their mother. From the time of preconception, through the pregnancy, to their birds and all that followed once they arrived, […]
Birth Order
One of the major factors of my childhood was my birth order. I was the middle child, the second daughter in a family of five. With a brother a year older and another a year younger, I found my place squarely in the middle of a busy household. There was an advantage to being the […]
My Father
When I think of the building blocks that shaped the person I am today, I must begin with the family into which I was born. I have already written about about my mother, without whom none of my story would exist. Standing beside her, equally influential in my earliest years, was my father. My father […]
My Grandparents
With both my parents working full-time, I was fortunate to have my grandparents close by. My father’s mother, Nana, lived on one side of our duplex, while my mother’s parents lived right next door. My grandparents were constants in my young life, bringing rhythm, warmth and steadiness to my days. Life with them was filled with simple, grounding […]
My Mother, Mary: The Foundation of My Life
This section must begin with my mother, Mary Hannigan. She was born on October 14, 1919,in Concord, New Hampshire , into a world very different from the one we know today. I was her third child and her second daughter, and from the very beginning her presence, love, and example became the foundation on which so […]
October Reflections: Honoring the Women Who Shaped Me
There are many reasons why October is so special to me. The crisp air, the golden light, the colorful foliage is the season that feels alive with change. But more than that, October holds deep personal meaning. It’s the birth month of two remarkable women who shaped who I am: my maternal grandmother and my […]
