WHERE IS THAT WOMAN?
Brenda Kellow
April 17, 2011
Married women are much more difficult to find than men are, whether married or single. The reason is obvious. Men maintain the surname throughout their lifetime. Not so with the females. Women are born with a maiden name but her last name changes with each marriage. Therefore, before finding a widow in the marriage index you must first determine her previous married name. The census is no help because it does not identify females on the federal census prior to 1850. Afterward, it gives only the first names followed by their husband’s last name. So, how do we find the ever-elusive female?
Within the pages of an extant Bible, journal or diary may be an entry disclosing the hidden information, but the chance of finding such items is slim. She might be referred to in a will or other court documents by her maiden name, but so often women are just mentioned as “my daughter Jane” or “my loving wife.”
Cemeteries are another place for finding this information, although it probably is not used enough as a finding aide. Maybe the reasons are that we cannot find the names of cemeteries in a region; or a tombstone that once existed is now missing; because searchers fail to remember that families often are buried together; or because searchers do not have access to inscription publications or online cemetery data. Enter two ambitious people who would like to solve this problem for Texas researchers.
Gloria B. Mayfield and Gary M. Webb have created a free website where they cover all the cemeteries in the state. They are adding cemetery histories, inscriptions records, directions and photographs. The project began with nine counties in west Texas, but grew much larger. Today the site covers the 254 counties of Texas plus a few of the surrounding states of New Mexico, Oklahoma, Louisiana and Arkansas. The goal is to obtain cemetery histories, inscriptions records, directions and photographs of each cemetery or burial ground. You are free to browse to your heart’s content. Just one visit is not adequate because they add things daily. It is slow to load, but it is worth the short wait.
Scroll down the home page to examine the county listings. By opening a county, the searcher can then select a cemetery. Some of the cemeteries on the site have a map while others may have several pictures of tombstones. If the cemetery you are looking for does not appear, let them know there is such a cemetery and tell them anything else you might be able to add. If you have photos of grave markers, please send them to the Web site.
I was delighted to see the new listing with pictures for Saint Paul Cemetery. It is one of the oldest cemeteries in Collin County, if not the oldest. It has pictures of some stones and a Texas historical marker. Unfortunately, there was no history and no inscriptions of others buried there.
Another small cemetery I checked out was the McMillen Cemetery in Murphy. It had a picture of the gate and included names of the few people buried there with markers but no pictures. It notes a few unidentified graves. Corinth Presbyterian Church owns and operates the cemetery.
Do you have information on any of our Texas cemeteries? Do you know the maiden names of any of the women buried in these old bone yards? Help identify the females buried in our state by submitting information to Cemeteries of Texas. Check out the site for yourself. I know you will like it and want to participate. The URL for “Cemeteries of Texas” is www.usgennet.org/usa/tx/topic/cemeteries/.
You might want to check with the ‘Find A Grave’ site. It is not just Texas and the surrounding area but identifies cemeteries throughout the nation. The site is at http://www.findagrave.com/. Here you can search by cemetery or by name of the deceased, add death records, pictures, and even leave virtual flowers.
Using sites like these is a great opportunity to add the maiden names of females and even give parental information.
Brenda Kellow has a bachelor's degree in history, teaches, and lectures on genealogy. Before retiring to publish her family’s histories in 2007, Brenda held certification as a Certified Genealogist and as a Certified Genealogical Instructor. Send reunion announcements, books to review, and genealogy queries to: [email protected].
Within the pages of an extant Bible, journal or diary may be an entry disclosing the hidden information, but the chance of finding such items is slim. She might be referred to in a will or other court documents by her maiden name, but so often women are just mentioned as “my daughter Jane” or “my loving wife.”
Cemeteries are another place for finding this information, although it probably is not used enough as a finding aide. Maybe the reasons are that we cannot find the names of cemeteries in a region; or a tombstone that once existed is now missing; because searchers fail to remember that families often are buried together; or because searchers do not have access to inscription publications or online cemetery data. Enter two ambitious people who would like to solve this problem for Texas researchers.
Gloria B. Mayfield and Gary M. Webb have created a free website where they cover all the cemeteries in the state. They are adding cemetery histories, inscriptions records, directions and photographs. The project began with nine counties in west Texas, but grew much larger. Today the site covers the 254 counties of Texas plus a few of the surrounding states of New Mexico, Oklahoma, Louisiana and Arkansas. The goal is to obtain cemetery histories, inscriptions records, directions and photographs of each cemetery or burial ground. You are free to browse to your heart’s content. Just one visit is not adequate because they add things daily. It is slow to load, but it is worth the short wait.
Scroll down the home page to examine the county listings. By opening a county, the searcher can then select a cemetery. Some of the cemeteries on the site have a map while others may have several pictures of tombstones. If the cemetery you are looking for does not appear, let them know there is such a cemetery and tell them anything else you might be able to add. If you have photos of grave markers, please send them to the Web site.
I was delighted to see the new listing with pictures for Saint Paul Cemetery. It is one of the oldest cemeteries in Collin County, if not the oldest. It has pictures of some stones and a Texas historical marker. Unfortunately, there was no history and no inscriptions of others buried there.
Another small cemetery I checked out was the McMillen Cemetery in Murphy. It had a picture of the gate and included names of the few people buried there with markers but no pictures. It notes a few unidentified graves. Corinth Presbyterian Church owns and operates the cemetery.
Do you have information on any of our Texas cemeteries? Do you know the maiden names of any of the women buried in these old bone yards? Help identify the females buried in our state by submitting information to Cemeteries of Texas. Check out the site for yourself. I know you will like it and want to participate. The URL for “Cemeteries of Texas” is www.usgennet.org/usa/tx/topic/cemeteries/.
You might want to check with the ‘Find A Grave’ site. It is not just Texas and the surrounding area but identifies cemeteries throughout the nation. The site is at http://www.findagrave.com/. Here you can search by cemetery or by name of the deceased, add death records, pictures, and even leave virtual flowers.
Using sites like these is a great opportunity to add the maiden names of females and even give parental information.
Brenda Kellow has a bachelor's degree in history, teaches, and lectures on genealogy. Before retiring to publish her family’s histories in 2007, Brenda held certification as a Certified Genealogist and as a Certified Genealogical Instructor. Send reunion announcements, books to review, and genealogy queries to: [email protected].