Study of women's genealogy important

As the popularity of genealogy continues to rise, family historians are developing genealogical specialities. They may focus on a country, ethnic group or subject area such as immigration.

But there is one area of genealogy that is important to everyone's family search. Yet, not nearly enough attention is being paid to it. This area involves at least 50 percent of everyone's parentage at every generation: women.

Family historians can be forgiven for pausing and taking deep breaths before researching female ancestors. It's reasonable for them to fear that after an enormous investment of time and effort all they'll have are blank spaces on a family chart.

Perhaps that is why many published family histories trace only the male lines.

It's something Shirley Gage Hodges, who lectures on the subject, found frustrating. So for the past two decades of her four-decade genealogy career, Hodges has made tracing female lines one of her specialties.

Genealogical research is done by moving back one generation at a time, identifying ancestors by name in census records, deeds, diaries, newspapers and more. Knowing a woman's maiden name is important to discovering who her parents (and their parents) were.

"Because of the name issue, it really is a lot more diffi- cult," says Hodges, Genealo-gical Speaker Guild presi- dent and lecturer on the subject.

"In the early days, when a woman married, her legal existence was suspended, and the husband had absolute control (over her property and children). It was a sign of disrespect in some cultures for a woman to use her own name. She wouldn't even use her own first name. She literally became Mrs. John Smith. I found a case of that as late as 1969.

Usually, an unmarried woman's father or brother acted on her behalf, Hodges says. So her name might be buried in a record, but it would not be found in an index.

If the father or brother died, her name might begin to surface.

"But once she married, she could just kiss that goodbye," Hodges says. "Until the 20th century, women did not conduct many legal or business transactions on their own. When researching women, it's always important to trace the collateral lines."

Tracing collaterally involves examining family members and close acquaintances of an ancestor.

Here's a fairly straightforward example of tracing a collateral:

--You don't know the name of a grandmother's parents.

--You do know the name of your grandmother's brother.

--Trace the name of the brother to find his father.

--Study the name of the father to find the name of his wife.

--Then study them to learn if they had daughters while married to each other.

--Compare the daughters to your grandmother by name, birth year, etc.

--If they match those of your grandmother, it's likely you have identified her parents, your great-grandparents.

Reach Wevonneda Minis at 937-5705 or wminis@postandcourier.com.