7 Strategies for Learning About the Women in Your Family Tree

2. Check Common Government and Religious Records.

Searching marriage records, birth or christening records, and other records may reveal a maiden name.

• Marriage Records—Look for both religious and civil records. Marriage records often list a woman’s maiden name and sometimes include the names of her parents.
• Birth and Christening Records—Make sure you locate all the birth or christening records for all the children a woman may have had, not just your direct ancestor. The birth or christening record for a sibling might just list their mother’s maiden name.
• Social Security Applications—This is one of the most commonly overlooked sources for a maiden name. As of 1935, most people in the U.S. were required to supply information about their birth and both parents’ names to receive a Social Security number. If you don’t have Social Security applications for all of a woman’s children, try checking the Social Security Applications and Claims Index on Ancestry. The full applications are only available through the U.S. National Archives and Records Administration, but the index on Ancestry can still be a source for finding maiden names.
• Death Records—Death records can also be helpful, especially if they list the deceased’s parents, including the mother’s maiden name. However, the accuracy of this information depends on the informant’s knowledge.

3. Explore Probate, Land, and Other Government Records.

Women’s names frequently appear in wills, estate settlements, and the land transactions of their husbands, fathers, or brothers.

• Wills and Probate Records—A father’s will may describe his daughter by using her married name. If a husband died intestate, probate documents may name his wife and her family.
• Land Deeds—Women sometimes appear as grantors (sellers) in property transfers, particularly when land was inherited from their birth family. You might also find a dower release when property was sold, or if a woman and her second husband were selling land owned by her first husband.
• Guardianship Records—Male relatives might have been appointed as guardians if a father died and there were still minor children in the home. Guardians were appointed to oversee financial matters for children if their father passed away before they were of age, even if the mother was still living. 
• Military Pensions—To obtain a pension from the government for military service, men (or their widows) were required to provide proof of their service. Pension application files often include affidavits from friends and family who knew the applicant and could attest to the identity of the applicant’s immediate family, including their wife and any siblings. 

Women could often act as witnesses for many of these documents, so be sure to pay attention to any female witnesses on any of these records.

4. Search Newspapers and Social Records. 

Historical newspapers often contain obituaries, birth and marriage announcements, and social columns that provide women’s maiden names.

• Obituaries—These frequently list a woman’s birth name and family members.
• Engagement and Wedding Announcements—These often include parents’ names or the names of other close family members.
• Community News—Women’s involvement in clubs, church groups, visiting out-of-town family members, or social events can reveal family connections. Community news columns were the social media of prior generations!
• County or Community Histories—Compiled histories about a community or area may list early settlers of the region and identify the parents of a woman if her parents also settled in the same area.

5. Review Census Records Carefully. 

Census records provide a snapshot of family households but rarely include maiden names. However, they may contain hints about a woman’s birth family.

• Look for in-laws—If an elderly parent is living with a married daughter, their surname can be a clue.
• Identify nearby families—Women often married men from the same community, so neighboring households might include her birth family.

6. Investigate Cemetery Records. 

Burial records and cemetery registers can reveal connections to extended family members.

• Look for family plots—Women may be buried near their birth family.
• Check tombstone inscriptions—Some include maiden names or references like “daughter of…” Jewish headstones typically identify the father of the deceased in Hebrew, although a surname may not be provided.

7. Use DNA Testing. 

If documentary evidence is scarce, different types of DNA testing can help.

• Autosomal DNA tests (like the one offered by AncestryDNA) match you with relatives from both sides of your family. By comparing shared matches, you can identify family branches that may lead to a missing female ancestor.
• Mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) traces maternal lineage, helping confirm maternal ancestors. Still, this type of testing is not advised unless you have a specific hypothesis regarding two women that you are trying to ascertain.

Finding Your Female Ancestors Through Determination, Patience, and Creativity

Uncovering the names of female ancestors requires patience and a lot of creativity – don’t be afraid to think outside of the box! By piecing together family records, the billions of official documents on Ancestry, information about all of a woman’s children, and even DNA evidence through an AncestryDNA test, you can reclaim the names of the women who played a vital role in your heritage. Each piece of information and newly discovered name will bring you a step closer to preserving their stories for future generations.

Image Sources

• https://www.flickr.com/photos/museemccordmuseum/5263692510/
• https://www.loc.gov/pictures/item/2006682719/
• https://www.ancestry.com/imageviewer/collections/4224/images/40494_3421606190_0676-00084
• https://www.newspapers.com/image/458365747/?article=6db1bdba-ab08-4beb-b7bd-a18992e62db2
• https://www.ancestry.com/search/collections/6224/records/33598032
• https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/263485258/nettie-childs