Female Ancestors – Finding a Wife’s Massachusetts Court of Sessions

Finding Female Ancestors

As genealogists all of us have stone walls: are any time, place or location. There’s absolutely no one solution for re re solving an end that is dead our lineage. Every issue has to be approached differently. Because many documents in many areas and cycles are focused around males, we frequently only have a name that is first of spouse, or usually, no name at all. We simply understand she had been the spouse of Thomas Jones. To resolve this kind of dilemma we ought to figure out the right time, location and circumstances in accordance with our feminine ancestor. We should lay the groundwork for attacking the difficulty in a unique means.

Possibly the many way that is straightforward strike such a challenge would be to create a timeline of her life. Collect all given information known about her. If you don’t much is well known, give attention to her spouse. Where had been they whenever, from wedding and even delivery, towards the time that they had their children, towards the close of these everyday lives.

1. Try to find the wedding record it self. Get the initial wedding record. The wedding licence or application could be more valuable compared to initial. In surrounding areas, or check various marriage indexes if you can’t find the marriage, seek it.

2. Always check all feasible documents on spouse to obtain clues to simply help figure out whom she ended up being.

3. If ancestor fought within the military, check retirement papers for the widow. Military retirement Papers important, specially if spouse outlived husband. Beneficial to Revolutionary War, War of 1812, Mexican War, Union Civil War, Spanish-American War, Indian Wars, etc.

Ancestry.com has Union Pension Papers. A female needed to show that she ended up being legal wife and widow of soldier. Refused Pension Applications frequently contain much more details than accepted people.

4. Land records, deeds., homestead documents or any other court documents might provide wife’s name that is first if not her maiden title. Land Records: One of major sources for determining name that is maiden. They are maybe perhaps perhaps not useful in big urban centers or if perhaps the grouped family rented. If guy passed away with no might, their real estate needed to be split among heirs. Included all young kids, even daughters with married names. See them in grantor-grantee indexes. Court Public Records Test.

Salem, Essex, Massachusetts Court of Sessions of Peace 26 Dec 1710

Rachel Codury of Marblehead seems and confessed herself responsible of ye

criminal activity of fornication with Andrew Tucker Jr. Of Marblehead.

5. Immerse yourself in most the documents of this area. Study other families, particularly her husband’s family members, their career, socio-economic status, etc. Did spouse go usually, or originate from a well-established category of the region? Did he cope with individuals of other surnames? He may have worked along with his wife’s daddy, therefore discover with who he previously company transactions. whom did he buy and sell land to/from/with? Don’t simply concentrate on the partners. Broaden your hunt. Just exactly What occurred towards the kids? Possibly another descendant has information.

6. Trace your family in most census that is possible. US or Canadian censuses, specially 1841 or 1851 and soon after. Husband’s sis hitched in nj-new jersey, therefore always check N.J. and also you will dsicover his wedding here also. Census: U.S. 1790-1930 could possibly get access to most census returns on line. 1940 or later on can be acquired for the charge.

Uk census 1911, 1921 may also be searched by communication.

Canada through 1901; FamilySearch 1880 and 1881 census

Old girl coping with family members in census, could be mother-in-law. Look for her DC

7. Check always papers that are private your personal family members documents and records, household Bibles, etc.

8. The wedding might not anywhere have been recorded that endures, particularly when in N.Y., PA, Southern States, or any frontier. Also a married relationship in brand brand New England may well not endure.

9. When a lady ended up being widowed, she became mind regarding the home. She turn to act as a surety in a bond or witness to land transaction when she needs assistance as a single woman or a widow, who will? She shall probably head to her brothers or dad in russian brides club review your community. Names on appropriate papers coping with a widow may be her family relations.

10. Sources to test to find her title:

a. Church documents

HENRY IRISH IMMIGRATED FROM BRITISH ISLES TO NYC IN 1819. HE LIVED IN NYC AND QUEENS. 1850 CENSUS STATED EACH HE AND WIFE BORN ENGLAND. LOST AN EYE ON FAMILY IN 1920’S. DISCOVERED A COUSIN INTERESTED. UNCOVER WHAT SHE KNOWS IN REGARDS TO THE IRISHES. A LARGE was had by her PULPIT BIBLE WHICH CLAIMED:

HENRY & ANN IRISH MARRIED 1 JAN 1807 KINGSTON, PORTSEA, ENGLAND. HENRY WAS SON OF JOSEPH AND SARAH (LANGE) IRISH. HENRY CAME TO BE 15 NOV 1787 AT HAVANT, HAMPSHIRE. ANN IRISH WAS DAUGHTER OF JOHN AND MARY (REED) HILL, BORN PORTSMOUTH, HAMPSHIRE, ENGLAND.

GENEALOGICAL EPIPHANY. ! It struggled to obtain David Dearborn, it might meet your needs. Seek family members and bibles on Web, etc.

c. Newspaper notices of wedding, delivery, death, going, etc.

Example:

Montrose Democrat, PA. 9 Apr 1873

Married at Franklin township, Susquehanna, PA 28 Mar 1873, Henry Dearborn to skip Cordelia Annis, child of Mr. Robert Seamans (just source of wedding for that time frame). 24. Private Documents

d. Personal journals, diaries, letters in family’s possession, etc. Families have records, MS or printed. Samplers – cross-stitch and needlepoint, Asia ink or watercolor. Includes Family Group, parents and children’s names, delivery times, view of family members farm.

Banton Family (masonic rock symbols)

Samuel Banton (passed away, age) md. Rebecca Gilham (died and age)

e. Gravestones or cemetery documents. Took 30 years to even find the parents after discovered the death rock. Found descendants a few generations later on to obtain required info.

Esther spouse of William Barth passed away Feb 28, 1832 age 78 years

child of Thomas and Tabitha Barlow of England

Had currently traced William Barlow to Esther Bantin. Rock stated, “Esther Barlow had three or four kids.”

f. Death certification of a lady must have her maiden title on it, in addition to her moms and dads’ names and birthplaces. Her husband’s death certificates needs to have her maiden name. Her children’s death certificates additionally could have her maiden name. Her children’s wedding documents additionally might have it. Civil or Vital records, for instance, California Death Index: Pembrook Banton passed away 1940 in Ca. Marital Reputation: Divorced. Searched divorces and discovered them. Divorce papers suggested:

Hitched in Dubuque, Iowa 14 Mar 1887

We never ever knew they ever lived in Iowa. Their siblings additionally had been present in Iowa.

g. Obituaries of spouse, spouse or loved ones.

Brand Brand New Hampshire Star, Dover, N.H morning.

Died in Jackson, N.H. 16 Dec 1850 Mrs. Martha, spouse of Moses Anderson and youngest daughter of Mr. George and Mrs. Catherine Johnson, aged 17 years 8 months. She left a baby child. (Death certificate will not offer some of this information. Obit much more valuable)

h. Divorce records: frequently give wife’s maiden name, or inform where so when hitched. May inform in which from

i. Probate record of her dad or her brothers. You may have to read all wills into the county to ascertain her title. Probates may be published, abstracted and indexed . brand New Hampshire has all wills abstracted and published with an every title index. NH State Papers, vol. 31-39.

11. Prepared or published Indexes:

IGI or FamilySearch.com
VRI
FHL surname catalogue
NEHGS or any other major libraries, regional towns, universities, etc.
There are lots of CDs with marriages for a continuing state or province
United states Genealogical & Biographical Index (AGBI) has a huge selection of volumes. Indexes all names in 1790 census, includes all soldiers whom fought in Revolutionary War. Indexes countess county records, esp. Brand Brand New England. It really is at NEHGS.
Every-name index to NEHGR – available on CD or posted. This quarterly published continuously since 1847. It really is a treasure trove of data.
PERSI – index of journal articles from 19thC for this. Can look for all entries of the surnames, not indiv >County histories, specially Midwest – OH, IN, MI, IL, PA, NY areas. Called Midwest “mug books” by Vanity Press Publications. Information had been self-serving, flattered individuals to place your very own bio and photo of self, family members or farm. Not necessarily accurate.

NEHGS has CD along with information inside their assortment of bibles.

13. Other Sources discover name that is maiden

Transcribed or posted monograph or article in journal on your own surname.
That which was faith? Today Don’t assume same as you are. RC, Protestant, Jewish, which branch?
Variance in documents: Church record calls her Harriet Irish; civil enrollment calls her Sarah Irish.

There are lots of sources, documents and methodologies for finding a name that is maiden.

*Your ancestor failed to appear away from nowhere. Possessed a full life and lived somewhere just before wedding.

*When ancestor married her family members didn’t disappear – they probably reside in the exact same area.

*Learn about the area: history, topography, faith,

*There is not any guarantee we are going to find maiden title. We look and appear, look for recommendations and sources and approaches to approach an issue.

*Look during the entire family – all kids, siblings, of spouse. The partners might have hitched siblings of 1 another. Seek residing descendants, bibles, death certification of loved ones, to resolve a name problem that is maiden.

Bibliography

Allen, Donna Murray, “12 How to Find an Ancestor’s Maiden Name, Family Chronicle, 7:1 (Sept/Oct 2002);62

Carmack, Sharon DeBartolo, A Genealogist’s guide to Discovering Your feminine Ancestors (Cincinnati: Betterway Books, 1998).

Deerborn, David C., “Methods to spot a Wife’s Maiden Name,” The Essex Genealogist, 12 (1992):3-15

Dollarhide, William, “Identifying Female Ancestors: Some Case Records,” Heritage Quest, 17:3 (May/June 2001):8-17.

Hogan, Roseann R.. “Female Ancestry,” Ancestry, 12:2 (March/April 1994): 26-28.

NEHGS Lectures on Tape