As you look through your pedigree chart, how many of the 'mothers are missing their surnames?
This is a problem for most of us. We would like to extend our lines but we do not know what family
the female was from. We will look at some ways to approach these searches.
For Grandmother, check your family's records for a marriage record. You will want to find the
marriage record for each couple on your chart, if they exist. That means county court records.
But first . . .
If you haven't already done this, go to some general websites to see if someone else has found
your missing lady. Of course you would still need the documentation to prove it and that can be
tricky. It takes some work to prove that the marriage you find actually belongs to YOUR ancestor,
especially if the names are common in that area. (two examples: Gann, Caldwell). The websites to
search are:
Search engine searches using the husband's name might turn up a biography or information on him that
would include his wife.
Knowing where the groom lived is helpful in locating the county where the marriage may have taken place.
If one cannot find a marriage record in his county of residence, it would be wise to study surrounding
counties. The marriage usually took place at the home of the bride. . . but not always. The marriage
records of the past 100 years will usually tell you the names, ages, and places of residence of the couple.
Before that it will vary depending on the state and time period. You should thoroughly investigate the
records of a county to find if the original marriage records were saved in jackets and filed. When using
the county marriage record index, watch for the page number in the marriage book and also a jacket file
number. If you see a jacket file number, you will find the original marriage bonds with everyones'
signatures and the parents who posted bond and gave permission for marriage. The early 1800s you will
find these in counties in Virginia and probably other states as well. This varies from state to state and
also from county to county. The Civil War and other circumstances caused some counties to loose their
records. Pennsylvania and South Carolina did not record early marriages civilly. Many early marriages
were never recorded at the court house. Perhaps people lived too far away and didn't see the need to
register or found it too expensive. So then what do you do?
There may be family records extant. The more generations back you go, the less likely that those closest
to you will have the records. The more generations back you go, the more cousins you have and they will
be scattered all over the place. You can gather on-line at the RootsWeb message boards. Place your
ads at the counties where your ancestor lived and also at the surname boards. Ask for who your ancestor
married and ask for a Bible record or family record. The county historians visit these boards and will
sometimes be able to help you.
Check the newspapers if the time period is not in the distant past. Obituaries of the children of the
couple will usually give the mother's maiden name. Published anniversaries will also give the wife's
maiden name and may even tell where they were married.
If the husband lived to 1880, you may find him in the biographies published county by county at that time.
Many people had their biographies published in the Goodspeed collections. They paid to have it placed
there so many properous farmers had theirs done. If the man achieved some attention in his county or
state, there might be a biography of him published in county histories. Check PERSI.
Since the 1850 census, you have family names published. Study these for your family. Is there an in-law
living in the family at any time? Watch for people living in the family with a different name. Often a
sister, parent or even a brother will be living with a family. Even though they will say they are a
laborer or keeping house, they may still be a relative. These names are very good clues to a woman's
family because it is she who is taking care of family.
Also watch the naming patterns within the family. It was the custom in many families who originated in
the British Isles to give children the maiden name of the mother either as a middle name or the main
name. They did this for grandmothers as well. We have a William McClung who died in 1818 in Alabama who
had a son named Alexander Montgomery McClung. We do not know one thing about his mother, but his name
is surely a clue. She probably named this son for her father or her grandfather.
Many civil war widows applied for a military pension. Sometimes they sent in the marriage record to
prove that they were the widow of the soldier. They had to make statements before a county official
for their claim to be recognized and those are all a matter of record. Some of the widows of soldiers
of previous wars lived to see congress enact legislation that would give them pensions. The National
Archives has these for Revolutionary soldiers and those from the War of 1812. Copies of these can be
ordered on microfilm on interlibrary loan from Salt Lake to your local FHC.
See Luster. They must be
transcribed from the early handwriting.
IF the couple married after 1850, you will find the wife still with her family. You can study the census
just prior to the marriage and look for her with her family. This can be tedious depending on the size of
the county. Knowing the civil township where the husband lived would be helpful as that is the most
logical place to begin this kind of a search. Remember that there are state censuses sometimes available.
IF the couple married before 1850 you may find your solution in court records. She may be named in her
father's probate records. You might be lucky enough to find that those records have been indexed for
your area of search. If not, advertise. It is a lengthy search to do even in a small county if there is
no general index of all the names mentioned in the records. Sometimes individuals (Chalkley) or
historical organizations have abstracted the court records.
IF the husband died when there were still minor children in the home, you will find that a guardian was
appointed by the court. It was usually a volunteer uncle who became guardian. If the widow had a
brother, it was usually him named as guardian. These records are usually housed in the probate office
but not always. Some states have the Orphans Court Records that are very helpful. In early Alabama
records the wills can be found in these books. Always check the Orphans Court Records if they exist for
your area of search. In some places you will need to check the Guardianship Books. Be aware that the
more recent ones are not public. This causes confusion on the part of some county workers and they will
not allow you to look at any of them if you ask for them. Sometimes the older records were microfilmed
and you can order them.
Study all the records you have for your family. We found that where Isaac Ballengee died before his
wife and left her with the property, she had to make her own will. Her sons had gone west. Look at
the witnesses to her will:
The earlier you go in time, the more you will need to rely on clues from court records and even from
land records. Remember that in most states, the husband could not sell the property without permission
from his wife (to protect dower rights). In land transactions and other Bills of Sale recorded in deeds
you may find clues to the family name. Notice in this DEED
that you have two generations of female connections revealed. This is a most important deed to
all the descendants of the Georgia McClungs. This John McClung had 18 children who spread out all across
the south and points west. Until a few years ago, no researcher had come across this deed. People
mistakenly think that searching deeds is tedious and uneventful. The thought is that they don't really
need to know the exact location of the family home and besides it is so hard to read through all those
long descriptions in metes and bounds. The early deeds recorded important sales of many kinds. Some
of the counties in Alabama are indexing the recording of the sales of slaves. These are found in deeds. If
your family search predates censuses you really must check the deeds of the county where they lived.
Genealogy is a mystery story. It is a puzzle where first you have to find the pieces. Then you can
study them and begin to put it together. This is the fun of being a genealogy detective.