Maiden Names

I have to say that I have been very lax. I have been so busy that I have not been able to get past the family line that was accidently added to my family tree in Ancestry.com. I have been doing many things, but working on my family line is not one of them. So, I will instead discuss how to find a maiden name for female family lines that seem to have been delivered by the stork.

You find a name in your line but that person seems to come from nowhere, yet it has to come from somewhere doesn't it? So, you see her name in the census records but it is her married name, not her maiden name. She has no other papers on her, but yet there must be something. Have you tried to find the marriage license? Have you tried to find her on findagrave.com under her married name?

There are times that a female can be found under her husband's name and yet you can find out her maiden name by finding her on odd records. There are also things like death records from the funeral home or the mortuary. You may be able to find out the maiden name through her siblings, if they are known, or if there are any. Family names can be found also through middle names from siblings.  A grandmother's name may be found by finding a sibling with the maiden name as the middle name.

There are times that finding names can be frustrating, but it is well worth investigating the name as much as you can. It is important to try to keep a family line going as much  as we can but sometimes we have to let a line go because we have exhausted our resources. Do not quit forever, but instead put her on a back burner. One day she will show up again and you will find her name. Crazier things have happened.

Tune in tomorrow and I will tell you a story that my grandfather told me about him when he was a young boy. This was back in the early 1900's. I hope you join me. I look forward to sharing a story with you.