Locating Maiden Names of Women Ancestors
Resources for Tracing Families of Those Female Ancestral Lost Ladies
In genealogy female ancestors are most commonly revealed as "wife of", with unknown maiden names. Here are 10 tips for finding maiden names in public records and other places.
Our female ancestors often went through life with little individual identity. They were, primarily, granddaughter, daughter, sister, wife, mother and grandmother. There are, however, ways to trace their ancestry and round out their profile.
1. Marriage records. That includes consent affidavits, banns, intentions, bonds, contracts, applications for marriage licenses, and marriage certificates. Start where the woman was married or the first child born. Search town, county or state records. Don’t forget church records, particularly before the mid 1800s.
2. Death records. Some death certificates ask for parents. Beware: If the husband is long deceased or the woman married more than once, children or others providing information may not know her maiden name unless parents or siblings lived nearby. Remember funeral home records. The business name may change, but records still exist.
3. Newspapers. Many obituaries are online in reprints of old newspapers; also check local libraries for old newspapers. Example: Early Lowell, MA, newspapers often identify pallbearers in obituaries as a brother, son or nephew. Also look for wedding anniversaries, especially the 50th. They often give details about the original wedding.
4. Personal family records. Old letters, photographs, family Bibles, wedding invitations, scrapbooks and diaries are often overlooked because the researcher doesn't know who has them. It's worth pawing around in attics, or sending notes to family members, to unearth them. Example: A photograph that says on the back "to Melissa from grandmother Hardy" can turn a "lost" lady into a "found" one. Don't overlook old Christmas cards and Valentines.
5. Did she have a brother? Who witnessed land records or wills? Who were godparents or sponsors at christenings and baptisms? Do census records of your lost lady's family include a male roughly her age with a different surname?
6. The International Genealogical Index. The IGI is excellent for finding lost ladies and other information. It is available at libraries with large genealogical collections and at LDS Family History Centers.
7. Check the Family Register at the nearest LDS Family History Center. It lists names of ancestors for whom people are searching and gives the name and address of the searcher. There are similar lists online.
8. Genealogical Query Columns put you in touch with others who may have uncovered maiden names. Thousands of them are searchable online. Town historians and librarians receive genealogical inquiries. In New York State nearly every town has a volunteer town historian. Many of these people keep surname files.
9. Cemetery records and gravestones sometimes give a woman's maiden name. Increasing numbers of gravestone inscriptions are now online. Another clue: The husband buried among gravestones bearing a different surname. Women often died young, usually in childbirth. Her family sometimes offered cemetery plots.
10. Court records. Deeds and wills are valuable, but so are contracts tied to dowries, as well as guardianship papers, adoption records, petitions for child support, civil court cases and other lesser known records. You want a record that says something like this: "I, Sadie Stone, wife of Stephen Stone and daughter of Ethan Winslow, deceased, late of Bradford...."
A subsequent article lists lesser known sources for finding maiden names.
