Seeking that Elusive Maiden Name

Seeking that Elusive Maiden Name
By Donna Murray

Proving an ancestor's maiden name is one of the more challenging aspects of building your family tree, but few are more important because your DNA is linked just as closely to the women in your direct line as it is to the men.

   How you start tracking down that elusive bit of data will be dictated primarily by the time frame in which you're researching. Marriage license applications and certificates provide good documentation, but many states didn't require such permanent records until around 1885. Since marriage license applications are generally courthouse records, you must know where the couple got married to get the paperwork. Some who lived near a state border sometimes crossed the line to get hitched.

   As with many documents, information on marriage license applications can be misleading. If the bride was widowed or divorced, she might have used her marital surname on the application instead of her maiden name. The application should reference previous marriages.

According to one marriage index, Ellen Geohagan married John Shelley. True enough. As Patrick Geohagan's widow, that was her lawful surname. To direct descendants of Ellen and John, though, it's essential to know that Ellen's maiden name was Brogan.

   Consider birth and baptismal records and death certificates as potential sources. Death certificates, though, are often among the least accurate records because the data is only as good as the memory of the informant.

   After 1936, when the Social Security Act was enacted, many people applied for Social Security cards. Birth names were required. The maiden name of the applicant's mother was too, but due to faulty memories, that information isn’t always correct.

   The further back you go, the harder the hunt. Maybe the proof will pop up in the family Bible. Perhaps your ancestor's epitaph will include her maiden name like this one: "Susannah Brooks 'nee Gallentine.'" We all should be so lucky. Generally it's just not that easy.

   You could, however, check out nearby graves. If a cluster of stones all bear the same surname, they could be related to the woman.

   Clues can surface in census returns. After 1850, census returns listed the name of every one living in the household. Quite often you'll see an elderly parent living with child. I found Catherine Murray living with Jacob and Elizabeth Miller on the 1850 census. Further research proved Catherine was Elizabeth's mother. Older people living next door or nearby may be connected. Families tended to live near one another.

   Obituaries make great resources. In the 1800s, especially in small towns where families lived for several generations and everybody knew each other, obituaries carried plenty of details. The names of the deceased's parents were often included, whether they were still living or not. When brothers are listed as survivors, there's a good chance you've nailed a maiden name. (Careful, though. The distinction between step-brothers and full siblings wasn't always made.)

   Troll through gossip columns in small town newspapers. Marriage announcements, or even details of a wedding, may appear.

   Scour old land records. Sometimes parents sold their daughter and new son-in-law a piece of the homestead for a dollar or so.

   Act on gut instinct. Got a hunch that Elizabeth's maiden name was Johnson? Comb through wills and probate records of Johnsons who lived in the area and who fall in the right age bracket to be her parents.

   Pension files of Civil War and Revolutionary War veterans may contain proof of marriage along with the names and birth dates of the couple's children.

Naming traditions reveal family ties. German immigrants often gave at least some of their male offspring a middle initial instead of a middle name. That initial was the same as the first initial of the mother's maiden name. If the mother's maiden name was Long, the boys' middle initial was "L".