By Mary Alice
Dell - Genealogical Society of Kendall County
All family historians
have one surname in common. Most are connected to a woman’s name,
frequently Mary or Elizabeth. If you do not have an “unknown” in the
surname position on your pedigree chart, you probably have not been
searching your family history very long, or you just have blanks where the
surname usually is listed.
The inability to determine the maiden
name of our female ancestors is the most common “brick wall” that we
encounter. Some people just call it an “end of the line”
event.
The
farther back in time we go, the more common this wall appears. That is
where the family historian has to become the family “detective.”
My
husband inherited the family pictures after his sister died. Among the old
sepia-toned photos was one of an elderly lady labeled “Gramma Box.” Harry
knew his maternal grandmothers were named Dell and Nelson, and the only
other grandmothers he knew of in the family were his mother’s grandmothers
who were named King and Schneider. His father had never known either of
his grandmothers who would have been named Dell or Ratliff. So who was
Gramma Box?
Death and marriage records soon made it evident that
Grandmothers Nancy King and Alice Schneider had both remarried, previously
having been Nancy Griffith (nee Landis) and Alice Nelson (nee Box). At
last we had found the Box line.
An old newspaper clipping of the
marriage of Alice Box to Charles W. Nelson stated the wedding was held at
the home of her parents, Mr. and Mrs. Henry Box. Here was our Grandmother
Box, but no given name. Even her obituary only referred to her as Mrs.
Henry Box. Still no given or maiden name!
After more searching of a
microfilmed copy of the local newspaper in the basement of the library in
Manchester, Iowa, on an antique machine, we found the obituary of Henry
Box. It reported he had married Mary Bates in Cornwall, England, prior to
their immigration. Mary Bates Box could finally be inscribed on the
picture of Gramma Box.
NEWSPAPERS GOOD
SOURCE
Newspapers began printing obituaries, weddings
and other items of personal interest about the ordinary person after the
Civil War. Prior to that only the happenings of well-known local or
national leaders, or brief death notices, were reported in most
papers.
Although many “historical” newspapers are being digitized
and appear on subscription Web sites such as Footnote, WorldVitalRecords,
Genealogy Bank, and Ancestry, some can still be found at county or state
genealogical and historical society sites.
Consult cyndislist.com, or Google the name of
the county or city and the word newspaper.
Early baptismal records
can be discouraging as they rarely mentioned the maiden name of the
mother; in fact sometimes, not even the given name.
Before counties
or states required that all marriages be recorded, it was customary to
have the banns read in a church before marriage. Unfortunately, records of
banns are rare, and the marriage records of all churches are not
extant.
To find if the records of the church your ancestor attended
exist, Google that denomination and the word archive. You probably won’t
find that information on line, but perhaps the address of an archive where
you can make an inquiry.
You might be lucky enough to find a family
history that has been digitized and has the maiden name you seek. Search
Google using the family surname and the words family
history.
Family histories, like Internet pedigree charts, are not
always accurate. Any fact not confirmed by a document created at or near
the time the event occurred should be verified before you cast it in
concrete.
Speaking of words in stone, some tombstones have maiden
names, so don’t neglect looking for cemetery records.
Census
records after 1850 offer a clue for investigation when an older man or
woman with a different surname appears in a household. An unidentified
male or female with a different surname, and of an age of the wife, could
be a brother or sister.
Younger children of a different surname may
be of the wife’s previous marriage; and could lead to a marriage record
that would reveal the maiden name.
SEARCH THE
OLD-FASHIONED
WAY
When the Internet search runs dry, it is time to return to the
“old fashioned” but still very valid way of research - by examining lesser
consulted county records.
Land transfer deeds many times will
reveal the names of the children of a man who died without a will. This is
an ideal place to locate a maiden name. Or you may find a deed wherein a
father has gifted land to a slave or to a daughter.
Always look at
all the deeds for every family surname listed in the index. Brothers
sometimes mentioned sisters or other female relatives.
Wills are
obvious places to look for married daughters named by the deceased. Always
explore the records of any non-family surname that is mentioned in a will
for their relationship. It could be the husband of a daughter.
I
have proven several maiden names that way. The estate settlement document
of Tavener Branham, who died in Kentucky in 1818, revealed a legacy to
three men who did not have the Branham surname. One was my ancestor Thomas
Gaines.
Women were not legal entities at that time, so husbands
were the recipients of money given to their wives. By proving the
marriages of the other two men to Branham women, I was able to prove, by
method of elimination, that Frances, the other daughter, was the wife of
Thomas. Their marriage record had been destroyed in a fire as had the
recorded will.
Civil court records in which family members are
suing each other over estate matters are good sources for finding maiden
names. Always look at the index of both plaintiff and defendant for the
family surname and seek the lawsuits.
Visit the county courthouses
where your ancestor lived or order microfilmed copies of these records
from the Family History Library. The catalog of these films is available
at familysearch.com.
Once
you have determined the film you want to see, go to the Family History
Center at a local Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints to order the
film. You will also have to view it there.
Unless you are skilled
with a digital camera and can take images of the documents you find, make
sure the FH Center has a microfilm printer. Always call in advance as
hours vary. The location of FH centers can be found on line.
If all
else fails, investigate that “hunch” that the father of your ancestor is
the neighbor on the adjacent property mentioned in a deed. Or that her
brother might be that only other person on the census page that is born in
the same time period and in the same or different state than everyone else
listed there.
LEARN MORE
The Computer Genie Group is holding
a series of meetings at which the brick walls of attendees are being
attacked by two family history experts using Internet sources. They meet
the third Thursday of each month at 1 p.m. at the Boerne Public Library.
You’re invited to attend.