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Have you ever looked at a death certificate and in the place for the parents’ names you find the full name for the father and where the mother’s name should be listed there is that dreaded word “unknown.” For some reason even though moms have to be at the birth of a child, they are often the ones whose names are “unknown.”
There’s no doubt that researching female ancestors is harder, afterall in North America they take on a different surname with each marriage. However, harder doesn’t necessarily mean impossible. Women’s life experiences are different and so too are the resources needed to research and document their lives. While it’s important to start with resources you are familiar with like vital records and the census, when you hit a brick wall there are other sources.
That’s what Remembering the Ladies: Researching Your Female Ancestors is all about. We will explore resources, talk methodology and look at how we can find our female ancestors. This isn’t your grandmother’s genealogy! We will be looking at going beyond the usual familiar genealogy sources to track down family stories. I hope you will join me as we explore my favorite topic, researching female ancestors.
Look for this new and exciting column to debut in the February 2013 issue of IDG’s digital format magazine, Going In-Depth.
Gena, I’m really looking forward to your articles. My wife and I, when we began to get serious about our family history research, in 1995, pledged to ourselves that we would always follow the mother’s line as often as the father’s line. We go back to a couple, then research all their descendants – male and female. We’ve been generally successful, but certainly ‘appreciate’ the increased difficulty in doing the female side of the search. We are still looking for more and better techniques. Bring them on!
Hi Bill!
Thanks so much for your kind welcome. I love discovering and telling the stories of female ancestors. My goal is that these articles will help others with new resources and techniques.
Thanks for your comment.
Gena
Gena, I am looking forward to your column. I am always amazed at how often, even in this day and age how often women are expected to assume her husband’s identity. It really annoys me to get letters address to Mrs then my husband’s initials! I have known to return such addressed letters, but then I am grumpy!
Hi Julie!
I totally understand. I recently had a young woman tell me she thought it was the law that women had to change their surnames upon marriage. Makes me grumpy too!
That’s why I think it’s so important to show the documents that exist that detail women’s lives. So satisfying to show what women left behind based on their lives.
Thanks for the comment!
Gena
Gena, I have too often run across the dreaded word “unknown.” My great-grandmother was “said to be an orphan,” and that’s all I can find of her so far. She had 14 children. I am looking forward to your column and your suggestions for research!
Hi Mariann!
It’s amazing isn’t it? The one person who has to be at a birth, the mother, and she is the person listed as “unknown” on the death certificate.
Thanks for stopping by. I appreciate your comments. I hope the column helps you in your research.
Gena