The problem begins with her birth date. What is known is that she was born around 1817 in Connecticut. The next time I see Lucy is when she is marrying Joseph C. Bentley in Groton, New London, Connecticut on 19 Nov 1835. I know that she has a couple of sons (Franklin Horace and William and that there may be one more son) and that there is a daughter Ann L. Bentley (also referred to as Annie V., Ann V., Annie L.) I can find her in census records from 1840 until 1870. And then she dies on 13 Apr 1871 and is buried in Preston, New London, Connecticut at Gates Cemetery. I have even been to her headstone. Here is where it gets weird. There is no death certificate for her in Preston. She lived in Preston her whole married life. One might assume that she died there.
Where does the fresh start come in? Well, to me, I have become blinded by the little known facts about Lucy Ann. I have listened to my aunt and uncle (who are researching our line also) fight about who her parents were and whether or not she was an American Indian as lore states. I have let them convince me that there is no known parents because she was born on a reservation. Truth is, there is no proof of that yet. So I would think it is prudent to say that I must start at the beginning, or at the end.
First I must ask myself why she got married in Groton by a Justice of the Peace. Her husband was from Preston and her childhood home has nothing known about it. Did she live in Groton? Did she travel to Groton to get married? Why did she choose William Williams, JP as her officiant? Was there a relationship to her family? Was it her father? I believe that the answers to my question lie in Groton's town hall where I must do hands on research. Also, marriage customs at that time would be beneficial to research.
I also think that it would be prudent to study the censuses for the 1820 and 1830 census year. I need to create a list of all possible parents for Lucy and spread my search out to the surrounding towns. I need to make sure that I keep detailed logs of what I have researched, where I have researched, and the results of my queries and research. I am finding that I am going over the same ground again and again as my notes are not organized nor have I cited any of the sources that I have come across for her.
The fact sits that Lucy Ann and I have become interwoven in my desire to learn about her and her life. She runs through my mind a lot, in fact most days as I sit down to research I type her name into all my databases in the hopes that something new might have been added for her. I constantly question all my conclusions, drawing up new questions and ways to find the answers that I desperately seek. It is now become clear to me that I must set all research for Lucy Ann aside and begin at the beginning as though I was looking at her for the first time.
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