..................twice married woman.............. 6. Abigail was the problem. Her marriage, as Abigail Wetmore, to Ephraim Seward is found in Durham, Connecticut, 1743 but no birth of an Abigail Wetmore in that area roughly sixteen to thirty years earlier is evident. One possible explanation was she was married before, and indeed Jabez and Abigail Wetmore were having children in Durham up to 1740, but no marriage of this couple was found. Durham deeds solved the problem of Abigail's identity: In 1775, five day before his death, Jonathan Wells of Durham conveyed land there to his daughter Abigail, wife of Ephraim Seward. When Ephraim Seward and his wife Abigail sold the same property four years later, she was again described as Jonathan Wells's daughter. That Abigail was first married to Jabez Wetmore is proved circumstantially through chronology, naming patterns, and the associations between the families of her children by both husbands. Every genealogist tackles women's identity problems differently, depending on the time period, locality and ethnic group. This is why it is so important to read case studies; one of these strategies may work for you. All of the above cases prove that you just never know what record will reveal the information you need to identify a woman. Leave no stone unturned!! But once you have exhausted the genealogical sources, don't stop there. Thus far, you have completed only the first step in the recipe for researching and writing about your female ancestors. Now it's time for step two, where you combine your genealogical research with information you'll find in women's social histories... Further info in her book.... ________________________________________________________________________ Get Your Private, Free E-mail from MSN Hotmail at http://www.hotmail.com

John Alden's wife was born at the same time as this Elizabeth Gwinn, daughter of thomas and Elizabeth (Gillam) Gwinn. John Alden and his wife Elizabeth were members of the same church as Benjamin and Hannah ___________________ Gillam and Thomas and Sarah (Dixey) Gwinn. The Alden and Gillam families certainly knew each other since John's mother, Elizabeth (Phillips) Alden, and Elizabeth Gwinn's aunt, Phebe (Phillips) Gillam, were sisters. Benjamin Gillam was a wealthy shipwright while both John and his father were shipmasters, so they may have had business ties. Besides naming children Gillam and Ann, three of John and Elizabeth's other children's names are significant and do not appear in the families of John's father or grandfather: Hannah, who would have been named for Elizabeth's aunt, Hannah (Gillam) Sharp, who raised her; Katherine, who would have been named for Elizabeth's cousin, Katherine Sharp, daughter of Richard and Hannah (Gillam) Sharp; and Thomas, who would have been named for Elizabeth's father and brother, Thomas Gwinn. ________________________________________________________________________ Get Your Private, Free E-mail from MSN Hotmail at http://www.hotmail.com

...............another found the maiden name of a colonial woman... 4. In the Alden Memorial, published in 1901, the wife of a John Alden of Boston is given as Elizabeth, daughter of William Phelps, senior." Two years ago I tried to confirm this identification without success, but it was not until reading through baptisms of the Old South Church that I came across the clue that led to the probable identification of John's wife's maiden name. There is no marriage record for John Alden and his wife Elizabeth. she was the mother of all John's children from 1687 through 1710, and she died on 26 November 1719 at the age of 50, thus making her born about 1669. Among their children there is one unusual naming pattern: twins named Gillam and Ann were born in Boston on 7 July 1699 and baptized in Old South Church on 9 July 1699. while reading through the baptisms at Old South, I found the family of Benjamin and Hannah Gillam, who were having children baptized from 1671 to 1682. I first thought that John's wife might therefore be Elizabeth Gillam but could find no birth record for one born about 1669. I did find Elizabeth Gillam, daughter of Benjamin and Ann ______________ Gillam, who married Thomas Gwinn about 1660 and had Elizabeth, born 16 October 1668. Here was an Elizabeth born about the same time as John Alden's wife and connected to the Gillam family..... ________________________________________________________________________ Get Your Private, Free E-mail from MSN Hotmail at http://www.hotmail.com

One of the deeds for William McMahill provided considerable information; in fact, three generations were listed. The entry is an indenture dated 12 June 1827 between Ambrose Barnett and William McMahill Jr., both of Nicholas County, Kentucky. The land record begins, "Ambrose Barnett for and in consideration for the natural love and affection which he the said Ambrose Barnett bears and hath for him the said William McMahill jr. and for consideration of the sum of $1.00. Further in the record, it stated, being part of the land on which John McMahill now lives... (This was the property for which Susan released her dower in 1832; so John's death can be narrowed to between 12 June 1827 and 28 April 1832. The record further stated that the land transaction is for a term of twenty years from the date of record, at expiration of 20 year term premises are to be equally divided amongst all the brothers and sisters of said William McMahill jr. to wit: Ambrose, Louisa, Robert, Sarah, James, John, Henry, Washington, and Jefferson McMahill all heirs and legal representatives of that John McMahill may have by his wife Susan late Susan Barnett. I now had Sarah McMahill with parents John and Susan (Barnett) McMahill, names of her siblings and a possible grandparent, Ambrose Barnett (Sarah also named a son Barnett) Further research may reveal that Susan (Barnett) McMahill was the daughter of Ambrose Barnett. ________________________________________________________________________ Get Your Private, Free E-mail from MSN Hotmail at http://www.hotmail.com

..................another discovered a gold mine when searching for a female.... The family tradition was that Sarah McMahill and George Holliday were married in Warren County, Illinois, in 1832. Sarah's father was John McMahill, and she was born in 1813 in Kentucky. There was no marriage record for Sarah and George in Warren County, Illinois, and there was no additional information about Sarah's parents. A county history for Warren County recorded a george W. McMahill born in Kentucky in 1826. His father's name was John and (he was) also a native of Kentucky. George's grandfather was also named John. Here was the first concurring information with Sarah McMahill: both Sarah and George W. were born in Kentucky, both were contemporaries, both had fathers named John, and both lived in Warren County, Illinois. A Search of the 1850 census for Warren County revealed four McMahill families living near one another: Family # 593: John McMahill, age 32, born Kentucky Family # 594: Jefferson McMahill, age 25, born Kentucky; also in the household was Susan McMahill, widow, age 62, born i Virginia Family # 595: George W. McMahill, age 27, born Kentucky Family # 599: William McMahill, age 43, born Kentucky Sarah named her only daughter Susan, which makes the widow Susan McMahill a likely candidate for Sarah's mother. In a twelve-volume set of tombstone transcriptions for Warren County, I found a McMahill cemetery. Among the inscriptions was one for "Susan McMahill, wife of John, died October 2, 1867. another Warren County history named Jefferson McMahill as bing born i Nicholas County, Kentucky. Now I had a more specific location to check. The grantor and grantee indexes to deeds for Nicholas County from 1806-63 revealed several transactions by McMahills. In particular one land sale was for Susan McMahill, and two entries were for a William. Susan's entry was a dower release, stating that she was the widow of John, and was dated April 28, 1832. So I now knew that John died before this date in Kentucky... ________________________________________________________________________ Get Your Private, Free E-mail from MSN Hotmail at http://www.hotmail.com

.............in one case they were happy just to find the woman's first name: A published abstract of wills for Richland District, South Carolina, had provided the maiden name of Mary Caroline (Walker) Tarrant, and gave her siblings as Fanny, Elisabeth, and James Alexander Walker. All were the children of Edward Walker, who wrote his will in 1800. Eventually the packet of loose papers for the estate was examined. Edward seems to have died about 1803. One paper discussed the support of Edward Walker's two sons: Frederick Walker had been born after the will was written. Another paper referred to the widow, proving that Mrs. Walker had survived her husband. And another referred to her as Lucy Walker, providing the first usage of her first name. Though I haven't found her maiden name yet, it is much easier to search for Lucy _________ Walker than ___________ _________ Walker.. ________________________________________________________________________ Get Your Private, Free E-mail from MSN Hotmail at http://www.hotmail.com

....woman's maiden name found using cemetery records: 3. In the Samuel Reynolds plot, Allegheny Cemetery, Pittsburgh, PA, there are headstones for Samuel and his wife, Hannah (1815-1895). According to the 1850 and later censuses, both were born in England. I visited the cemetery office to obtain a copy of the family plot. I was surprised to find it included the burials of two people who had no tombstones. Mary Ford and Benjamin Ford had died in 1868 and 1870, respectively, aged 84 and 92, and both had been interred in Allegheny Cemetery on 11 December 1891. They were found on the 1860 census, both born in England enumerated a few pages away from the Samuel Reynolds household, and then in city directories on the same street. Other evidence confirmed the Identiity of Hannah (Ford) Reynolds. Now there is a new question; Who was Mary ___________ Ford? *************** This is interesting, if they died in 1868 and 1870 but were interred in 1891, it would seem that their graves may have been moved...this happens a lot in these older plots...but apparently the head stone wasn't moved or the family may have had them moved... ________________________________________________________________________ Get Your Private, Free E-mail from MSN Hotmail at http://www.hotmail.com

....solved one woman's identity problem through the sale of slaves: 2. though it may be distasteful, the slave or distribution of slaves in order to pay debts and distribute the proceeds to the heirs provides relationships and maiden names. Elias DeJarnette died in 1824. In 1842, the slaves in the estate were appraised and distributed to Permelia Jones, Elizabeth Cally, Lucretia Littlepage, Madison DeJarnette, William Spencer, John Spencer, Edward Tarrant, Samuel H. VanZant, and John T. VanZant. The first three women were daughters of Elias DeJarnette. Further research showed the last five men were the sons-in-law and sons of the late Sophia (DeJarnette) VanZant. Eventually, the first names of the three VanZant daughters were found. This document led to the maiden names of seven women, in two generations ________________________________________________________________________ Get Your Private, Free E-mail from MSN Hotmail at http://www.hotmail.com

The records from Greenwood revealed that Angeline's brother silas L. served in the war. The information was incomplete, but it identified him as a son of Ebenezer King. Adjoining towns were next searched, and in West Union I hit the jackpot! The town clerk completed every requested data item including complete birth date, birth place and parents, as well as military service information for Angeline's brother Edgar B. He was born 21 March 1826 in Trumansburg, Tompkins County, New York, whereas before I had an "about 1825" birth date based on census records. Only an imaginary line divides Trumansburg from Covert. Edgar was listed as the son of Ebenezer M. King and Elizabeth Jaycox! No longer do I have a "surname unknown" for the mother of my third great-grandmother, Angeline King. Extensive direct research on Elizabeth or Betsy had been fruitless. Coming in the side door provided the needed information. Now I need to find the parents of Elizabeth Jaycox! ________________________________________________________________________ Get Your Private, Free E-mail from MSN Hotmail at http://www.hotmail.com

The last number 11, should have been 12... This is just some other methods genealogist have used in finding female ancestors, these are all accredited or certified genealogists: 1. ...found the names of a woman's parents among her brother's Civil War Records... Early in my genealogical research I attempted to find the parents of my third great grandmother Angeline King, born 25 November 1813, in Kingtown (now Covert) Cayuga (now Seneca) County, New York. She married Ebenezer C. Richardson about 1833 in Greenwood, Steuben County, New York, but soon left with her husband and many of his extended family for Kirtland, Ohio. Many moves later found her in Plain City, Weber County, Utah, where she died 10 April 1880. Following extensive research, I determined that the preponderance of evidence indicated she and her identified fourteen brothers and sisters were children of Ebenezer M. King and his wife Elizabeth or Betsy "surname unknown." For thirty years, "surname unknown" has graces my ancestral pedigree chart. I obtained a death certificate of Angeline's brother William, which verified he was a son of Ebenezer and Elizabeth J. King. Recently I was made aware of a record newly acquired in the Family History Library in Salt Lake city. It is the New York "town Clerk's registers of men who served int he Civil War" (thirty-seven microfilm reels numbered 1992401-437). Shortly after the Civil War began, the town clerks in New York state were provided forms to complete on war registrants. The forms provided space for wonderful genealogical data - if only the town clerks would complete them, and - if only they would survive the more than a century since being distributed. Aware that Angeline's younger brothers were of the age to have served int eh Civil War, I enthusiastically searched the records. ________________________________________________________________________ Get Your Private, Free E-mail from MSN Hotmail at http://www.hotmail.com

In sum, we know: 1. Jesse Curry's wife was Mary G. Strader 2. Richard Strader posted a bond for that marriage 3. Richard Strader was of the right age to be Mary's father 4. Mary named one child Martha, which was Richard's wife's name, and one child Dorinda, which was the name of one of Richard's daughters. 5. Richard had in his household in 1830 a daughter who may be the right age to be Mary. Unless further research uncovers other possibilities, we can infer from this limited evidence that Mary G. (Strader) Curry was possibly the daughter of Richard Strader, probably by his wife Martha. other Methods of ID women next..... ________________________________________________________________________ Get Your Private, Free E-mail from MSN Hotmail at http://www.hotmail.com

Published abstracts of wills for Green County were checked first; none was recorded for a Richard Strader. In case the abstractor had missed Richard, I went to the original records and indexes. No, Richard hadn't left a will that was recorded. The next step was to look at the census records to see if this Richard was even the right age to be Mary's father. The 1850 Green County census (the first census to list everyone in the household by name) enumerated several Strader households. Of the heads of families, only Richard was old enough to be her father; he was sixty-one. Of course, there is the possibility that Richard was an uncle, but what was particularly noteworthy were the names of Richard's wife and the children in his household: His wife was Martha, and the children were named Dorinda (age twenty-five), Martha (age twenty-three) and Thomas (age twenty-one). Mary and Jesse Curry named children Martha and Dorinda. Though Jesse and Mary were married in 1839 there was no enumeration for them in the 1840 census in Green County, Kentucky, where Jesse might have been listed as a head of a household. Let's take the census back one decade earlier when Mary would have been in Richard's household: Richard STrader males: 1 aged under 5; 2 aged 5-10; 1 aged 15-20; 1 aged 40-50 females: 2 under 5; 2 aged 5-10; 2 aged 15-20; 1 aged 40-50 Calculating from the 1850 through 1870 censuses, Mary would have been born between 1817 and 1819, making her between the ages of eleven and thirteenth in 1830. Without knowing the month she was born, she might fit in the five to ten year old category being ten years old but not yet turning eleven. Based on the 1850 census listing for Richard's household, his child Dorinda would have been five in 1830, Martha age three and Thomas, one. The other members of the household are unknown, but Richard and his wife were likely the ones age forty to fifty, which corresponded to their ages in the 1850 schedule ________________________________________________________________________ Get Your Private, Free E-mail from MSN Hotmail at http://www.hotmail.com

Jesse and Mary G. Curry were born in Green County, Kentucky. Census records from 1850 through 1870 show a prolific family. They had at least ten children, all also born in Green County: Martha E. born about 1840 Mary L. 1842 William H. 1844 Robert W. 1846 James T. 1847 John F. 1852 Sallie 1853 Sarah L. 1856 Dorinda G. 1859 Woodson (female) 1860 Once again all that was needed to discover Mary's maiden name was a quick look at marriage records for Green County, Kentucky: Jesse Curry married Mary Strader. A bond was posted on 9 December 1839 by Richard Strader. The couple was married 10 November 1839 (sic) by the Reverend Stephen Gupton. This record had an interesting bit of information. Notice that a Richard Strader posted the bond. Usually a father posted a bond on the bride's behalf. If he was deceased, the mother, an older brother or an uncle might post bond. Was Richard her father? ________________________________________________________________________ Get Your Private, Free E-mail from MSN Hotmail at http://www.hotmail.com

In summary, we know: 1. Nancy's presumed maiden name was Donnally from her marriage record to Henry D. Bane. 2. Nancy named a son William. 3. Henry D. and Nancy Bane were sued by a John A. Donnally. 4. John A. Donnally had a sister named Nancy who was of full age in 1840, which coincided with Nancy (Donnally) Bane's age based on her tombstone inscription and the 1900 census. 5. John A. and Nancy Donnally's father was William Donnally. 7. William Donnally had living in his household in 1840 a woman of the right age to be Nancy. 8. John a. Donnally was also involved in a suit with Sarah Donnally, who was the widow of William 9. another court case cited Sarah and William Donnally, with Sarah being a sister of William Grayum, giving us her maiden name. Thus based on the evidence gathered, we can infer that Nancy was more than likely the daughter of William Donnally, possibly by his wife Sarah... Jesse Curry's wife Mary G. _____________ next... ________________________________________________________________________ Get Your Private, Free E-mail from MSN Hotmail at http://www.hotmail.com

Perhaps there was a death certificate for Nancy that would name her parents. According to a book of cemetery transcriptions for Gallia County, Nancy Bane, wife of Henry D., was born on 6 September 1818 and died 31 January 1903. Ohio did not require state vital registration of deaths until 1908 but some earlier deaths were recorded in the county probate courts. Only Henry's death was on file. He died a widower at the age of eight-five on 23 February 1905. Recall the 1840 court case involving a Nancy Donnally who was of legal age. If Nancy (Donnally) Bane was the Nancy Donnally, daughter of William, then a birth date of September 1818 (from her tombstone) would have made her twenty-two years old in 1840, well above legal age. The 1900 census gave her birth month and year as September 1819, which would make her twenty-one in 1840. Of course, we have no way of knowing which is correct, if either one. Let's take this one step further and see if William Donnally has a woman Nancy's age living in his household in 1840 census. Remember, this census named only the head of the household: males: 1 age under 5; 1 age 10-15; 1 age 15-20, 1 age 20-30, 1 age 40-50 females: 2 age under 5; 1 age 5-10; 2 age 10-15; 1 age 15-20, 1 age 50-60 The only place where Nancy would fit is in the age category 15-20. From the above sources, however, she should be twenty-one or twenty-two. But there's something else we need to consider: The official starting date of the 1840 census was 1 June. The enumerator was supposed to record the composition of the household on that date, regardless of when he made his visit. If the birth month and year of September 1819 are correct, then Nancy would not turn twenty-one until September, making her twenty years old on 1 June 1840, when the census was taken. ________________________________________________________________________ Get Your Private, Free E-mail from MSN Hotmail at http://www.hotmail.com

Two other significant cases were also noted. Again, one involved John A. Donnally, and a Sarah Donnally. This case stated that Sarah was the widow of William Donnally, who died 1 January 1847. The other case was John Newton, Administrator for William Grayum vs James Grayum, Reuben Grayum, John Grayum, Sarah and William Donnally, Martha and Randall Russell, Mary Ann and Noah Wood, and Rachel and John Swindler. This case of 1839 revolved around William Grayum dying intestate (without a will) and the need to sell his property to pay his debts. The people named were his brothers and sisters and his widow, Rachel, who married John Swindler. In the deeds, there was one land transaction between Henry D. Bane and the Donnallys - the one referred to in the foreclosure. Deeds were also recorded that showed transactions between the Donnallys and James Newton and the Grahams (Grayum). Aside from the deed of William Donnally conveying land to his children, which named a Nancy Donnally, there were no other solid familial connections. ________________________________________________________________________ Get Your Private, Free E-mail from MSN Hotmail at http://www.hotmail.com

John says, they're coming through ok..<g>..just didn't want to waste all this typing...these are all numbers so that should help to keep track of them...I don't save a copy of these, so if you're missing one, try the list archive first...sorry... ***************** ....So this wasn't going to be so easy after all. Let's work on the approach that researching Nancy's husband may point us in the right direction. The chancery court records for Gallia County, 1835-52, have been abstracted and published. In the index, there was one case that involved Henry D. Bane and John A. Donnally. It was a land foreclosure that also named Henry's wife, Nancy. Now to check the index for Donnallys. Of particular note was another court case of John Newton vs. John A. Donnally on 14 May 1840. In this case, as you may recall from the short discussion in Chapter two, Orphan's and Guardianship Records, William Donnally as still living and owned land. He had the land conveyed to his children to defraud Newton. The children of William Donnally were named in the document; John A. and Nancy, who were of full age, and William Jr., Eleanor, Sarah, Mary Ann, Philip J., Martha, Reuben G. and Marinda, all minors... ________________________________________________________________________ Get Your Private, Free E-mail from MSN Hotmail at http://www.hotmail.com

Just checking to see if these are going through...I'm not getting anything back from my posts....<g>.. Char ________________________________________________________________________ Get Your Private, Free E-mail from MSN Hotmail at http://www.hotmail.com

The identity of Henry D. Bane's wife, Nancy _______________ ....I first found Nancy on the 1880 Schedule of Defective, dependent, and Delinquent Classes for Gallia County, Ohio. My next step was to find her with her family to learn as much about her and her family as possible. On the 1880 population census for Gallia County the family is listed as follows: Bane, Henry D., white, male, age 661, married, farmer, born in Virginia, parents born in Virginia Bane, Nancy, white, female, age 62, wife, married, keeps house, mark under insane column, born in Ohio, parents born in Virginia Bane, William H., white, male, age 29 son, single, teacher, born in Ohio, father born in Virginia, mother born in Ohio Following Nancy in the censuses, I worked backward and forward in order to put together her family. Interestingly, in 1870, Nancy is also labeled as insane, but in 1860 and 1850, there were no remarks about Nancy's mental health. The Bane family is reconstructed here through the use of census records: Henry D. Bane was born September 1819 in Virginia. He married Nancy _______________, who was born September 1818 or 1819 in Ohio. They married about 1842. Probable children (all born in Ohio) 1. Lucetta, born about 1842 2. Samuel, born about 1845 3. John P., born about 1847 4. William H., born about 1850 5. Mary A., born about 1853 6. Robert R., born about 1855 Since all of their children were born in Ohio, and they consistently lived in Gallia County, my next step was to see if a marriage record existed for Henry and Nancy in that area; it did. In the county marriage records, it was recorded that Henry D. Bane married Nancy Donnally on 26 September 1842. That was easy. Now we have what is likely her maiden name. (Remember, there is always the possibility that she could have been married before; her age when she married Henry calculates to about twenty-three.) As was common for marriage records for this time period, her parents' names were not included. Assuming Donnally was Nancy's maiden name, it would make this a "quick case" if a man or woman named Donnally died in Gallia County and named a daughter Nancy Bane in a will. But of the Donnally wills, none named a daughter Nancy Bane. The will of Andrew Donnally did name a daughter Nancy, but referred to her as Donnally; "our" Nancy had been married thirteen years by the time this will was made in 1855, so it is unlikely that a father would still refer to his daughter by her maiden name. Another daughter and a son named in Andrew's will, Katherine and Peter Donnally, also left wills in 1866 and 1860, respectively, naming their sister Nancy Donnally, giving further evidence this Nancy was unmarried. ________________________________________________________________________ Get Your Private, Free E-mail from MSN Hotmail at http://www.hotmail.com

All agree with historian Elizabeth Fox-Genovese that you must study women's relationships with men and with other women to "get at" the woman of interest. In other words, research everyone associated or connected with your woman ancestor. All also agree that you need to seek original records whenever possible rather than relying on published abstracts and transcriptions of records or published genealogies. In many cases you may never find that magic document that says, "I leave to my daughter, Ann," or "Samuel and Martha (Richards) Montgomery are the parents of Penelope," which proves her parentage. Sometimes it is necessary to build a case based on the evidence you have gathered. In other words, make an inference about the unknown based on the known. Let's look at two cases to see how this works... ________________________________________________________________________ Get Your Private, Free E-mail from MSN Hotmail at http://www.hotmail.com