Next Steps

In emailing my cousin Nicole, we discussed what are the next steps. Here are my initial thoughts on the subject of how we now trace the link back to "finish the puzzle"...

I think the key lies in 3 specific things.

1. The "meeting" between Henri Matisse and Grandma. Any specifics of this meeting are very, very important. When did it occur? Where did it occur? Why? - you don't meet with people and ask them to study under you if you are not related. Also, since Matisse's life is well documented, we may be able to confirm whether he was in the united states at the time of the meeting.

2. Eugene Matisse. We have to learn more about his brothers and we need to get his birth certificate to find out who his father was. Also, any specifics of his life that we can track back to the other parts of the Matisse line. I think the key to that lies in Lucille's documents and photos. Aunt Cookie is working on tracking down some of the cousins who had inherited old photographs and documents (THANKS!!!!). Especially if Lucille kept any family bibles with a genealogy in it. (Note: Grandma told me that all her key information in this area came from Lucille so that is obviously a very important piece to this puzzle -- may be a "treasure trove" of information.) If all else fails, I'll book a trip to France.

3. Learning more about Matisse and his family. I have read some of the book I have but we can go to the library and get more books on him. More on that soon...

In the Intelligence field, correlation is a key aspect of the work and it involves connecting things in "proximity" ... typically things related in time, space, biology, etc. The family needs to become sleuths and that means finding and confirming connections.

Let the hunt continue ...