Posting to a timeline is one of my most useful tools in writing historical fiction. Have a peek at my five-foot-long timeline of the Anthony-Osborn family, beginning in the 1700s and ending in 1930. On it, I have recorded not only events that were significant to the Anthonys but to the United States in general. So we have a mix of births, deaths, and marriages alongside events of the Civil War, the publication of Uncle Tom’s Cabin, dates of military service, arrests, and acts of civil or military disobedience.
My chronology of the Anthony family shows me where their lives intersected with each other or with important historic events. For example, a newspaper snippet mentioned that Daniel and Annie attended the nation’s centennial in July 1876. Posting it to my timeline reminded me that Susan was there for that nation’s birthday, too. She and her friends deemed the women’s pavilion at the Centennial Exhibition too apolitical for their taste and created their own headquarters.
While they were all in Philadelphia for the celebration, Daniel set Susan up to take control of the formal celebration of the Declaration of Independence proceedings and read the Women’s Declaration of Rights. He must’ve been grinning from ear to ear. Do you suppose that Annie chewed her cheek raw with anxiety until the whole demonstration was over? Or did she, too, cheer Susan on?
Susan B. Anthony
Here’s another thing I’m pondering. In September 1872, Daniel and Annie named a newborn daughter Susan B. Anthony II. Two months later, in November 1872, the elder Susan registered to vote and was subsequently arrested and convicted. This coincidence made me wonder: After Susan’s conviction, how did Annie and Daniel feel about naming their baby after Susan? We’ll likely never know the answer to this question, but they could certainly lead to an interesting fictional chapter.
Finally, I came across this surprising fact as I studied my timeline. n 1875, Daniel sustained a near-fatal gunshot wound that required him to stay immobile in bed with compression on his neck for three months. During that period, he lost a lot of weight. Yet my timeline reveals that he and Annie traveled to Rochester, a trip of 1,000 miles, almost as soon as he was allowed to get up. If this isn’t a testament to his heartiness, I don’t know what is!
The Anthonys were real people who responded to current events and sometimes fretted over each other’s choices. I hope you enjoy getting to know them as much as I do.