Posts in December 14, 2016

Never assume that a widowed relative did not marry again after their spouse died. Always search the records. One reason that female ancestors “disappear” after their husbands die is that they are living with a subsequent husband under a new last name. Widowers or widows with young children are more likely to marry again, frequently for financially pragmatic reasons. Some may wait until “late in life” to marry again–at a stage in their life when descendants do not think to look for a marriage record. Records of later marriages may give detail on the ancestor not given in their initial marriage record. If the subsequent marriage does not go well and results in no children, reference to it may not be made in an obituary, death notice, tombstone, […]