I "lifted" this from the NC Roots list. >From a Subscriber to the ALABAMA-L rootsweb and thought it might help some of those new to genealogy. Having a hard time trying to find that maiden name of your gg-grandmother? Here are some helpful hints! Research and study case studies of PROVEN ANCESTORS, they often married their first cousins. When possible, always go to the Original records/documents. Follow her males, did they stay in that county or go to another state? Who did her brothers and sisters marry? Look at those neighbors very closely. Males seldom married females that lived over 5 miles from their homes. More often it was the next house that they chose their wife from. DEEDS Always look at several pages before and after listings of deeds. Pay special attention to all those recorded the same day. Note other surnames that keep repeating often in deeds, plus "et al" which means "and others." Note males that are selling their interest in property. This just may be the father-in-law who has recently died. Note names and witnesses on wills and deeds, usually one is from the family of the female to protect her dower. This is not written in stone but very often true. Always trace your females until dead and buried. Follow son-in-laws, sons, grandsons, and nephews. Trace down all lines of a marriage. Often the husband would marry as a second marriage, a sister of his wife, if she had died shortly after the marriage. MORE RESEARCH IDEAS State Archives, which often have duplicate copies of lost county-level tax rolls. Check all surrounding counties, your ancestors may have traveled to the nearest courthouse. Census...All of the various schedules of the federal returns must be used. Above all, study the entire neighborhood for naming and migration patterns. Specialized biographical files composed by museums. Journals of the state house and senate. Superior court and federal district and supreme court files. Church Records. Don't overlook ALL denominations in that area. Newspapers. Use of newspapers of surrounding counties, even across the state lines if another state is adjustant. You may check for church newspapers as their obits are often better than those in regular newspapers. TRACK COLLATERAL LINES. Sisters are often pursued because of their name changes. Follow them through their husbands. When all else fails, backtrack neighbors and associates who have similar naming/migration patterns and let them lead you to your ancestors. Hope this helps someone whose search has been buried in the brick wall -- Barbara Farthing Bonham Carol Pridgen Martoccia 903 East Fifth St. Greenville, NC 27858 PRIDGEN Homepage : http://www.geocities.com/Heartland/Meadows/6297 PRIDGEN Archives: http://searches.rootsweb.com/cgi-bin/listsearch.pl List manager for the Pridgen Family and for Wilson County, NC (NCWilson)