One thing to note in researching southern women. In the past and sometimes now, When southern women got married, I'm told that their maiden name became their middle name. So, if you had a Sarah Alice Crow marry Thomas Collins, Sarah might then appear on a census as Sallie C. Collins and be over looked. This is not a national practice. Until I had an office job in the South, I had never heard of this practice. I asked employees to complete a form. One lady omitted her middle name. When I took the form back to her, she said that she didn't know which name to use because she'd been married twice. I asked her to explain. According to the Department of Motor Vehicles in Lincoln County, it used to be a law for the maiden name to become the middle name. I wonder what the younger generation has decided to do. I would imagine they are following the paths of their mother. Please note, my main research is Ballards. Lincoln County Ballards migrated all over the US but mainly south west. A branch of Ballards migrated from Lincoln County to Greene County Illinois and other northern states where this practice isn't followed. I've lived in the South most of my life and didn't know this practice existed. It's something women did by decree of law and tradition. It could be confusing for a researcher having never heard of this naming practice. Lynne D. Miller **************The year's hottest artists on the red carpet at the Grammy Awards. Go to AOL Music. (http://music.aol.com/grammys?NCID=aolcmp00300000002565)

Lynne, My mother's middle name is her maiden name, COLLINS. Her signature was Kathleen C. MITCHELL or Kathleen Collins MITCHELL. The same goes for Mother's mother and grandmother. All official docs were signed by them using the *maiden* name as the middle initial or fully spelled out as the middle name. My middle name is my maiden name, MITCHELL. We are Southern and I've never thought of it any other way until reading your post. But, now that you mention it, I suppose my dear friends from other parts of the country now after marriage commonly use their second given name as the middle name. That said, in researching my family in the north, I have seen women replace their middle name with their maiden name there too. My gg-grandmother from Maine is listed on her gravestone as Ann Elizabeth HALL - wife of Benjamin Edward FLINT. Most Southern women I know still follow the tradition after marriage and use their maiden name as their legal middle name. Family ties here were/are legally important. Husbands in SC could not sell land without wives' forfeiting DOWER'S RIGHTS (her family rights) on the contract/deed. Many very old graves list the name as Mary COLLINS (maiden), *Consort* of John T. WILSON. They were, of course, husband and wife. More recent graves might list Mary COLLINS and John WILSON or: WILSON Mary Collins - John T. Take care, Judy

When I recently renewed my Texas ID the lady asked me do I want to use my given middle name at birth or my maiden name as my middle name I choose to use my maiden name! I did not know you could do that! I always sign my signature with all four names now including my married surname on any documents I sign and in the section that ask (Other names used) i put all of them. The lady said legally I can becuase even though i am married my maiden name is still officially my name and can be included in my ID"S I thought that was cool. So know in many years down the line they will have no trouble finding me when they go searching genealogy! Debra Let this be a lesson to all female genealogist! If you can use your maiden name women by all means do so your future generations will be so happy with you! I have found many a women on the census listed as their first name and the initial of their maiden name used as their middle initial instead of the initial of their true birth middle name I wish I had given all 4 of my children my maiden name at their birth's. ----- Original Message ----- From: "Judy Bennett" <judibennet@earthlink.net> To: <nclincol@rootsweb.com> Sent: Friday, February 15, 2008 11:56 AM Subject: [NCLINCOL] Legal name changes for women > Lynne, > > My mother's middle name is her maiden name, COLLINS. Her signature was > Kathleen C. MITCHELL or Kathleen Collins MITCHELL. The same goes for > Mother's mother and grandmother. All official docs were signed by them > using > the *maiden* name as the middle initial or fully spelled out as the middle > name. My middle name is my maiden name, MITCHELL. We are Southern and I've > never thought of it any other way until reading your post. But, now that > you > mention it, I suppose my dear friends from other parts of the country now > after marriage commonly use their second given name as the middle name. > > That said, in researching my family in the north, I have seen women > replace > their middle name with their maiden name there too. My gg-grandmother from > Maine is listed on her gravestone as Ann Elizabeth HALL - wife of Benjamin > Edward FLINT. Most Southern women I know still follow the tradition after > marriage and use their maiden name as their legal middle name. > > Family ties here were/are legally important. Husbands in SC could not sell > land without wives' forfeiting DOWER'S RIGHTS (her family rights) on the > contract/deed. Many very old graves list the name as Mary COLLINS > (maiden), > *Consort* of John T. WILSON. They were, of course, husband and wife. More > recent graves might list Mary COLLINS and John WILSON or: > > WILSON > Mary Collins - John T. > > Take care, > Judy > > > ------------------------------- > To unsubscribe from the list, please send an email to > NCLINCOL-request@rootsweb.com with the word 'unsubscribe' without the > quotes in the subject and the body of the message >

Lynne, Guess I'm a true Southern woman because for years I never knew that a woman kept a middle name when she married. I assumed every woman used her maiden name as the middle name! However, I've learned that I am the one who is incorrect. When a funeral home provides info for a death certificate, the first name is used, her true middle name and the married surname. You can learn the maiden name by looking at the parents info but normally the maiden name is not part of the deceased's name on a death certificate. I'm interested in learning more about your Lincoln Co., NC Ballards. Do you have any Ballards who married Gilberts? Vickie ----- Original Message ----- From: <LMiller603@aol.com> To: <nclincol@rootsweb.com> Sent: Friday, February 15, 2008 9:40 AM Subject: [NCLINCOL] Legal name changes for women > One thing to note in researching southern women. In the past and sometimes > now, When southern women got married, I'm told that their maiden name became > their middle name. > So, if you had a Sarah Alice Crow marry Thomas Collins, Sarah might then > appear on a census as Sallie C. Collins and be over looked. > This is not a national practice. Until I had an office job in the South, I > had never heard of this practice. > I asked employees to complete a form. One lady omitted her middle name. > When I took the form back to her, she said that she didn't know which name to > use because she'd been married twice. I asked her to explain. > According to the Department of Motor Vehicles in Lincoln County, it used to > be a law for the maiden name to become the middle name. I wonder what the > younger generation has decided to do. I would imagine they are following the > paths of their mother. > Please note, my main research is Ballards. Lincoln County Ballards migrated > all over the US but mainly south west. A branch of Ballards migrated from > Lincoln County to Greene County Illinois and other northern states where this > practice isn't followed. I've lived in the South most of my life and didn't > know this practice existed. It's something women did by decree of law and > tradition. It could be confusing for a researcher having never heard of this > naming practice. > Lynne D. Miller > > > > **************The year's hottest artists on the red carpet at the Grammy > Awards. Go to AOL Music. > (http://music.aol.com/grammys?NCID=aolcmp00300000002565) > > ------------------------------- > To unsubscribe from the list, please send an email to NCLINCOL-request@rootsweb.com with the word 'unsubscribe' without the quotes in the subject and the body of the message