Why waste your money looking up your family tree? Just go into politics and your opponents will do it for you.” - Mark Twain


Sunday, September 28, 2014

Why the Women Disappear

If you've ever done any sort of family research you will notice, as I have recently, that after the women marry they very nearly disappear from the public record.  No longer are they known by their own name, they are hereafter known as Mrs. [insert husband name here].   Historically, I find this is true when the women have been homemakers.  As CEO of their household they are responsible (literally) for the care and feeding of their husbands and children.  What they don't receive in return is a Social Security Number and Social Security benefits unless it's through their spouse.

Social Security is a means to track individuals during the time they are employed and also when their benefits cease upon their death.  Without that numerical assignment there is no "person" to track.  The only women I have been able to locate via their death records are the one's who had SSN's.  Those without or who were cremated rather than buried are simply gone - POOF!.  Unless someone has documented first hand knowledge in their own family tree (which I can also search on Ancestry.com), I fear these women will forever be lost to history.  Times have changed and women born in the latter half of the 20th century are much easier to locate.

These are just some musings from a lazy Sunday afternoon.


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