Where to find maiden names

FHL Book D27sc. Deerborn, David C. Hogan, Roseann R.. Category : Personal Names. Navigation menu Personal tools English. Namespaces Page Talk. Views Read View source View history. My mission is to help you find creative, time-saving, low-cost ways to discover your ancestors and make the past a part of your present. Maps provide important clues for family historians of all levels but finding the right ones can be a time-consuming task. In this post, learn where to find the best maps for genealogy research.

Are you a descendant of the Joseph Jordan family of Biddeford, Maine? Have you traced your family tree back to colonial Virginia of the early s? About a decade ago, the Nigh family Bible was found in California… and then turned up years later at a garage sale.

These are great suggestions. Lots of great ideas here. TY for sharing! Your email address will not be published. Save my name, email, and website in this browser for the next time I comment. Notify me of follow-up comments by email. Notify me of new posts by email. Skip to content. Quick Links. Image from FamilySearch.

Death certificate of Serena Baxter Brown. Grave marker of Mary Hart. Image from Find A Grave , photographed by author. Thompson Swatzel. Image from Fold3. Excerpt from the will of Hiram Swanay. Image from Ancestry. Like this: Like Loading Previous Previous. Next Continue. Similar Posts. The most likely place to locate a woman's maiden name is on her marriage record. These can include not only the marriage license, but also the marriage certificate, marriage announcements, marriage banns, and marriage bonds.

It is generally necessary to know the spouse's name, marriage location and approximate marriage date to find these records. Check every census year available for your female ancestor, up until the year that she died.

Young couples may be found living with the wife's parents; an elderly parent may have been added to the household; or brothers, sisters, cousins, or other family members may be found living with your ancestors' family. Families living nearby may also be potential relatives. Land was important and often passed down from father to daughter. They may provide the names of females, or names of siblings or children.

Also keep your eye out for a man or a couple selling land to your ancestors for a dollar, or other small amounts. The ones selling the land are more than likely the parents or relatives of your female ancestor. Investigate the witnesses to any transactions in which a widow is selling land, as they may be relatives.

If you have a possible set of parents for your female ancestor, search for their probate record or will. Surnames of female children, along with the names of their spouses, are often listed. Since estates often involved the division of land, deed indexes for your female ancestor may be able to lead you to probate proceedings.

If your female ancestor died recently enough to leave a death certificate, this is potentially one of the few places where her maiden name may appear.

Since death certificates can often include inaccurate information, check the certificate for the name of the informant. The closeness of the relationship between informant and the deceased can help you assess the likely accuracy of the provided information.

Seek death records for each of the women's children as well. Even if the death certificate for your ancestor doesn't include the mother's maiden name, others might. Check newspapers for the locality where your ancestors lived for birth or marriage announcements or obituaries. Even if you can't locate an obituary for your female ancestor, you may find notices for siblings or other family members that provide helpful clues; she may be mentioned in the obituary of a brother, for example.