How do you find a maiden name on ancestry.com?

Question

she's dead so i can't just ask her

Answer 1

First of all, fill in all the information on an entry that you possibly can: birth and death years, country, state or province of birth and death.  That should narrow the search field.  Then leave the blank for the surname empty.  The Ancestry.com program (that swirling leaf that morphs into a dollar sign) will often immediately come up with possible identities of a wife or mother.  

If census, marriage, or death records are available through Ancestry.com, don't hesitate to double-check any facts you might have about a missing female ancestor.  For example, US Census records often give the state or country in which an individual's mother and/ or  father was born. Of course, sometimes this information can be wrong, but don't be afraid of making mistakes along the way.  

If who you are looking for the identity of someone who died since 1936 and she is an American citizen, sometimes, but not always, Social Security records will supply her maiden name. In the US, birth certificates from the 1930s until the mid-1970s will also often note the mother's maiden name.  Earlier than that, babies in rural areas often didn't have birth certificates, and more recently, county governments sometimes consider the identity of the parents intrusive and politically incorrect.  Consequently, sometimes only the name, date, and place of birth of recent birth certificates are publically available over the Web.



Sometimes, you will need to research the possible maiden name of the wife by browsing family tree entries other subscribers on Ancestry.com have made for the individual  particularly if the names of any siblings are available.  Also, contact other subscribers who might be looking for the same information in Ancestry.com sponsored message boards for your family.  Then again, finding independent message boards and genealogical sites over the Web just might put you in touch with family members who can perhaps supply a missing maiden name.

Finally, many times the wife's maiden name simply isn't known.  Sometimes, even her first name may be missing.

Remember compiling a family history means making a lot of educated guesses along the way!

Answer 2

If she had children after 1913, the mother's surname will appear in the children's birth.

I'm assuming the person was from the UK, so your best bet is going to:

http://freebmd.rootsweb.com/

If you can't find it contact me and I'll try to help you.

Answer 3

You might want to let us know some details such as her married name and the state and time period.  With Ancestry.com, its not as easy as "typing it in" .  It is a matter of putting together pieces of information to build a picture of your ancestors lives.   There is a pretty good talent pool in this forum and if given a useful amount of information, they can do some pretty amazing things.  All you need to do is edit your question with the name, PLACE and TIME FRAME and let the answerers take a stab at it since she is deceased.

Answer 4

jus typ it in. reel e-z