2020 marks the 100th anniversary of the 19th amendment which granted women the constitutional right to vote. That means 2020 is a great time to focus on researching female ancestors.
Looking for a speaker to provide information on suffrage, women's history, or other topics that impacted our female ancestors? I'm traveling through various states and Canada speaking on these topics and would love to present to your group in person or virtually. Some of my presentation topics include the following:
Suffrage
A Genealogist's History of SuffrageA condensed look at suffrage and what social history you need to know to tell the story of your female ancestor.
Voting: The Records Left BehindWhat records exist to document a female ancestor in regards to voting? What records can you find online and in archives. We will discuss the history of suffrage in the United States and the records that exist. We will also discuss how not every female ancestor had the right to vote in 1920.
Female Ancestors
The Farmer Takes a Wife“He was just a farmer” is a common lament but what about the farmer’s wife? Sources and material culture can help reconstruct her life. Learn about virtually unknown sources and repositories including the USDA Library, farm newspapers, and more.
25 Tips for Researching Your Female AncestorsEvery year for Women’s History Month, I create 30 blog posts about researching female ancestors. Based on those articles, learn 25 tips that will help you identify, trace, and discover more about your female ancestors.
Wives, Widows, Spinsters, and Mistresses: Documenting Women’s RelationshipsDetails about women’s lives are found in examining their relationships. What records exist that document relationships to significant others? Learn what records exist that connect a woman to her husband, partner, or significant other, what information the records provide, as well as where these records can be found.
Grandma was an Alien?! Marriage and Citizenship in 20th Century America Not too long ago, American women lost their citizenship when marrying non-citizens. While the 1920s saw changes to this law, women were still applying for their citizenship well into the 1970s. We’ll discuss marriage and women’s citizenship, as well as their repatriation. Examples from research at the National Archives and other repositories will help tell the story of these women’s lives.
Her Name was Not Unknown: Finding Female Ancestors“What’s her maiden name?” “What happened to her after her husband died?” “How do I start researching my great-grandmother?” We’ve all felt the disappointment of seeing the word “unknown” to describe a female ancestor’s name. How do we go from “unknown” to finding a name? This presentation will explain techniques, methodology, and resources vital to family history research. Enhance your research skills using a 5-step approach to researching (and finding) female ancestors.
The Secret Lives of Women: Research Female Ancestors Using the Sources They Left BehindWhy is finding a female ancestor so difficult? One reason is the way we research their lives. Successful research must combine familiar genealogical sources and the specific sources that women left behind. It is the sources that women authored or participated in that tell us their unique story. In this lecture we look at the specific trail women left including signature quilts, community cookbooks, journals, and diaries.
I'm in the Book: Researching Women in DirectoriesCity directories are great, but what other types of directories exist that can lead you to information about female ancestors? Surprisingly there are numerous kinds that include members of a church, community group, and membership organizations. Learn more about directories, what they contain and most importantly, where to find them.
Fabric, Cigars, and Murder: Reconstructing a Community of WomenImagine finding a 1930s quilt top with the names of numerous women and, through genealogical research, uncovering a community. After I purchased a quilt top in Southern California, I started a research journey that led me to Indiana and a unique community of women and the records they left behind.
Women in the NewspaperNewspapers are the great equalizer and women are prominent in their pages. In this lecture we will discuss the types of articles women can be found in, as well as search-engine tips specific to researching women.
Researching Women: Community Cookbooks and What They Tell Us About Our AncestorsCommunity cookbooks, commonly known as fundraising cookbooks with the plastic comb binding, have been around since the Civil War. They serve as a “city directory” of women, with everything from names, residences, and in some cases familial relationships and photos. Learn more about community cookbooks and using them for your family history. Presentation includes community cookbooks and food.
Martha Proby and her Book: A Case Study of a 19th Century English Woman
Martha Proby, a spinster living in early 19th century England left behind a unique artifact, a commonplace book. The research done to uncover who Martha was, her community, her manuscript, and her modern-day family includes methodologies that can assist anyone researching a female ancestor. Beyond the same old same old, these techniques go beyond typical family history research.
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| Library of Congress |
Have a female ancestor that served in the military? These resources are just a few that document the lives of female soldiers during the Civil War, World War I and World War II.
Happy Veterans Day!
Civil War
BooksBlanton, DeAnne, and Lauren M. Cook. They Fought Like Demons: Women Soldiers in the American Civil War. Stroud: Sutton, 2005.
Halloran, Richard. Women on the Civil War Battlefront. Lawrence: University Press of Kansas, 2006
Harriel, Shelby. Behind the Rifle: Women Soldiers in Civil War Mississippi. Jackson: University of Mississippi , 2019.
WebsitesAmerican Battlfield Trust - Female Soldiers in the Civil War https://www.battlefields.org/learn/articles/female-soldiers-civil-war
National Archives - Women Soldiers of the Civil Warhttps://www.archives.gov/publications/prologue/1993/spring/women-in-the-civil-war-1.html
World War I
Books
Cobbs, Elizabeth. The Hello Girls: America's First Women Soldiers. Cambridge: Harvard University Press, 2017.
Ebbert, Jean, and Marie-Beth Hall. The First, the Few, the Forgotten: Navy and Marine Corps Women in World War I. Annapolis, MD: Naval Institute Press, 2002.
Gavin, Lettie. American Women in World War I. Sebastopol: University Press of Colorado, 2011.
Schneider, Dorothy, and Carl J. Schneider. Into the Breach: American Women Overseas in World War I. New York: Viking, 1991.
Research Guides
Simmons College - Women's War Work During World War I
Schlesinger Library - World War I, 1914 -1918
Museums
The National World War I Museum - Women in World War I
World War II
BooksBonnell, Françoise B, Ronald K. Bullis, and Charlotte T. McGraw. Capturing the Women's Army Corps: The World War II Photographs of Captain Charlotte T. Mcgraw. 2013.
Carl, Ann. A Wasp Among Eagles: A Woman Military Test Pilot in World War II. Washington: Smithsonian Institution Press, 1999.
Gruhzit-Hoyt, Olga. They Also Served: American Women in World War II. New York: Birch Lane Press, 1995.
Lambright, Jeanie S. They Also Served: Women's Stories from the World War II Era. Philadelphia: Xlibris, 2003.
Merryman, Molly. Clipped Wings: The Rise and Fall of the Women Airforce Service Pilots of World War II. New York: New York Univ Press, 1998.
Monahan, Evelyn, and Rosemary Neidel-Greenlee. And If I Perish: Frontline U.S. Army Nurses in World War II. New York: Knopf, 2007.
Moore, Brenda L. Serving Our Country: Japanese American Women in the Military During World War II. New Brunswick, N.J: Rutgers University Press, 2003.
Purcell, Martha S. World War II Women in Uniform. Logan, Iowa: Perfection Learning, 2003.
Soderbergh, Peter A. Women Marines: The World War II Era. Westport, CT: Praeger, 1992.
Stremlow, Mary V. Free a Marine to Fight: Women Marines in World War II. Washington, D.C: History and Museums Division, Headquarters, U.S. Marine Corps, 1994.
Tomblin, Barbara B. G.I. Nightingales: the Army Nurse Corps in World War II. Lexington: The University Press of Kentucky, 1996.
Special Collections/Museums
Texas Women's University - Women Airforce Service Pilots https://twu.edu/library/womans-collection/collections/women-airforce-service-pilots-official-archive/
National World War II Museum - Women in World War II https://www.nationalww2museum.org/students-teachers/student-resources/research-starters/women-wwii
National WASP WWII Museum https://waspmuseum.org/
