Hi Martyn I had not heard that a widow would take back her maiden name. I understood that a divorced woman would, or even a woman who was deserted by her husband, but not a widow as the status was not as 'bad'. I also had a female relative who disliked her father and she changed her name to her mother's maiden name, as a method of denial, or was it to deny him as her father all together. Would be interested to know if widows did use their maiden name, WHY? Lorrae Glenore Grove Qld 4342 http://worldconnect.rootsweb.com/cgi-bin/igm.cgi?db=helmrich -----Original Message----- From: Martyn Smith [mailto:Martyn.Smith@optus.com.au] Sent: Monday, 19 July 2010 1:38 PM To: 'aus-qld-se-germans@rootsweb.com'; AUS-QLD-SE-Germans-L@rootsweb.com Subject: [SEQ-Germans] Did German woman revert to maiden names after spousaldeaths? Hi all, I have a German historical cultural question - If a husband of a German couple died in the 1860's would the wife be likely to still carry his surname or is it expected or commonly practised like in English society to revert to her maiden name? My ancestor, which I have previously blogged was Caroline Muller and she was born to a Carl Hoban and mother Caroline Blumery Muller (nee Blumreich). I am trying to ascertain why she would have carried her mothers maiden name (albeit spelt incorrectly). Can I assume that Caroline had given her daughter her maiden name because the father Carl had died.....?? Any thoughts very welcome Martyn __________ Information from ESET NOD32 Antivirus, version of virus signature database 5291 (20100719) __________ The message was checked by ESET NOD32 Antivirus. http://www.eset.com

It is common in Scotland for women to keep their single name and even be buried under it. Kay Gassan -----Original Message----- From: aus-qld-se-germans-bounces@rootsweb.com [mailto:aus-qld-se-germans-bounces@rootsweb.com] On Behalf Of Lorrae Sent: Wednesday, 21 July 2010 9:19 PM To: aus-qld-se-germans@rootsweb.com Subject: Re: [SEQ-Germans] Did German woman revert to maiden names after spousal deaths? Hi Martyn I had not heard that a widow would take back her maiden name. I understood that a divorced woman would, or even a woman who was deserted by her husband, but not a widow as the status was not as 'bad'. I also had a female relative who disliked her father and she changed her name to her mother's maiden name, as a method of denial, or was it to deny him as her father all together. Would be interested to know if widows did use their maiden name, WHY? Lorrae Glenore Grove Qld 4342 http://worldconnect.rootsweb.com/cgi-bin/igm.cgi?db=helmrich -----Original Message----- From: Martyn Smith [mailto:Martyn.Smith@optus.com.au] Sent: Monday, 19 July 2010 1:38 PM To: 'aus-qld-se-germans@rootsweb.com'; AUS-QLD-SE-Germans-L@rootsweb.com Subject: [SEQ-Germans] Did German woman revert to maiden names after spousaldeaths? Hi all, I have a German historical cultural question - If a husband of a German couple died in the 1860's would the wife be likely to still carry his surname or is it expected or commonly practised like in English society to revert to her maiden name? My ancestor, which I have previously blogged was Caroline Muller and she was born to a Carl Hoban and mother Caroline Blumery Muller (nee Blumreich). I am trying to ascertain why she would have carried her mothers maiden name (albeit spelt incorrectly). Can I assume that Caroline had given her daughter her maiden name because the father Carl had died.....?? Any thoughts very welcome Martyn __________ Information from ESET NOD32 Antivirus, version of virus signature database 5291 (20100719) __________ The message was checked by ESET NOD32 Antivirus. http://www.eset.com Archives - http://lists.rootsweb.com/index/intl/AUS/AUS-QLD-SE-Germans.html Quoting the entire text of a previous message in a reply is poor netiquette. Please don't do it. A List for the research for the descendants of the Germans who migrated to South East Queensland, Australia. ------------------------------- To unsubscribe from the list, please send an email to AUS-QLD-SE-GERMANS-request@rootsweb.com with the word 'unsubscribe' without the quotes in the subject and the body of the message