Women were typically less visible in records than men, particularly under their own names (rather than those of their spouses). It can be easy to lose track of women before and after they changed surnames; therefore, extra work needs to be put in to identify and trace female relatives on your family tree. Try these five tasks to learn more about the female relatives on your tree.
1. Interview a Female Relative
Request time from one or more older women in your family (mother, grandmother, aunt or sister) to sit down and interview them about their life experiences and memories. Ideally this should take place face-to-face; otherwise using software such as SnagIt to audio/video record it could also work well.
Before the interview, communicate to your subject the topics you plan to cover and give her control of which ones she doesn’t wish to discuss. Ask if there is anyone (or anything) they would especially like to tell you about; obtain permission to record for family history purposes; express willingness to turn off recorder if she wants something off-the-record; then keep that commitment.
Things have certainly changed for women over time, so make sure you ask your female relative about any changes that have had the most profound effects on her and what her thoughts on them are. Be open-minded when listening and don’t judge or attempt to change their perspectives; take this time to appreciate who they are as an individual and thank her sincerely for sharing her feelings, even if you disagree with them. Here are additional tips on interviewing relatives.
2. Search Records for Female Ancestors
As time progresses, more information on your female ancestors may become buried among records about their husbands, siblings (especially brothers), parents and children. Search obituaries of relatives as well as marriage and birth records for possible clues as to their surname(s). Here’s some strategies on tracing back a woman’s maiden name!
In older times, you may need to search harder for women. Particularly in the South, brides may be mentioned in marriage bonds or the dower release section of land records; also see if she appears as widows in military pension records; one time I even confirmed someone by finding her mentioned in his delayed birth record (read about that here.)
3. Distinguish Multiple Marriages and Recognize Step-Relationships
Be accurate when categorizing marriages and family groups on your tree. Where possible, follow clues which indicate that one parent might actually be their step-parent; that a mother has more children than expected or that someone was previously or subsequently married to someone else; or that someone was previously or subsequently married to someone else. Gather information regarding earlier or subsequent marriages (whether through death, divorce or bigamy).
Keep in mind when creating an online tree, the sites may automatically link children with stepparents who appear as parents in census records. To untangle any confusion caused by any mistakes that have been made by mistakingly linking records together incorrectly or adding or changing relationships on your tree.
4. Follow All Daughters into Adulthood
Your great-aunts and cousins deserve more than simply being left in a family tree without further information than what’s provided in their childhood census records. Although you may not wish to spend as much effort tracing collateral kin back through history, at least attempt to account for them later in life.
Are they married, moved away or remained local, died and how and when did they do so? Record your findings on their tree profiles as new information arises – what you learn may impact how we understand our most dear ancestors – for instance a great-grandma’s younger sister becoming a Catholic nun or how her elder sister helped raise her after their mother passed will give you more insight into them as individuals, while you might begin recognizing patterns over time too:
Researching family and friends can reveal hidden patterns you wouldn’t otherwise observe if focusing only on direct ancestors. You might notice physical traits among family members like being left-handed or sharing an eye color; occupations, military service, religion and education levels might also reveal themselves through family tree research.”
5. Pay Attention to Maternal DNA
Once you’ve taken an autosomal DNA test, take note of which matches are from mom’s side of the family. With AncestryDNA’s updated Matching Experience feature, now it is easier than ever to identify whether someone matches you either on mom or dad’s side (assuming both sides can be identified):
An mtDNA test can also help shed more light on your direct maternal lineage. “Since we all carry our mother’s mtDNA, any individual can take an mtDNA test to gain more insight into maternal-line origins–and sometimes family history,” states Diahan Southard in this article. “Your origins information comes in the form of an mtDNA haplogroup assignment, such as H1a1a2b. This number represents where your ancestor may have lived thousands of years ago. Additionally, you’re provided with a list of people with the same profile; unlike autosomal DNA matches however, these mtDNA matches don’t always share recent ancestry – due to how infrequently their genes mutate there’s no sure way of telling whether someone might be your second or 22nd cousin.”
If you take action early enough in March, Family Tree DNA testing for genealogy could have your results to you by Mother’s Day (it typically takes 6-8 weeks for processing of tests with them).
