{"id":7102,"date":"2014-05-09T15:45:42","date_gmt":"2014-05-09T15:45:42","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/blog.genealogybank.com\/?p=7102"},"modified":"2021-04-21T11:11:33","modified_gmt":"2021-04-21T15:11:33","slug":"tracing-female-ancestors-the-mother-of-all-genealogy-research","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.genealogybank.com\/blog\/tracing-female-ancestors-the-mother-of-all-genealogy-research.html","title":{"rendered":"Tracing Female Ancestors: The Mother of All Genealogy Research"},"content":{"rendered":"

Introduction<\/em><\/strong>: Gena Philibert-Ortega is a genealogist and author of the book \u201cFrom the Family Kitchen.<\/span>\u201d In this guest blog post, to help celebrate Mother\u2019s Day this weekend, Gena provides genealogy search tips to find information about your female ancestors.<\/em><\/p>\n

There\u2019s no doubt that tracing female ancestors can be difficult and sometimes near impossible. Unlike men who were documented via different types of transactions throughout their lives, women can seemingly disappear just by marrying an unknown-to-you spouse or spouses.<\/p>\n

Let\u2019s face it, finding a certified Mother of the Year might be easier than finding most of our female ancestors, but consider the following genealogy search tips to help you find success as you embark on your family history research.<\/p>\n

\"Mother<\/a>
Boston Herald (Boston, Massachusetts), 12 April 1939, page 1<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Finding Dear Old Mom in the News<\/strong><\/p>\n

First, consider the relationship your ancestress had to others. She may have been a wife or several men\u2019s wife. Maybe she was a mother and a grandmother. Likely as a younger woman she was a student, perhaps a volunteer, and a church or organization member. Don\u2019t forget that she was also somebody\u2019s daughter and friend. She can be in all kinds of different newspaper articles based on her activities and relationships at the time.<\/p>\n

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As you consider all this, remember that her name will \u201cchange\u201d according to her relationship and time. A non-married woman will be listed by her given name and surname (a.k.a. maiden name), while a married woman might be listed as Mrs. [insert husband\u2019s first name or initials and surname]. A widow may revert back to using her given name, so that Mrs. John Smith or Mrs. J. W. Smith becomes Mrs. Grace Smith after his death.<\/p>\n

An example of this is the obituary for Mrs. Emily Ann Smith, a widow who was living with her daughter Mrs. W. E. Gilchrist when she died. Note she is not referred to as \u201cMrs. Sanford Smith.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"obituary<\/a>
Daily Register Gazette (Rockford, Illinois), 17 December 1921, page 6<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Rarer is a news article such as this next one, in which the deceased is referred to by both her own name (Mary Smith Keenan) and her married name (Mrs. James Keenan). Because this is rare, make sure that you are searching all variations of a female ancestor\u2019s name\u2014because some articles will have her name one way, and some will have it another; very few will have both versions.<\/p>\n

\"obituary<\/a>
St. Albans Daily Messenger (St. Albans, Vermont), 5 February 1906, page 7<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Start Research with the Basics<\/strong><\/p>\n

As you research, use a timeline of dates and places to help you find newspaper articles that you may miss just searching by a name, due to misspellings or name variations. Find the corresponding newspaper articles for your timeline that document the major events in her life: birth, engagement, wedding, children\u2019s births, major anniversary milestones, and death.<\/p>\n

This engagement notice from 1939 for the appropriately named Mary Love Jones gives great information\u2014not only about her but other women in her life: her mother, sister, aunts, and other family and friends. Note that not all of the women are listed by their given names. Plus, this article provides a photograph of Mary as a young woman\u2014what a great find if she\u2019s one of your ancestors!<\/p>\n

\"engagement<\/a>
Dallas Morning News (Dallas, Texas), 29 October 1939, section III, page 6<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Avoid Making Assumptions about Your Female Ancestors<\/strong><\/p>\n

Stay away from making assumptions about your ancestor\u2019s life. Don\u2019t fall into the old \u201cshe was just a housewife\u201d syndrome. You might be surprised to find what she was involved in during her lifetime.<\/p>\n

For example, I love this front page montage of photos of teachers and women from the local PTA of Greensboro, North Carolina. What a great find for a descendent who may not be aware of their ancestor\u2019s school involvement.<\/p>\n

\"article<\/a>
Greensboro Daily News (Greensboro, North Carolina), 15 May 1938, page 37<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Another great example of \u201cwomen\u2019s work\u201d making it into the newspaper is this article about \u00a0Red Cross volunteer Mrs. D. P. Beyea, who spoke to groups about her experience nursing soldieries overseas during World War I. Known as the \u201cLittle Mother of the First Division,\u201d she is said to have been one of the first to volunteer. You get a sense of her accomplishments from the newspaper article and a reminder that a woman\u2019s activities may have depended on the time period.<\/p>\n

\"article<\/a>
Lexington Herald (Lexington, Kentucky), 9 November 1919, section 5, page 1<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Again, the issue of name is important here. The old news article isn\u2019t clear whether D. P. (later listed as D. Pirie) is her husband\u2019s initials or her own. A newspaper search on just one version of her name might easily miss this informative article.<\/p>\n\n\n\n\n
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Use Clues in Newspaper Articles to Find More Information<\/strong><\/p>\n

Continuing our genealogy search for Mrs. D. Pirie Beyea by searching Google<\/a>, we can learn even more about her life. For example: click here to see a copy of her lecture brochure digitized and made available through the University of Iowa Libraries Digital Library<\/a>. This is a great brochure complete with personal information, charming photos, and testimonials by those who heard her speak.<\/p>\n

Genealogy Search Tip:<\/em><\/strong> Once you find your ancestor listed by a certain name or involved in an activity in GenealogyBank\u2019s Historical Newspaper Archives<\/a>, make sure to continue your search in Google<\/a> and Google Books<\/a> for any other mentions of them.<\/p>\n

Consider Your Ancestor\u2019s Activities<\/strong><\/p>\n

It\u2019s hard to know what activities your ancestor may have been a part of since some groups that would have been familiar in her time are all but unknown today. Consider that she may have been a member of a group that was an auxiliary to one her husband was a member of (The Daughters of Rebekah, Order of the Eastern Star, Ladies of the Grand Army of the Republic), a religious benevolent group (Dorcas Society, Relief Society), a cause she believed in (Women\u2019s Christian Temperance Union, National American Woman Suffrage Association), a heritage association (Daughters of the American Revolution, Colonial Dames, Daughters of the Confederacy), or just a local group that may have done anything from hold cultural events to provide a social outlet. These groups may have had articles published in the newspaper that listed members or officers, meetings, special events, or persuasive missals.<\/p>\n

The following newspaper article reports on the Spinsters, a social group for young unmarried women.<\/p>\n

\"Miss<\/a>
Greensboro Record (Greensboro, North Carolina), 12 September 1939, page 7<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

The historical news article above is from this newspaper\u2019s \u201cWomen\u2019s Activities\u201d page which has some great articles about women\u2019s groups, wedding notices, and personals that list names of women and mentions of vacations and visits.<\/p>\n

\"Women's<\/a>
Greensboro Record (Greensboro, North Carolina), 12 September 1939, page 7<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

There\u2019s So Much Genealogy to Explore<\/strong><\/p>\n

Having trouble finding genealogical information about your foremothers? Newspaper collections are an excellent place to start because newspapers recorded the happenings of a community. Can\u2019t find anything about your female ancestors? Remember to search the archives for your ancestress with applicable name variations\u2014and keep checking back: GenealogyBank adds more newspapers daily. Even though you may not find anything about your ancestry today, tomorrow could reveal your \u201caha\u201d genealogy moment.<\/p>\n

Happy Mother\u2019s Day!<\/p>\n

Related Articles about Tracing Your Female Ancestry:<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n