First name, nick name, she hated her first name so she went by her middle name, oh by the way she got married 3 times, and so you must account for all those changes.... It can be a bit dizzying, but there is a gold mind waiting for you if you can just figure out what her name was.
Newspapers, mores specifically Newspapers.com! A virtual oasis of records and stories about your female ancestors. Sometimes as family historians we can get sucked into the vital records, jumping from one census to the next. But if you stop to smell the newspapers, you will find they smell just as good as a bouquet of roses. Today I was researching my 4th Great Grandfather, Noah Kidder Burton (1811-1904), and low and behold I found his wife's obituary!!!
Clearly I am thrilled, but it is extremely frustrating that she would not even be allowed her full name on her own obituary, she is still the wife of her husband. Now, I love my husband, but so help me God, I will have my full name in my obituary if I have to write it into my will! Judith Ann Burton nee Smith (1812-1893) is one of my favorite ancestors. I know it isn't politically correct to have favorites, but both Judith and her husband Noah are some of mine.
Judith's grandfather (Reuben Weed) was a American Revolutionary War soldier. And a link for me to someday join the DAR, but first I have to prove 7 generations of ladies.... Why my connection couldn't be filled with men, I will never know. But alas, I digress....
So, getting back on topic, if you are looking for the ladies in your family, make sure to search for every variation of both her, and every man in her life: husband, father, brother and even her sons.
Here are some ideas for different types of newspaper records to search for:
- Obituaries or death notices
- Engagement announcements
- Marriage announcements
- Application for a marriage license
- Birth announcement
- The Society page
- Legal troubles: Example being a land dispute or notice of fraud.
- Political news: Did your ancestor run for Mayor or City Council?
- Sports: Did you grandfather throw the winning pitch for the State Championship?
- Advertisements for a business your family owned and operated
- Or even something written by your ancestor, instead of something written about them.
My great grandmother was responsible for writing the social section of her local paper, The Oil City Derrick, for years.
Last thing for today: Websites that aid in your newspaper research!
Newspapers.com
http://www.newspapers.com/
Google News
https://news.google.com/news/advanced_news_search?as_drrb=a
Elephind
http://www.elephind.com/
Library of Congress
http://chroniclingamerica.loc.gov/
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