Records that Will Help You Find Your Women Ancestors
Today we are taking a deeper dive into the records that will help you find your women ancestors. We all know how difficult it can be to find women in historical records. They changed their surname when they married, they were often not mentioned in records, or their husband was mentioned instead. So some records are easy to find such as census records, but other records are more difficult such as land records. And yes some women are just hard to find no matter the record and that’s where deeper search strategies come in. But if you’re just beginning these records are great places to start. So let’s get started!
Census Records Help Find Your Women Ancestors
These are always the first records to research because they are so easy to find. And most of the work has been done for you with online search engines. So start there and find all of the census records you can for your woman ancestor. Many times you will find other records that are linked to your ancestor, which is amazing! But many times you are searching for an ancestor that doesn’t have very many records. So you have to search the hard way!
Newspapers
These are great records! You probably won’t find a maiden name here unless it’s a birth announcement. But you can find relationships that can help with other research. My women ancestors were usually listed under their husbands’ names, such as Mrs. Melville Ramsey. But it didn’t matter because I already knew who she was married to so it actually helped. You could possibly find a maiden name if your ancestor never married. But try to find your ancestor using their husband’s name or their full married name. I love using newspaperarchive.com for my newspaper research. They are a paid website, but they do have a free trial option. But any newspaper website will do.
Probate/Wills Records
When you are researching before 1850, these are especially helpful when finding women. Again, if they were married, you’ll find them under their husband’s name. But if they were single, they might have owned their own property or have been under their father’s property. So you’ll want to check for both their name and their father’s name in these records. Also, you’ll need to know where the men in their lives died in order to know which state this record is kept. My favorite place to look for these records is Family Search because it has a great catalog of these records for each state.
Land Records
Land passed through hands a lot in the old days. So there was a record written up every time that happened. Your ancestor was either part of the selling group or the buying group. So she would have had to sign her name or have it written for her. Many times land was sold or bought among family members. If that’s the case, then they usually said the relationship along with the name. Not always, but it happened. So the best place to find these records is Family Search Catalog. They hold them for each state, county, and town. The Bureau of Land Management is another place that holds the federal land records for the United States.
Last Thoughts to Find Your Women Ancestors
Women can be found in many other records as well. Such as vital records and immigration records. But I wanted to highlight these records because they often go unnoticed. Well, not the census records, but the others can be forgotten if you don’t know where to look. So go check out these records and have fun finding your women ancestors.
And as always…good luck and happy hunting!
Tiffany
P.S. Related Reads…
P.P.S. And as always I’m here to help when you’ve hit a snag. Just contact me for a free 30 minute consultation.
census records, land records, newspapers, probate records, women, women ancestors, women in genealogy