3
Strategies for Finding the Women in your Family Tree
To find the elusive female ancestors you will need to
broaden your search to include direct and collateral lines. It will involve
additional work on your part but you’ll learn a lot more about your family in
the process.
Strategy
#1 – Research Her
Husbands (all of them)
Research her husband(s) thoroughly - If your ancestor
was married more than once, it’s an absolute necessity to thoroughly search for
records on all of her
husbands and marriages. Each
of her husbands would have created records that contain information about her.
#1 – Land records: Look for land deeds that indicate a
gift, sale or inheritance. These records would contain her father’s name and
most likely her married name, along with her husband’s name making it easier to
connect them.
#2 – Probate records: Wills are another great source
that would mention her (and possibly her spouse) along with her father’s
surname.
#3 – Court records: There may be court records that a
spouse, or the death of a spouse would generate.
#4 – Marriage records: There are many types of records
created prior to a marriage. Some to look for are: license and announcements,
banns and bonds, civil registrations, divorce.
Census
Records:
# 1 – Locate every census record (federal and
state) that her husband(s) would be included on.
#2 - Look at the actual image of the census
record. See who is living with them in each census. Often times, an elderly
parent would move in when their spouse died. Other times, a niece or nephew
might be living with them. If this niece or nephew is the child of one of her
brothers it would lead you to her possible surname. Another relative to look
for in their home would be a sister or sister-in-law.
The
Husband’s Siblings
#1 – Fully research all of her husband(s) siblings and
who they married. Often times, brothers and sisters would marry the brothers
and sisters of a neighboring family. If you notice common surnames, you will
want to search for the parents of those individuals to see if they have a
daughter with the same first name as your ancestor.
Cemetery
Records
#1 – Search for the headstone(s) of both her and her
husband. Her maiden name might be included.
#2 – If they are buried in a family cemetery that is
not the surname of her married name, it might be her line.
#3 – Check burial records for adjacent plots to see
who is buried nearby.
Strategy
#2 – Research Her
Children
Research all of your female ancestor’s children
– not just the child you descend from. In the past, there were a large number
of children in a family, and this creates more opportunities for you to find at
least one record that contains her maiden name.
The records that children create that may contain
their mother’s maiden name are:
#1 – Baptismal record
#2 – Marriage record (there may be more than one if
they married several times)
#3 – Death record
Don’t skip over the children who died young. Your
ancestor’s marriage or death record may not have listed her maiden name, but
one of their sibling’s records might. You might also locate the town and
country from which the parents immigrated from in your search, which would be
an added bonus.
Strategy
#3 – Research
Newspapers
Newspapers contain the daily social activities of your
ancestors. Often times the female ancestors were listed as Mrs. (insert her
husband’s name), but this doesn’t mean that you won’t be able to find her
maiden name. Look for the following items in newspapers:
#1 – Wedding announcements
#2 – Obituaries: She would most likely be listed with
her married and maiden name in her parent’s obituary. Her family might also
include her maiden name in her obituary.
#3 – Social activities: You might find a mention in
the paper that her mother (listed by name) is visiting her.
Some ancestors are easy to trace, while others can be
a challenge. The latter are the ones that will require a strategy in order to
uncover the mystery. There are many types of documents, such as the ones listed
above that will provide an opportunity for you to glean the maiden names of
your female ancestors. Take the challenge and dig deep in search of the women
in your family tree. They are the other half of your tree and their lines are
equally as important in your genealogical quest.
In closing, stay organized, be persistent and search
for every possible record that might lead you to the answers you’re searching
for.
