Whenever possible, support family stories with the facts. Keep in mind the old adage, "In God we trust, all others must have the facts." Facts denote a primary source on paper. Usually there is a twist to the family story, but we want the whole truth and nothing but the truth will do. Knowing that "she wore wooden shoes" immediately gives us clues and points us in a direction.
Think back to the family tales you have heard. Let's say a remembered phrase is, "her father was a Cohanim or Cohen," meaning of the Jewish priesthood. This indicates the family can trace its origins back 3,000 years to the first high priest or cohen, Aaron, the older brother of Moses. To this day all the Cohanim (one of the origional twelve tribes) are viewed as descendants of Aaron, not just figuratively, but by blood. Many, but not all, have the surname Cohen, Kohen, Cohn, Kohn, Cone, Kone, Cahn, Kahn, or Kahane.
Dr. Karl Skorecki, a researcher in genetics at the Technion-Israel Institute of Technology in Haifa and his colleagues in England and the United States have reported to the journal, Lancet, that men who had been told they were Cohanim shared certain specific Y chromosome genetic traits; thus indicating that they may represent a single lineage back to one male forbearer, perhaps back to Aaron (New York Times, Jan 19, 1997, p. 4).
Begin the time line with her birth and end it with her death. Fill it in with the various events (occasion, time and place) which make up her life. This line will begin to tell a story all her own and stimulate your curiousity. More questions will be raised.
This information should be interwoven and supportive of other family facts. Be sure to have at least three sources which confirm specific information, i.e. birth dates or birth years, and places. Check census and civil vital records on the woman, her husband and her children first. This often provides the most information with the least time outlay.
If you arrive at a stone wall with your earliest ancestor's child, change your focus to the siblings of this person. Collateral lines may hold the key that unlocks the gate to the family origions. When one door closes, God opens another.
Gather civil birth, marriage, and death records, census, Bible records, naturalizations, deeds, obituaries, wills, cemeteries and town/county histories which include information on these relatives. The more information you glean the stronger your foundation of facts; the more sources of family information you can examine, the more likely you will attain your goal. Then only after exhausting all other sources should you cross the ocean to continue the search.
Examine the federal and state census indexes, and then turn to the census for the town of her residence. Copy the full page on which she is listed. Note the date the census was taken, who her neighbors were, and her age. Does the census state her age at her last birthday, or her age at her next birthday? Seek out her children in the census. Age discrepancies between census are common. If she becomes a widow, she will commonly go to live with a daughter and son-in-law, or less frequently she will move in with a son and his wife.
In rare instances a census taker may identify the maiden name of each woman. An Albany, New York 1855 census taker, William D Mahony, enhanced his recordings by his frequent identification of wives by their maiden names in the sixth ward of Albany City. This was in response to a feud with his supervisor. The census from this ward has been transcribed by Dr. David Paul Davenport, and was published in The Capital (Vol. 3, no. 2 {Second Quarter 1988}, 65-66), and in subsequent issues. Additionally, the 1925 Iowa State Census identifies the parents places of birth and the maiden name of the mother.
In the federal census 1880, 1900, 1910, and 1920, the places of birth for the parents are listed. In addition, the 1900 census identifies the number of children given birth to by the wife, and the number living when the census was taken.
In the New York State 1855 census, one column lists the duration of residence in the place of enumeration for each member of a household. This helps pinpoint former places of abode; thus, moving her back on her time line.
If your research carries you through America and across the ocean, you will want to add Thomas Jay Kemp's International Vital Record handbook to your collection. This reference contains the application forms needed for civil death, marriage and birth records for each American state, the Canadian provinces, and for sixty-seven countries and territories. Just photocopy and complete the forms, enclose payment and place in an addressed envelope. Before shipping, double check the names, dates, and places. If the date of death is unknown, narrow down the year of death to within a few years. This text was published by Genealogical Publishing Company, 1001 N. Calvert Street, Baltimore, MD 21201 in 1990.
Marriage civil or ecclesiastical records are popular choices as they often provide twice as much information because two people are involved. Perhaps the husband and wife were from the same town; this may be noted. A search can be made to determine if both sets of parents resided in that community. Even if they do not, remember we still tend to marry someone who lives within thirty miles of where we live. Consider your own situation and that of other family members. Where did they live in relationship to their future mates?
Keep in mind the pre-Revolutionary practice of female based birth order marriages. This meant that the oldest daughter was required to marry prior to the marriage of her younger sisters. In one of my post-Revolutionary ancestral families, the family joke was that the youngest sister (and my ancestor) born in 1823 in Ontario was, "to ugly to get married." Perhaps this was a weak attempt at reinforcing the fading practice of adhering to birth order marriage, or was it a hint at family composition and real sibling rivalry? In a rivalrous turn of events, she became the first daughter to marry.
A word of caution: do not assume that a person had only one marriage, especially when the vital records are scanty or missing. Also, be sure that no two women of similar ages have the same names in the same area. Years of research can quickly become a pile of useless paper if incorrect assumptions are made.
- Other early marriage records include:
- Bailey, Early Connecticut Marriages, 1651-1800, Vol 7, 1982 - includes 30,000 entries of Congregational and Episcopal marriages.
- Irish, Pennsylvania German Marriages, 1982 - includes marriages and baptisms for ninety-five Pennsylvania churches from 1710-1901.
- New York Marriages Prior to 1784, 1984 - includes 25,000 marriage licenses.
- Irish, Pennsylvania German Marriages, 1982 - includes marriages and baptisms for ninety-five Pennsylvania churches from 1710-1901.
Check for witnesses or sponsors. God-parents are often related to the child.
Be open-minded about how to spell names and places. Transpositions, phonemics, and poor handwriting may alter a name.
Other than vowels, some commonly interchanged letters are B & P, D & T, F & V, J & Y, and V & W. Some commonly confused upper case cursive letters include the following: O & D, I & J, J & T, I & T, L & S, H & K, and M & W.
Keep your eyes and ears open. A new twist on variant spellings includes this case. In the 1810 census of one town in Otsego County, New York, one researcher recently noticed there were no surnames beginning with the letter "K". The reason is simple: The cursive "K" used by one Otsego County census taker was writeen as follows:
When the surnames beginning with "K" were transcribed, the transcriber typed out each surname with the letter "S" before the "K". So to find your Otsego County female females with the surname beginning with a "K", look under the "K" and "S" portions of the 1810 census index.
As the Irish clung to their land, so do the Irish and Dutch-born women in American keep their maiden names. A Dutch or Irish woman is commonly listed with her maiden name, not her married name, in newspaper obituaries and on tombstone inscriptions. This practice was very common in the second half of the nineteenth century, and early twentieth century America.
Iroquois Indian women have never taken their husband's name, nor did their children take his surname. Hers was the name of choice.
Across the ocean, other variations occur. Names may have been anglicized, as in Zimmermann (German), which becomes Carpenter, or Brehoney (Gaelic), which may be listed in the Northern Irish records as the English surname Judge. Check with someone who is fluent in the language, and knowledgeable about the history of the country of origin before identifying the possible spellings.
Certain given names and surname are indigenous to specific sections of a country. Some examples include Hebrew, English, Irish, and Dutch names. Bridget/Brigit is common in the Republic of Ireland. Surnames ending in in(c)k (as in Hilferink), ing, -hoff and -loo (as in VanDeLoo) are frequently found in Gelderland, Holland, as are the surnames Klein (small), and Groot (great). Two syllable names ending in -e, such as rogge and Rijke, are also common in this province.
The Morman Library produced a series of booklets on researching in Holland. One publication which provides tips on locating the Dutch provincial place of origin is: Genealogical Department of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, the Origins of Names and Their Effects on Genealogical Research in the Netherlands, Series C, No. 28, 1975, rev. 1977, 3 (the Development of Given Names and the Female Versions of these names), and 14 (Surname Peculiarities in the Provinces - Gelderland).
Ethnic religious differences may also help determine the spelling of a name. The Catholics may spell the name McDonald whereas in the case of Protestants the name would be more commonly spelled McDoniel. The emigrant children of one Jewish couple may have different last names. One may use the mother's maiden name, one may be known by the name of the synagogue of origin, another may rearrange the letters of the surname (Levi could become Weil), or anglicize them (Ma'ir becomes Meyer), and another may derive her name from an acronym of the parents entire name. Rachel Shlomo BatIsaac, meaning Rachel daughter of Isaac, might become Rashi.
Suffixes are often added to feminize a name. The Dutch endings -tje, -je,, and -ke turn a male given name into a female name. One example is Garritje. A Slovak suffix which feminizes a surname is -ova. Prosbikova is one example. A Hebrew patronymic, meaning the daughter of, is the ending -ouna.
English and Welch, 1700-1870 - First daughter was named after the mother's mother; second daughter was named after the mother's father's mother; third daughter was named after the mother, fourth daughter was named after the mother's older sister; first son was named after the father's father; second son was named after the mother's father; third son was named after the father's eldest brother. Exceptions apply if there was a duplication of a given name, then practice would involve skipping to the next name on the list.
Scottish, 1700 to 1800 - first daughter was named for her maternal grandmother; second daughter was named for her paternal grandmother; third daughter was named after her mother; other daughters were named after other family members; first son was named after his paternal grandfather, second son was named after his maternal grandfather; third son was named after his father. This policy holds true unless one family member had more assets or a higher social standing than the other. By following the aforementioned naming practiceing, one unique aspect of Scottish naming was that if two grandmothers or two grandfathers had the same given name, two children in the same family would end up wtih the same name.
Early Dutch (similar to the Scottish practice listed above)- First daughter was named after her maternal grandmother; second daughter was named after her paternal grandmother; third daughter was named after her mother's eldest sister; first son wsa named after his paternal (or maternal) grandfather; second son was named after his maternal (or paternal) grandfather; third son was named after his father.
Old German - Each child was given first and middle names, and was called by his/her middle name. The first name of each daughter was usually the first name of the mother, and the first name of each son was commonly the first name of the father. The middle name of each child was the name of the baby's baptismal sponsor. This godparent may have been a relative, family friend, or the parent of the child. The Germans in the northwestern section of the country (including Friesland and adjacent areas) commonly followed the system listed for the Early dutch above. If a German immigrant married a Dutch immigrant, the Early dutch naming system was the more common naming method.
If a woman is listed with a place of birth as Marsberg, Saxony, one must determine what town spelled similarly to Marsberg was in the former duchy of Saxony. By checking the beginning pages on the Saxony fiche card (IGI at the Mormon Library), one will find an alphabetical listing of all the towns. From this list, one will find a Merseburg listed. In fact, the baptism record of Constance Wilhemina Louisa Woelffer, later known as Louisa Muller, states her date of birth as 6 October 1809, 6:00 P.M., fifth child of the third marriage. Her father is listed as Carl Hendrick Woelffer, evangelical merchant at sea, presently at Merseburg, and Johanna Margareta nee Ryke, presently of Merseburg. The baptism appears in the baptism register of the Evangelical Church Congregation Maxim at Merseburg, p. 66, no. 128.
(NOTE: Another clue as to her origins includes her middle name, Louisa, which was to become the given name by which she was to be called. Louisa is a French name. Due to the influence of Napoleon, it was fashionable to give "German" children French names during the era of Napoleon. After his demise in 1814, the trend reverted back.)
Check grantee (buyer), and grantor (seller) records. Determine when the woman or her husband first appear as owning land and then when the land is sold, often after the death of her or her husband. When a couple sold land in the nineteenth century, the woman is identified, not when the land is purchased. This is due to her right of dower. Statements at the end of the deed may include one indicating that of her own free will she agreed to have these lands sold. The last land sale may include a date of death. Once one has a date of death, a death certificate or obituary may be secured.
Check within the body and at the end of the deed for all the heirs who may be selling and signing off on their parents' land after their death. Daughters with their married last names and their husband's full names will frequently be listed.
Seek out key phrases such as: "et ex" and et al, in the deed index. "Et ex" is a Latin abbreviation for "et exor", meaning "and wife." "Et al" or "et alia" is a Latin phrase meaning "and others." Examining deeds with these designations may provide the names of females, their surnames after marriage, and places of residence.
If the woman or her husband is not found in the records, look for their children or grandchildren. Perhaps the land transaction for the woman in question ws not recorded, but the land may have been passed on to a daughter/granddaughter, and when that child sold the land she had to prove that the property was hers. The deed would often identify the original owner/her grandfather, his children/some grandchildren, and the children of any deceased children. Family relationships and deceased children as well as surnames of married females will be listed. three generations may be included in the deed.
Land tax records list women when they are the heads of household, hence, the taxpayer. If she was single, widowed, or the sole heir of her parent's estate, she would be listed on the tax rolls. Names on the early tax rolls are commonly listed in the respective order that houses appear on streets; listings are similar to the census, but with only a street, head of household, and tax listed. Track tax records each year until you find the female no longer listed. Check to determine if she died, was married, sold the property, or if a male now owns property of the same description. City directories may be beneficial here.
Canadian loyalist land petitions may reference the wife and names of the Loyalist who was her father. If Order in Council (O.C.) records include her name, this means she received her lands as the daughter of a Loyalist and that she was at least twenty-one years of age. Many Order in Council records for Ontario are easily located by examing William D. Reid, The Loyalist in Ontario, the Sons and Daughters of the American Loyalists of Upper Canada, (1973) 1983. The text includes names, children, and places of settlement.
Hessen (Germany) and Dutch officials required that if an idividual was leaving the area, that his or her name and details of the departure were to be recorded in the town or provincial records. Willem Helferink is listed as departing Ruurlo in September 1857. Garritdena is not listed; however, Willem's mother, Johanna Hilferink Oldenboom (age 62) is listed in July 1872. Mrs. Oldenboom settled wtih her husband in the village of Paris, Green Township, Mecosta County, Michigan. After the death of her husband in 1885, she moved to Grand Rapids, Michigan, to live with her children who had previously emigrated.
Wills, by nature, include the names of the offspring of a couple. In the will or the estate papers filed during probate, the surnames of the female children, and somtimes their husband's names will be listed.
Occasionally a man will include his mother's name in his will, if he ecptes to die young and without any children. Be sure to check letters of administration for those who died intestate (without a will
If parents die young, the legal guardian (a male) is often a relataive. If the mother was still living, the court normally appointed a guardian, as the court operated in accordance with the premise that a woman was not able to tend matters by herself. The child's age will also be listed in guardianship records.
Once females became citizens in 1921, declarations of intent and naturalizations became commonplace for women. Prior to this date, a female was naturalized if she owned land in her own right.
Declarations of intent normally include much more biographical detail than do naturalization. Dates and places of birth and dates of immigration are usually noted.
In the nineteenth century, look for her brothers declaring their intent to become citizens or to be naturalized about the same time as her husband.
Before beginning a search for a ship manifest, finish your homework. Abstracting information from declarations of intent, obituaries, and the census may help identify the date when your ancestor arrived in America.
(NOTE: the 1900, 1910, and 1920 census list the year of immigration). The Irish, Italians, and Czechs frequently sent the most able-bodied son first. He would work and then send money for his wife and children, or siblings and parents to make the voyage to America. Irish women were just as likely as an Irish man to immigrate during the Irish Famine of 1846-51.
Be cautious when determining the year of immigration. The 1900 census of Schodack, Rensselaer County, New York, p. 56 clearly identified Carrie Dena/Garritdena Frugin's year of immigration as 1853. This agrees with the 1900 census column that states she had resided here for forty-seven years; she is enumerated with her son, William Hillfrank. Her death certificate of 1904 states that she had lived in America for fifty years. However, she actually arrived at Castle Garden, New York City on 27 October 1857, several years later than the records indicate. (NOTE: Castle Gardens was the immigrant processing building and the predecessor to Ellis Island.) Her husband's death certificate also indicates an early 1850's year of immigration.
Be alert to errors in secondary source published passenger lists. The multi-volume set edited by Ira A Glazier and P. William Filby, Germans in America, vol. II (April 1857 to November 1857) Wilmington (DE): Scholarly Resources, Inc., 1990, 413 includes Willem Hilverdink, age 23, servant; Gerret-Dina, age 26, servant, and Gerret-Jan, age 10 (the 10 apparently refers tot he age in months) female infant. All passengers on the ship, Viking, are listed as German. The obvious corrections are as follows:
- Hilverdink is spelled Hilferink or Hilverink
- Garret-Dina is spelled Garritdena and Garret-Jan is spelled Garritjan
- Gerret-Jan is a male
- Gerret-Jan is seven to eight months old
- They are of Dutch, not German, origin.
See also, Diane Snyder Ptak, A compilation of America and Canadian Passenger/Emigration Registers, 1993, and Supplement, 1995 (available to purchase from author).
Revolutionary War pensions may contain marriage information, and the names of several siblings or children, and their whereabouts at the time of the application. A quick genealogical check can be made by examing Abstracts of Revolutionary War Pension Applications (3 volumes) by Virgil White, all Revolutionary War pension applicants are listed in alphabetical order. A similar series has been edited by the same author for the War of 1812 pensioners.
If your female ancestor was involved with the Revolutionary cause, check Charles E. Claghorn, Women Patriots of the American Revolution: A biographical Dictionary, Metuchen (NJ): The Scarecrow Press, Inc., 1991.
Revolutionary War, War of 1812, and Civil War pension claims made by the widow frequently contain marriage dates and places, the name of the clery person and occasionally the maiden name of the bride. These records can be obtained by writing to the National Archives and requesting form NATF 80 (there is a $10.00 fee). Before requesting the file, acquire as much information as you can about the soldier. Know variations on the spelling of his name, his age, his wife and his children's names, where and when he enlisted, and his regiment.
In 1863, one Civil War soldier from Logan, Illinois, with pneumonia applied for permission to go home to be nursed back to health by his mother in Genessee County, Indiana. He was granted permission for this leave. His mother's name is listed in his military file.
- Three recent publications about women soldiers in the Civil War include:
- Blanton, D., "Women Soldiers in the War," Prologue, the Quarterly of the National Archives, vol 25, no. 1 (Spring 1993), 27-33.
- Burgess, L., ed., An Uncommon Soldier, The Civil War Letters of Sarah Rosetta Wakeman, alias Pvt. Lyons Wakeman, 153rd REgiment, New York State Volunteers, 1862-1864. Pasadent (MD): Minerva Center, 1995.
- Conklin, Eileen, Women at Gettysburg, July 3, 1863. Gettysburg (PA): Thomas Publishing Co., 1992.
- Massey, Mary E., Women in the Civil War, available from AGLL.
- Burgess, L., ed., An Uncommon Soldier, The Civil War Letters of Sarah Rosetta Wakeman, alias Pvt. Lyons Wakeman, 153rd REgiment, New York State Volunteers, 1862-1864. Pasadent (MD): Minerva Center, 1995.
The New York State Civil War Town Clerk Registers often include the full names of the parents of a Civil War Soldier. These registers were completed by each town clerk and copies were submitted to the state; however, many of the records from the larger communities, such as New York City, and Albany, have not survived. Buffalo is intact and contains about ten volumes. There is no statewide master index. Check for the soldier's name in the town where he resided. If he is not there, he may be listed with another town for personal reasons or to help that town meet its quota (and he would collect a bounty). These records are available on microfilm at the New York State Archives in Albany, New York.
In 1930, the United States Government sponsored a pilgrimage to the European graves sites of United States soldiers who died and were buried overseas. All wives and mothers of World War I servicemen killed were eligible. For more information on this source, check the House Document 140 of the 71st Congress, Second Session for 1930.
Pleasant as well as stressful events are recorded in newspapers. You may find the announcement of an upcoming marriage or a notice of births and marriages.
Early newspapers contained notices and poignant tales of family separations due to desertions, divorces, immigrations and kidnappings. The Pennsylvania Gazette, commenced publication in 1728, contains hundreds of stories of men deserted by their wives. The men were often given notice that they refused to make good on any credit offered to their wives as they had previously left "their bed." Sometimes the woman departed in the company of another man. Frequently they brought their children with them. The text Runaway Women, Elopements and other Miscreant Deeds as Advertised in the Pennsylvania Gazette, 1728-1789, by Judith Ann Highley Meier (closson Press), sites over 1400 women who departed under those circumstances.
Obituaries in town newspapers commonly list more biographical data than do city newspapers, unless the woman or her family was of some prominence in the town. A woman of Dutch or Irish extraction is more likely to have her maiden name listed in her obituary. Her age upon arrival as an immigrant, her children's names, and their places of residence will often be listed. If you don't find the record in one newspaper, check the others that covered that community. this detective game often involves the elimination of many sources before we find the pivotal records.
Insolvencies, bankruptcies, and undeliverable letters at the post office are also listed in the newspapers.
Inquire of the reference librarian in the locale where your female ancestor lived to determine which newspapers and what years are available. Statewide gazetteers frequently identify all newspapers and the years they were published. Gazatteers may note early marriages and first-born children in some communities across the state.
Check for texts which include indexes of newspaper birth, marriage, and death records for an area. Fred Q. Bowman in his book 10,000 Vital Records of Eastern New York, Baltimore (MD): Genealogical Publishing Company, 1989, includes thousands of women.
- Several highly acclaimed indexes of American newspapers include the following sources:
- Brigham, Clarance, History and Bibliography of American Newspapers, 1600-1820,2 vol., Worchester (MA): American Antiquitarian Society, (1947) rep. 1962. Identifies early newspapers and their locations as of 1947.
- The Catalogue Public Division of the Library of Cngress (comp. and ed.), Newspapers in Microform, 3 vol., Washington (DC): Library of Congress, 1984. Vol. 1 and 2 - United States Holdings; Vol. 3 - Foreign Holdings.
- United States Newspaper Program, National Union List (4th ed.), Dublin (OH): Online Computer Library Center (OCLC), 1993. This is a massive bibliographic database of newspaper on microfilm submitted by libraries and university libraries that catalogued the holdings of all their newspapers.
- The Catalogue Public Division of the Library of Cngress (comp. and ed.), Newspapers in Microform, 3 vol., Washington (DC): Library of Congress, 1984. Vol. 1 and 2 - United States Holdings; Vol. 3 - Foreign Holdings.
Leave no stone unturned. Track her to her grave. Verify the spelling of her name and her dates of birth and death. Be cautious. Prior to 1925, there is a 90% error rate on tombstones.
If she died shortly after her marrriage, she will frequently be buried with her family. An infant may be buried with her. One case is where a man is buried with his second wife. The first wife is surrounded by another surname - her mother's maiden name.
Check tombstones as well as the cemetery records; new clues may be provided by each source. In rare circumstances, she may have two gravestones. One may have been erected where she resided at the time of her death, and the other may be found where she lived the majority of her adult life. Compare the information on both stones.
- School Records
- Listings of school children in a township, especially in Connecticut, date back to the early 1800's. In New York State, a brief abstract of a student must be kept on file by the school district for 100 years. Photographs and grades may be available for students attending the school back as far as the 1930's. Further clues may be gleaned from school year books.
- Employment Records
- Widowed and single women often became teachers, dressmakers, milliners, and proprietors. References to their businesses may be found in local newspapers and/or city directories. In 1830, seventy-five percent of the work force in Lowell, Massachusetts was between the ages of fifteen to twenty-nine years. The majority of women were women. The records are housed at the Baker Library at Harvard Business School in Cambridge, Massachusetts.
- To get a good grasp of Ontario's social, economic and political history and how it was connected to the world f woman's work, take a close look at Jane Errington's book, Wives and Mothers: School Mistresses and Scullery Maids: Working Women in Upper Canada, 1790-1840, publised by McGill-Queen's University Press, Montreal, 1995.
- If a Midwife pops up in your family, examine:
- Donegan, Jane B., Women and Men Midwives: Medicine, Morality, and Misogyny in Early America, Westport (CT): Greenwood Press, 1980.
- Litoff, Judy B., American Midwives, 1860 to the Present, Westport (CT): Greenwood Press, 1978.
- If cowgirls and frontier woman left tracks in your ancestral past, check out:
- Jordan, Teresa, Cowgirls: Women of the American West, Anchor Press, 1982.
- O'Meara, Walter, Daughters of the Country: the Women of fur Traders and Mountain Men, New York: Harcourt, Brace, and World, 1968.
- Stratton, Joanna I., Pioneer Women: Voices From the Frontier, New York, Simon and Schuster.
- Tardiff, Olive, They Paved the Way: A History of New Hampshire Women, Exter (NH): Woman for Woman Weekly Publishing, 1980.
- VanKirk, Sylvia, Many Tender Ties: Women of the Fur Trade Society, 1670-1870, Norman: University of Oklahoma Press, 1983.
For further information on women and the world of work, examine:
- Ptak, Diane Snyder, Surnames: Their Meanings and Origins, 1993 and Surnames: Determining Origins wtih Biographical and Ethnic References, 1995. Both books available from the author.
- To get a good grasp of Ontario's social, economic and political history and how it was connected to the world f woman's work, take a close look at Jane Errington's book, Wives and Mothers: School Mistresses and Scullery Maids: Working Women in Upper Canada, 1790-1840, publised by McGill-Queen's University Press, Montreal, 1995.
- Funeral Homes
- A rarely used research source is the funeral home business. Determine funeral home names in the early city directories, and then check to determine if that home is listed in The Directory of Funeral Home Directors. For example, Halley Undertaking Company on Oakland Ave., Detroit, serviced downtown Detroit from 1906 to 1937, and then relocated to Highland Park section (the Northern boundary of Detroit), from 1937 to 1972. At that time, the business was renamed Halley Funeral Directors. In 1959 the owner opened a second funeral home on Northwestern Highway, Southfield, Michigan (servicing the communities of Southfield and Lathrup). The businesses were later consolidated into the Northwestern Highway location. The majority of the families serviced were Catholic and Lithuanian. Some early records survive. All records after 1936 are intact. Each file contains the obituaries (including maiden names), religious denomination, the social security number, last residence, surviving kin, services provided, whether a limosine was used, place of burial-cemetery, and lot number. burce Calder is the present director.
- If the Fitchburg area of Massachusetts is of interest to you, nearly 4,000 Acadian death records have been abstraced and published in Extracts of Death Records from Aubuchon Funeral Parlor, (1914-1966), available from the Acadian Cultural Society, P.O. Box 2304, Fitchburg, MA 01420.
- The William J. Rockefeller Funeral Home on 165 Columbia Turnpike on Rensselaer, New York, has serviced the needs of East Greenbush and Rensselaer residents and maintained theose records for more than one hundred years. The early records contain primary care-of-the-body business records.
- If the Fitchburg area of Massachusetts is of interest to you, nearly 4,000 Acadian death records have been abstraced and published in Extracts of Death Records from Aubuchon Funeral Parlor, (1914-1966), available from the Acadian Cultural Society, P.O. Box 2304, Fitchburg, MA 01420.
- Published Town/County Histories
- Biographical vignettes included in histories frequently provide many details about families of the area.
- Published Family Histories
- Family histories, if you are fortunate enough to find one early in your search, can help establish the framework from which to build the stories surrounding your females. Verify all documentation first. Just because it is in book format does not mean the information is correct.
- Diaries - other texts of interest may include:
- Hamalian, Leo, Ladies on the Loose: Woman Travelers of the 18th and 19th Centuries, New York: Dodd, Mead, and Co., 1981. Biographical sketches are included on eighteen women.
- Holmes, Kenneth L., Covered Wagon Women, 10 vol., Glendale (CA): Arthur H. Clark Co. This text includes diaries of women who traveled west by wagon train.
- Hull, N.E., Female Felons: Women and Serious Crimes in Colonial Massachusetts, Urbana (IL): University of Illinois Press, 1987.
- Ireland, Norma O., Indexes to Women, Westwood (MA): F.A. Faxon Co., 1970. This text indexes the women in nearly 1,000 collections and represents in excess of 10,000 women.
- Sionssat, Anna, "Colonial Women in Maryland", Maryland Historical Magazine, 2 vol. (1907), 214-226, 379-380.
- Schlissel, Lillian, Women's Diaries of the Westward Journey, 1987. This text records the courageous stories of women who ventured along the Overland Trail from 1840-1870.
- Thomas, Ella M., Virginia Women in Literature: A Partial List, Richmond (VA): B.F. Johnson, 1902.
- Holmes, Kenneth L., Covered Wagon Women, 10 vol., Glendale (CA): Arthur H. Clark Co. This text includes diaries of women who traveled west by wagon train.
Gradually, the pieces of the story will fuse together, documentation and preponderance of evidence will grow. As increasing shreds of evidence are examined, the image of the female ancestor will be clearer and no longer shrouded in a veil of smoke. Be persistent and you will be successful. Good luck in the chase for your elusive women.
By Diane Snyder Ptak
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