Enriching a
Biographical Essay

Tips:
An informative and well-written biographical essay generally develops from knowing a lot about the subject. Gather as much information as possible, preferably from primary source documents. When researching, keep asking questions and keep thinking about where to look next for more facts. Important also is to place the person's life within an era's social patterns.

At times, a person's life may show a common historical trend usually mentioned in textbooks. In other cases, the way an era's social, political, or economic events effect an individual make an interesting essay theme. For the sample essay, A. S. Green's loss of rank during the Civil War became this thread.

Writing a short essay from readily available material helps to show where more investigation is needed. The sources for A. S. Green did not offer information about his life from his birth until about 1856, what he did at Saratoga Manufacturing, or what happened to him after the war. Questions such as, "Who were his parents?," and "Did he have a wife and children?," remain unanswered.

Modern day maps sometimes help historians answer geography questions and provide leads as to where to look for information. From the map, Lincolnville lies near the Atlantic Coast. A. S. Green's family may then have been involved with trades related to fishing and ship building.

Places to look for more information:
Albert S. Green's 1819 birth record in Lincolnville, Maine, if in existence, may identify his parents. Saratoga Springs and Lincolnville state and federal