[ For some bizarre reason, RootsWeb's spam filter keeps discarding kdberr1@aol.com's post. I'm sending this through under my address to see if I can get the post past the filters. - Mod ] HI: I have been sort of following this discussion and decided to write a response when I read this contribution. Not all women had maiden names. My ancestors were free African Americans (who had surnames) and others were slaves. I am getting to the point where I will be discovering slave ancestors who had no (recorded) surname. I have read that many slaves did choose surnames but hid them from the slave owner. Over the years of my research I have discovered that it's especially difficult to trace female slave ancestors, much less find their surnames. Fortunately I've been able to find the most elusive surname for my 2nd great grandmother, because she died in 1923 (born in the 1830s in NC) in a state where there was a death certificate issued (OH). Two more comments: I use "unknown" as in "unknown Jones father" or "unknown Smith husband" in my Family Tree Maker software. Just easier that way, and I think abbreviations would be confusing. Second: I don't know of any genealogy software that accommodates slave ancestry. I've had to improvise to record slave owners and slaves using Excel or the notes part of Family Tree Maker. Kberry kdberr1@aol.com