How to deal with the difficulties of researching your female ancestors.

1. C
TRACINGFEMALE
ANCESTORS
The Mysterious Maternal Line

2. WHERE ARE THE WOMEN?
• Until1850 women were just a tick mark on the United States Census unless they were
Widowed/Divorced (and less likely - single) and were the head of the household.
• In the 1880 census the relationship to the head of the household was indicated and this gave us
a better idea of the woman’s status.
• There are surname changes when they marry.
• Multiple marriages resulting in multiple name changes.
• Some cultures retain the woman’s maiden name.

3. Much of women's history has been hidden and filtered
through unrealistic expectations and assumptions.
Because U.S. government data about women's lives and
occupations has been significantly inaccurate, these
misrepresentations in statistical information have shaped
the reality of women's lives. They also affect men and
society as a whole: these numbers influence our
investments, our property values, our representation in
Congress, and even how we see our place in society. This
book documents how U.S. federal government statistics
have served to reveal and conceal facts about women in
the United States. It reaches back to the late 1800s, when
the U.S. Census Bureau first listed women's occupations,
and forward to the present.

4. THINK IN TERMS OF HER ROLES
• Daughter
• Wife
• Widow
• Mother
• Grandmother
• Sister
• Niece
• Granddaughter
• Friend
• Neighbor
She may have been employed as a teacher, nurse, cook,
seamstress, etc.

5. FOR EXAMPLE MY GREAT-GRANDMOTHER LIVED WITH HER UNCLE
DISCOVERING MORE ABOUT THIS UNCLE AND WHAT HE DID WOULD SHED A LIGHT
ON HOW SHE LIVED. I WOULD ALSO WANT TO FIND OUT WHO AND WHERE HER
PARENTS ARE.

6. SOMETIMES WHEN A
WOMAN REMARRIED
HER NAME FROM HER
FIRST MARRIAGE WAS
ON THE MARRIAGE
CERTIFICATE.
This is also the case for
some death certificates.
Therefore do the search
for the surname she had
at the time.
Louisiana State Marriage Index

7. WITH SURNAME CHANGES AND A LACK OF “OFFICIAL” DOCUMENTAION, FEMALE ANCESTORS CAN BE
DIFFICULT TO TRACE.
USE THESE STRATEGIES
• EXPAND THE SCOPE OF YOUR SEARCH TO INCLUDE HER FAN CLUB, (FRIENDS, ASSOCIATES
AND NEIGHBORS)
• KEEP IN MIND HER HISTORICAL ERA. WILD GOOSE CHASES OCCUR WHEN WE SEARCH FOR
RECORDS THAT DO NOT EXIST
• BE CREATIVE WITH YOUR SEARCH. THINK OUTSIDE THE BOX AND DO NOT LIMIT YOURSELF TO
THE SAME OLD RESOURCES
• START WITH A TIMELINE

8. IN ORDER TO FIND HER FAN CLUB (Friends, Associates and Neighbors)
Look at the surnames of those living at the same address or neighborhood recorded in the census.
Look in the directory to find the names of those listed in her neighborhood, workplace or husband’s workplace.
Search newspaper databases for the names of those whom you know are connected to her.
Times-Picayune (published as THE TIMES-PICAYUNE.)
(New Orleans, Louisiana)
August 16, 1933

9. IN ORDER TO KEEP IN MIND THE HISTORICAL CONTEXT :
Did women have the right to vote? Would she be on voter lists?
The 19th Amendment giving women the right to vote passed in 1919.
However, women were allowed to vote in local elections before that.
Women indeed voted: they voted their PROPERTY -- and they voted in huge numbers. Women also could cast
proxy property votes for their timid friends, and it is possible that in some cases women of all races had their
property voted and their voices heard. Bond issues then involved two votes: one by registered voters and one
by property owners, who voted the assessed valuation of their property.
In New Orleans in 1899 women helped pass a Sewerage and Water Board Act.
Did she have the right to own property? Did she inherit property? If so, wills and probate records will be
helpful.

10. IN 1899 THE WOMEN
OF NEW ORLEANS
WERE CREDITED WITH
PASSING THE SEWAGE
AND WATER BOARD
ACT.

11. GEN. 346.7304 SAL
In this first comprehensive study of women's
property rights in early America, Marylynn Salmon
discusses the effect of formal rules
of law on women's lives. The forces of change
in colonial and early national law were various, but
Salmon believes ideological considerations were just as
important as economic ones.
In 1862, the US Homestead Act makes it easier
for single, widowed and divorced women to
claim land in their own names.
In 1900, every state has passed legislation
allowing married women to own their own
property and keep their earnings.

12. THE FIRST WOMAN MAYOR WAS
ELECTED IN 1887 in Argonia Kansas.
Susanna M. Salter was put on the ballot
as a joke by men. When the women
found out, they rallied behind Salter
enabling her win.
Victoria Woodhull ran for President
in 1872.

13. Jeanette Rankin was the
first woman elected to the
House of Representatives
in 1916.
She was a pacifist and
women’s suffrage
advocate.
Rebecca Latimer Felton was the first
female Senator in 1922. She was
appointed and served only one day.

14. THERE ARE THREE COMMON QUESTIONS TO BE ANSWERED
1. WHAT IS HER MAIDEN NAME?
2. WHERE DID SHE GO?
3. WHERE DO I START?

15. COMMON QUESTION #1
WHAT IS HER MAIDEN NAME?
Look For Marriage Records
(marriage license and certificate, church records, newspapers)
Look at letters, diaries and family bibles
Consider children’s middle names as clues to her maiden name
Search for the records of her children/grandchildren.
Search for obituary which may list male siblings and/or parents

16. COMMON QUESTION #2
WHERE DID SHE GO?
Try researching another family member such as a child or someone
with a more unusual name.
Do not forget to use name variations
(i.e. - initials or husband’s name)
When you search databases and newspapers.
Narrow your search by place
and exhaust all documents for that place

17. COMMON QUESTION #3
WHERE DO I START?
Start with a timeline and list everything you know.
Determine what sources you expect to find her in.
Do some general searches on your favorite websites.
Include digital book websites like Google Books to find city directories
and histories.

18. LETTERS
DIARIES
ORAL HISTORIES
HOME SOURCES AND ARTIFACTS
CENSUS AND TAX SCEDULES
WILLS AND PROPATE RECORDS
MEDICAL RECORDS
LAND RECORDS
CHURCH RECORDS
VITAL RECORDS
SCHOOL RECORDS
SOCIAL HISTORIES

19. DIARIES
ANNE LISTER
You may not find your
ancestor’s diary.
However, you may find
one that belonged to a
friend, neighbor, co-
worker

20. NEWSPAPER MENTIONS
Newspapers document women’s everyday lives and important
occasions.
Women can be listed in more than articles about marriage or death.
She might have submitted a recipe, wrote a letter to the editor, or
entered a contest.

21. STRATEGIES FOR FINDING HER IN NEWSPAPER ARTICLES
IT”S ALL IN A NAME
Create a name variation list that includes surname changes, initials, and nicknames.
Search for siblings and children.
Don’t forget that she could have been known by her husband’s name, e.g., Mrs. John Sullivan.
Use these variations as you search.
CONSIDER LIFE EVENTS
Birth, marriage and death dates are a start, but also consider events involving husbands or children.
Articles documenting her long life or a major wedding anniversary (25th or 50th) might exist. If looking for an
obit you may want to try searching the name of the cemetery.
DON’T LIMIT YOUR SEARCH BY USING TOO MANY KEYWORDS, PLACES OR DATES IN A SEARCH.
Conduct searches using different keywords. Remember, the more information you type in the search engine, the
fewer results you will receive.

22. FINDING FEMALES IN THE CITY DIRECTORIES
Starting in the late 1800s, city directories became more common.
These directories contain an alphabetical list of names and were published regularly making them a companion
resource to the census and voter registrations.
City directories provide more than a street address;
They may also provide a woman’s marital status and occupation.
Pinpointing a husband’s death might be easier with a directory that includes the word “widow” by her name.
Use directories to follow her through time but don’t assume that a disappearance from the directory means she
died, she may have moved, remarried, or is simply not listed.
Be sure to check the beginning of the directory for a key to abbreviations and historical information.

23. THE MIDDLE INITIAL IN A MARRIED
WOMAN”S NAME COULD BE A CLUE
TO HER MIDDLE NAME OR MAIDEN
NAME.
MY GRANDMOTHER’S MIDDLE NAME
WAS MARGUERITE AND HER MAIDEN
NAME WAS CARTER.
Be sure to check out
the abbreviations
which the directory
uses. In particular,
look for wid or w to
indicate widow
which will be a clue
to when her
husband passed.

24. FINDING FEMALES IN DEATH RECORDS
Death Certificates & Obituaries
Government documents such as pensions
Documents related to their spouse
Records of Membership in an Organization
Burial records kept by the cemetery or funeral home
Newspaper mention of illness before death
Funeral home notice in newspaper
Legal notices about probate, etc.
Articles relating an accident, murder or suicide that lead to death
Church Records
Family Bible

25. By the dawn of the 19th century, tuberculosis—or consumption—
had killed one in seven of all people that had ever lived.
Throughout much of the 1800s, consumptive patients sought "the
cure" in sanatoriums, where it was believed that rest and a
healthful climate could change the course of the disease.
Many of these were situated in areas that had a dry climate; most
notably Colorado. There are records for the Jewish Consumptive
Relief Society and some of the sanatoriums.
https://www.jewishgen.org/databases/USA/JCRS.htm
https://www.cyndislist.com/medical/hospitals/
TUBERCULIN SANATORIUMS
TB (aka consumption) in America: 1895-1954

26. WOMEN IN INSANE ASYLUMS
In the mid to late 1800’s women were expected to behave according to society’s
expectations, held to the archetype of the obedient housewife and mother. As such, they
had almost entirely no input on decisions concerning their lives, especially in regards to
matters such as their mental health. The women of this time period were expected to be
dutiful, subservient housewives that stayed home to do little other than take care of the
children, and keep order in the house. It was the men who made all the decisions in the
household; women were, in accordance with the archetype, simply expected to listen and
obey. However, divorce rates were very low in those times. As such, if a women was to
behave in a way that opposed the views or opinions held by her husband, the husband
would then declare the wife insane and have her sent to an asylum rather than going
through a divorce as the majority of couples would do in modern times. Many women ended
up in the asylums even if they were of perfectly stable mental health.

27. Women were expected to behave in a poised, compliant manner. Acting against the husband
was completely unacceptable, due to the threat of being declared insane. They couldn’t do
anything other than be the proper woman that was expected.
Women were sent to asylums as an alternative for divorce. The asylums were essentially
prisons for non-compliant women. Once declared insane, a woman would immediately be
carted off to an asylum to begin living a life of depravity. Essentially being forced into insanity.
Women that had no mental health problems at all were forced into living in asylums simply because of
angry husbands. They were subjected to inhumane living conditions. Many were starved and forced
to go through treatments that had a more negative effect on their stability than anything else.
These conditions were not conducive to the mental health of the occupants. Often they led to the
deterioration of the mental state of the occupants, just reinforcing the beliefs of the male
society. Women who originally were of a completely sane state, were reduced to a primal survival
state.
The wrongful treatment at asylums eventually caused the occupants to lose their spirit. The
very thing that put many women in the asylums is what kept them in them. The behavior that
came as a result of the poor treatment in the facilities only served to lengthen their stay.

29. WAS SHE A
SUFFRAGETTE?
LOOK
FOR
POLICE
RECORDS

30. WAS SHE
INVOLVED IN A
MONUMENTAL
EVENT IN
POLITICS AND
HISTORY LIKE THE
TRIANGLE
SHIRTWAISTE FIRE
DISASTER?

31. WOMEN IN WAR
Actress Bea Arthur
was a Marine
Florence Nightingale
Nurse during Crimea WarActress Hedy Lamarr
invented
Technology and code-
making devices during
WWII.
IF A MALE RELATIVE SERVED THEY MAY BE MENTIONED IN PENSION RECORDS
Archives.gov, Ancestry.com, Fold3, etc.

32. WOMEN IN WAR
WOMEN’S VOLUNTARY, RESERVE and FULL –STATUS MILITARY ORGNAIZATIONS
1881 American Red Cross https://catalog.archives.gov/id/783
1901 Army Nurse Corps (African-American Women in 1918)
https://www.army.mil/article/124742/army_nurse_corps_collection_finding_aid
1908 Navy Nurse Corps (only single women until 1944; African-American women in 1945)
https://nnca.org/nnca-history/about-navy-nurse-corps/archives/
1917 Navy enrolls yeomanettes into service
https://www.archives.gov/publications/prologue/2006/fall/yeoman-f.html
1918 Marines enroll marinettes
https://www.usmcmuseum.com/uploads/6/0/3/6/60364049/womenmarineresources.pdf

33. 1940 Women’s Voluntary Services
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/American_Women%27s_Voluntary_Services
1942 Women’s Army Auxillary Corps
(WAAC); in 1943 Women’s Army Corps (WAC)
https://www.archives.gov/atlanta/exhibits/item43.html
1942 Navy’s Women Accepted for Volunteer Emergency Service (WAVE)
https://ww2db.com/other.php?other_id=24
1942 Women’s Auxillar Ferrying Squadron and Women’s Air Service Pilots
(WASP); merged in 1943 as WASPs https://twu.edu/library/womans-
collection/collections/women-airforce-service-pilots/
1942 US Coast Guard SPARS
https://legacy.lib.utexas.edu/taro/utcah/03105/cah-03105.html
1949 Air Force Nurse Corps
http://safn.org/
WOMEN’S VOLUNTARY, RESERVE and FULL –STATUS
MILITARY ORGNAIZATIONS (CONTINUED)

34. WOMEN WORKED
Factory worker
Secretary
Nurse
Teacher
Seamstress
Domestic (i.e. maid)
Boardinghouse
Prostitution
Saloon/Gambling
Actress/Opera
Apprenticeship
Indentured
Lawyer
Doctor

35. WITCH TRIALS
The Salem witch trials were a series of hearings and
prosecutions of people accused of witchcraft in colonial
Massachusetts between February 1692 and May 1693.
More than two hundred people were accused. Thirty were
found guilty, nineteen of whom were executed by hanging
(fourteen women and five men).
Witch hysteria really took hold in Europe during the mid-
1400s, when many accused witches confessed, often
under torture, to a variety of wicked behaviors. Within a
century, witch hunts were common and most of the
accused were executed by burning at the stake or
hanging.
https://www.hope.ac.uk/media/studywithus
/departments/historyandpolitics/document
s/Witchcraft.pdf

36. DIVORCE RECORDS
GIVE INSIGHT INTO HER RELATIONSHIP
CAN INCLUDE HER MAIDEN NAME
PROPERTY AND PROPERTY DIVISION
CHILDREN (CUSTODY/SUPPORT/VISITATION)
SPOUSAL SUPPORT

37. Divorce records are recorded by the Clerk of Court. If the
court clerk no longer has the divorce records in custody,
apply to the department of vital records, office of vital
statistics, or registrar, in the county where
your divorce case took place. If the
parish/county records department does not
keep divorce decrees, contact your state department
of records or registrar.

38. Times-Picayune
(published as THE PICAYUNE)
(New Orleans, Louisiana)
February 3, 1837
Times-Picayune (published
as The Daily Picayune)
(New Orleans, Louisiana)
May 21, 1874

39. WILLS & PROBATE
You may find the following information in probate records:
•Person's exact death date
•Names of the family members
•Family relationships
•Names of spouses of children
•Residences
•Adoption or guardianship of minor children or dependents
•Worth of the property and land holdings
•Evidence of occupation, religion, or military service

40. Clues hidden in a Will :
My 3x-great grandfather Pedro
Cuquet begins his will by saying that
he has no forced heirs. This was a clue
to the fact that he had no
“legitimized” children since he was
not able to legally marry his wife
because she was of mixed race.
He does not mention his wife since
she pre-deceased him and legally
they were not married.
He acknowledges his natural children
and names them all as well as his
sons-in-law.
Daughters-in-law are not mentioned
and extra significance is given to the
males.

41. FEMALE IMMIGRANTS
Things to ponder :
Did she marry before or after immigrating?
It is probable that she immigrated after her husband.
Would her maiden name or married name be listed
on the ship manifest?
Women had derivative citizenship.

43. SCHOOL RECORDS
Keep in mind what type of education was available for women at the time that your
ancestor lived.
In Colonial America New England everyone was taught to read so that they could read
the bible. Girls were then taught housekeeping and a few were writing skills at home.
In the 20th Century women’s rights organizations pushed for increasing women’s status
and education. However, women were educated for occupations that were considered
suitable for them (nurse, teacher, social worker, librarian, secretary and journalist).

44. Graduation Lists in the Newspaper
Contact the School District
Jefferson Parish jpschools.org
Orleans Parish
nolapublicschools.com
Yearbooks
at the library, on ancestry.com,
classmates.com, and other online
resources.

45. COOK BOOKS
FEEDING AMERICA : THE HISTORIC AMERICAN COOKBOOK PROJECT

46. QUILTS
WWW.QUILTINDEX.ORG

47. GIRL SCOUTS OF
THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA
WAS STARTED BY JULIETTE GORDON LOW IN 1912.
YOU CAN CONTACT THE ARCHIVES AT :
https://www.girlscouts.org/en/visit-us/visit-us/collection-archive.html

48. WOMEN’S CLUBS AND
ORGANIZATIONS
Start by looking at the Women’s Auxillary Club that corresponds with club(s)
that her husband is a member of .
• POLITICAL
• RELIGIOUS
• BENEVOLENT AND SOCIAL CAUSES
• ACADEMIC/EDCATIONAL
• ETHNIC
• OCCUPATIONAL/PROFESSIONAL
• FRATERNAL
• HERITAGE

49. Pythian Sisters
Sigma Kappa Sorority
Knights of Columbus
Auxillary

54. CAVEAT
IN ORDER TO NOT LOSE THE MAIDEN NAME
OF YOUR FEMALE ANCESTORS FOR FUTURE
GENERATIONS;
RECORD THEM USING THEIR MAIDEN NAME.
THIS IS THE STANDARD.
EVERYONE IS RECORDED BY THEIR BIRTH
NAME