Researching the Women in Your Family Tree

Abigail Adams, wife of one President and
mother of another.

"Remember the Ladies and be more generous and favorable to them than your ancestors"  - Abigail Adams

In her 1776 letter to her husband, John Adams,
who was attending the Continental Congress, Abigail
urged her husband to give more rights to women
than they had up to that point. Later in her letter she  says,

 
"Remember, all men would be tyrants if they could. If particular care and attention is not paid to the ladies, we are determined to foment a rebellion, and will not hold ourselves bound by any laws in which we have no voice or representation.”

John tried placating her with the words that men "are masters in name only".  History tells us he ignored her advise.

Why is searching for women any different than any other genealogical research?

For much of history in many cultures, men served as the "public face" of the family. They were the ones who most often went out in public and their names were the ones published in documents. Here are some of factors involved in making women harder to research;

• Women change their surname every time they marry. Ex.: Margaret Evaline MASON married: Arthur Burkhart, Walter Fouse, Glen Marshall, and Ben Christian and had children by each of them. Her marriage records appear under her maiden name as well as her previous married names. 
• Prior to even 1950, women were less often listed under their own names in any records. So it becomes necessary to look for a woman under her husband's name. 
• Further back in time, women become "invisible" in the records. This was because the were not allowed to:
• Vote
• Own real estate in their own name.
• Sign legal documents
• Men wrote the histories, paid the taxes, participated in the military, left wills, and gave their surnames to their children.

Women advocating their right to vote.
Photo courtesy WikiCommons.

This has slowly changed over time. But when working to flesh out the lives of the female half of your ancestors you will need to sharpen up your research skills.

First, follow traditional research methods thoroughly. Don't skip someone or something just because it is difficult to locate.

Then take a closer look at these records:

• Marriage records - are the best place to find a woman's maiden name. However, if a woman had previously been married, she might be listed under her previous married name. Witnesses to the wedding often were relatives of either the bride or the groom. The person performing the marriage can give you a clue as to what religion the family belonged to. If a surety or bond was put it, often the father or brother provided the money. And sometimes, a marriage record just does not exist.
• Cemetery listings -While a woman is most often buried under her married name, you will want to check nearby tombstones to see if she is buried near her family members. Tombstones sometimes provides the spouse's full name.
• Census records - women are listed under their husband's surname in the census records. But check to see who is listed with the family. Brothers and aged parents of the wife have shown up in the census records of my great grandmothers. Also, check to see what middle names are given to the children. Often, the mother's maiden name is preserved as a first or middle name of  her children.
• Church Records - witnesses on church records are most often relatives.
• Land Records - women would release their "dower" rights when communal land is sold. Land she inherited from a previous husband required an agreement as to how it would be handled.
• Guardianship records - even when one parent survived, a guardian would be appointed to protect the financial interests of the child. 
• Probate records and wills - sometimes reveal the married names of daughters, or if she is deceased, the names of her surviving children. She could be named in the will of her husband or her children. Prior to 1900, people generally married people in their direct neighborhood. So check the wills of neighbors to see of your ancestress is listed among the married daughters. 
• Public welfare records - applications for aid for minor children. 
• Naturalization Records - prior to 1922, a woman's citizenship status followed that of her husband. After 1922, women applied for citizenship in their own names. Check this blog for more information on women and naturalization records. 
• Children - Research all the known children to see you can find any mention of the married sister or deceased mother. She might be listed in the obituary, or the will, etc. 
• Newspapers - after 1900 newspaper articles carried articles on social happenings and followed club activities. Many women's groups featured heavily in these society pages. 
• Military Records - while few women officially served in the military prior to WWI, they could apply for pensions if a husband or unmarried son had died.

Think about the activities that women were doing and look for those records:

• Ephemera - such as letters and diaries or journals.
• Volunteer organizations - did your grandmother roll bandages for the Red Cross during WWII?
• Women's clubs - After the mid-1800's women's clubs became a popular way for women to expand their horizons beyond their household. Did your ancestress belong to one?
• Church groups - women often are the backbone of charitable groups within the church.

The Friday Afternoon Club is a women's club that is still active in the Medina Ohio area.
Medina Gazette 2 May 1969, page 5

Happy hunting!

SOURCES:

• Alzo, Lisa, "Best Records for Finding Female Ancestors", Family Tree University, 2008.
• Haddad, Diane, "Best Records for Finding Female Ancestors", Family Tree Magazine, 25 March 2019, https://bit.ly/2OrZVnx?fbclid=IwAR03Yk4KF5eRtWjFTQYk2MJSbuqNoBYIuAwI8AxS_8m46B4GUp81nQfFqlA 
• Moneymaker, Will, "How to Overcome the Difficulties of Finding Female Ancestors" Ancestral Findings.com https://ancestralfindings.com/how-to-overcome-the-difficulties-of-finding-female-ancestors/
• Powell, Kimberly "How to Research the Women in Your Family Tree" ThoughtCo https://www.thoughtco.com/invisible-women-ancestors-1422869
• Schaefer, Christina Kassabian, Hidden Half of the Family, Genealogical Publishing Company, Baltimore, 1999.
• Wilcox, Jane E., "Unusual Sources for Finding Female Ancestors" Generations Cafe Episode #24, https://www.amyjohnsoncrow.com/female-ancestors/, 28 March 2019.

Gerrie Mock - Remarkable Aviatrix

First Woman to Fly Solo Around the World 

Quick, what is the name of the first woman to fly solo around the world??

Amelia Earhart???

Amelia Earhart - 1928
Photo courtesy Library of Congress

Nope! She died in her attempt in 1937.

Jacqueline Cochran???

Jacqueline Cochran in a P-40
Photo courtesy WikiCommons

 Nope!
Jackie was the first woman to break the sound barrier, and at the time of her death, held more speed, distance, and altitude records than any other pilot in aviation history. But she didn't fly around the world.

Jerrie Mock???

Who???!!??

Jerrie Mock
UPI photo

The diminutive self described "Flying Housewife" was, on the surface, an unlikely candidate for breaking world aviation records. She was barely 5 feet tall, was a housewife and mother of three children and 38 years old when she decided to become the first woman to fly solo around the world.







What made her think she could do it?

The answer to that question lies in the story of her life leading up to that moment.

Geraldine "Jerrie" Fredritz was born in Newark, Ohio in 1925. At a young age she had her first flight and she enjoyed it so much that she declared that she was going to be a pilot when she grew up!  She read voraciously about foreign lands and exotic locales, dreaming that she would fly there herself. Amelia Earhart was her idol and she listened raptly to the evening radio reports of Earhart's progress on her attempt to fly around the world.

Never a conformist, Jerrie was among the first women admitted to the aeronautical engineering program at Ohio State University. However, she left the program in 1945 when she married  her husband, Russell Mock, a licensed pilot.

But her dream did not die there.

Jerrie earned her pilot's license at age 32, in 1958. She and her husband would fly their single engine Cessna during family vacations.

In 1962, bored as a suburban housewife, Jerrie decided she needed a challenge. Jokingly, Russ suggested,  "Why not fly around the world?" And a dream was kindled.

All the planning and paperwork took patience and dedication, Mock said, "...the flying was easy."

Jerrie preferred wearing slacks, but donned skirts for her flight to be more culturally acceptable in the more conservative countries she would be visiting.

Jerrie needed additional training, getting her instrument rating and learning to use an oxygen mask. Her plane needed extensive modifications and additional equipment to be ready for a trip around the world.

Her Cessna was named "The Spirit of Columbus",  for her hometown, but she nicknamed it "Three-Eight Charlie" for its tail numbers.

Shortly before her scheduled departure, Mock found out that another woman, named Joan Merriman Smith, was also going to attempt an around the world flight. Mock moved up her departure date, leaving 2 days after Smith. Jerrie's flight had just become a race.

She left Columbus on March 19, heading southeast towards the Bahamas.

Her flight was not without incidents:

• On starting the plane up on the day before Jerrie's take off, oil poured out of the cowling. The brand new oil filter that had just been installed had been replaced with an old, filthy one. Jerrie suspected sabotage but refused to be intimidated.  
• Her antenna wire caught fire over the Libyan desert and she had to turn the switch off.
• The plane's brakes had to be replaced.
• Her long range, HF radio wasn't working and it was discovered that a lead was disconnected and taped off. Jerrie againsuspected sabotage.
• Her plane picked up ice from a mist on the cross Atlantic leg of her journey and she had to increase altitude to rise above it.
• She mistakenly landed at a military airport in Egypt and had to be redirected to the International Airport at Cairo.

During her stops, Jerrie consdered herself as an ambassador and example of a strong independent woman. In Saudi Arabia, her plane was searched looking for the man they were sure was the pilot!

On April 17 Governor of Ohio, and five thousand of people awaited her touch down at the Columbus Airport. She had done it!

She was awarded the Federal Aviation Agency's gold Medal for Exceptional Service by President L.B. Johnson on 4 May 1964.

"President Johnson awards Mock
 the Federal Aviation Agency Gold Medal on May 4, 1964"

Jerrie surpassed her hero Amelia Earhart's attempt to fly around the world. Not only did Mock succeed, she did under tougher conditions.

When Earhart made her attempt in 1937, she flew a brand new twin engine plane and had an experienced navigator with her. Mock's plane was an 11 year old single engine Cessna 180 whose fresh paint hid the cracks. And she flew solo.

Records that Mock broke:

• First woman to fly solo around the world
• First woman to fly across the pacific and Atlantic Oceans
• First woman to do so in a single engine plane
• First woman to fly the Atlantic from the United States to Africa
• First woman to fly the Pacific west to east.
• Set the female speed record for around-the-world, and did in a Type C1-c aircraft

Jerrie never sought fame for her accomplishment, claiming she mostly did it "to have fun." And her feat when unnoticed in the turbulent times of the sixties. The war in Vietnam was heating up, the Civil Rights Movement was in full swing, and President Kennedy had been assassinated  less than 5 months before.

After her around the world flight in 1964, she went on to set more speed records in a Cessna P106. And in 1966 she set the record for the longest nonstop flighty by a woman when she flew from Honolulu to Columbus.

She never flew The Spirit of Columbus again. It is now on display at the National Air and Space Museum's Udvar-Hazy Center in Chantilly, Virginia.

The Spirit of Columbus
Photo courtesy of National Air and Space Museum

It was close to the end of her life when Jerrie achieved some fame for her daring. Two bronze statues stand in tribute to "The Flying Housewife"; one in her hometown of Newark and one at the Columbus International Airport.

Mock's statue at Columbus Airport

So what made Jerrie think she could do it? 

It never occurred to her that she couldn't!

SOURCES:

• Andes, Jodi, "Jerry Mock: an Inspiration to Anyone", Echoes Magazine. Jan-Feb 2019, pp. 26-31.
• “Editorial - Jerrie Mock, adventurer”  Columbus Dispatch, 3 Oct 2014, page 14. Aaccessed on Newsbank 9 January 2019.
• First Flight Society https://firstflight.org/paul-e-garber-first-flight-shrine-inductee-jerrie-mock
• “The Flying Housewife”, Aerospace Pioneers Federal Aviation Administration https://www.faa.gov/about/history/pioneers/media/Jerrie_Mock.pdf 
• "Jacqueline Cochran" Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia, 2 March 2019, accessed 5 March 2019.
• “Jerrie Mock” Ohio History Central http://www.ohiohistorycentral.org/w/Jerrie_Mock
• “Jerrie Mock/1925-2014 Aviator to make final trip around the world” Columbus Dispatch, 2 Oct 2014, page 3B, accessed on Newsbank 9 January 2019.
• “Obituaries” Columbus Dispatch, 3 Oct 2014, page 9B  accessed on Newsbank 9 January 2019.
• Pimm, Nancy Roe, The Jerried Mock Story The first Woman to Fly Solo Around the World, Ohio University Press, Athens, 2016.
•  Saunder, Amy, “Where Amelia Earhart Tried, Geraldine Mock Succeeded”, AirSpaceMag.com https://www.airspacemag.com/history-of-flight/twenty-seven-years-after-amelia-earhart-tried-geraldine-mock-flew-solo-around-world-180950144/  May 2014
• Smithsonian Air and Space Museum
• https://airandspace.si.edu/explore-and-learn/topics/women-in-aviation/mock.cfm
• https://airandspace.si.edu/stories/editorial/remembering-jerrie-mock-1925-2014
• https://airandspace.si.edu/stories/editorial/celebrating-jerrie-mock-first-woman-fly-around-world
• https://airandspace.si.edu/multimedia-gallery/1196640jpg
• https://airandspace.si.edu/multimedia-gallery/3990hjpg
• https://airandspace.si.edu/collection-objects/mock-geraldine-l-jerrie-digital-image-9

• Unknown (Associated Press) "President Johnson awards Mock the Federal Aviation Agency Gold Medal on May 4, 1964" Public Domain, accessed on Wikipedia the Free Encyclopedia , accessed 5 March 2019. 
• Unknown (UPI) [Public domain] https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Jerrie_Mock_1964c.jpg accessed on WikiCommons, 5 March 2019

U.S. Naturalization Records for Women

Columbia personified from a World War I poster
by Paul Stahr from Wikipedia

Naturalization records for women are even more complicated than those for men.

While the laws for naturalization did not limit citizenship by sex, women had few reasons to apply for naturalization before 1920 because they could not vote.  Generally, they did not hold property in their own names or appear as "persons" before the law. Only widows or single women would be likely to apply.  And since there were court fees to be paid, and no tangible benefits, few applied.

Prior to 1922, they derived their citizenship status from the status of their husbands. If her husband was alien, she was an alien, even if she had been born and raised in the U.S.!

Here is a timeline of the different laws and acts that effected women's citizenship in the U.S.:

• 1795 - an act (1 Stat. 414 § 1) that provided for the derivative citizenship for minor children . While it doesn't mention women they are included. 
• 1804 -  Widows and children of an alien who dies before filing his final papers are eligible for citizenship. 
• 1855 - An alien female who marries a U.S. citizen is automatically naturalized. 
• This law that linked a woman's citizenship with her husband' s status, was also used to revoke the citizenship of a woman if she married an alien resident even if she had been born and raised in the U.S.!
• The courts disagreed on how to apply this statute and eventually decided that between 1866 and 1907 no woman lost her citizenship by marrying an alien unless she left the country.
• 1867 - The U.S. annexed Alaska. Native Americans are considered citizens of a "separate nations" until 1924.
• 1888 - Native American  women who marry a U.S. citizens are declared citizens of the U.S. 
• Prior to 1906, wives and children may, or may not, be mentioned in the husband's naturalization papers.
• 1906 - The Bureau of Immigration and Naturalization is established, standardizing the forms used and information collected. Women still are subject to derivative citizenship. 
• 1907 - the Supreme Court ruled that women who married alien residents before 1907 did NOT lose their American Citizenship.
• 1907 - The Expatriation Act decided that female U.S citizens who married an alien lost their U.S. Citizenship. A married woman could not legally file for naturalization. This Act was repealed in 1922, but women who lost their citizenship under this act did not have their citizenship restored until 1936. (See later entry.)
• 1916 - Divorced wives and widows of U.S. citizens who are living abroad must register with a U.S. consulate within one year to retain their citizenship.
• 1918 - Women who are married to German citizens have their property confiscated.
• 1920- U.S. women are given the right to vote. Women who had their property confiscated during World War I (see above) can reclaim their property.
• 1922 - The Cable Act (42 Stat. 1022 § 4) establishes citizenship for women 21+ years old. Derivative citizenship is discontinued.
• 1929 - Women who gained citizenship through a husband who was naturalized could obtain a Certificate of Derivative Citizenship.
• 1931 - A woman who married an alien citizen would remain an American citizen unless:
• She renounced her U.S. citizenship in a U.S. court.
• She became a naturalized citizen of another country.
• She took an oath of allegiance to another country.
• She married an alien ineligible  to become a U.S. citizen prior to 1931.
• 1882-1930 - Chinese women were denied entry to the U.S. In 1930, Chinese wives were allowed entry if they had married a U.S. citizen prior to 1924. In 1945, the War Brides Act allowed the wives and children of Chinese American citizens to apply for citizenship. 
• 1936 - Women who lost their citizenship under the 1907 Expatriation Act, could apply for repatriation after the death of or divorce from her alien husband.She could regain her citizenship by taking the Oath of Allegiance.
• 1940 Congress allowed all women who had lost their citizenship between 1907 and 1922 to regain their citizenship regardless of their marital status - they did not have to be widowed or divorced.

Examples:

1. Mary Petras - Marie Komora was born in Czechoslovakia in 1903. She married Victor Petras in 1920. Victor came to the United States in 1922, leaving behind his wife and two small children. He applied for naturalization in 1923 and was granted citizenship in 1927, while his wife and children were still in Czechoslovakia.

Mary Petras and children, Mary and John Petras
around the time of their immigration to the U.S.
Photo courtesy Marijane (Petras) Kubach

Mary and the children sailed to the U.S. in 1928, joining her husband Victor in Cleveland, Ohio. Her status has nothing to do with her husband's, as shown in these excerpts from the 1930 and 1940 census records: 

Excerpt from the 1930 Census for Cleveland Ohio from Ancestry Library Edition.
It shows the family: Victor, Head of the family; Mary, his wife; John, his son; Mary, his daughter.

This tinier excerpt shows their citizenship status:
Victor immigrated in 1922 and he is a naturalized citizen.
Mary came in 1928 and she is an alien.
John & Mary (daughter) both came in 1928
and their citizenship is derived from their father's.

This the an excerpt from the 1940 Census for the family.
Mary's status as an alien hasn't changed.
Oh, and a third child has joined the family, Margaret.
As she was born in the U.S. of a naturalized citizen, Victor Petras, she is a natural citizen.

           But in December of 1939, Mary Komora Petras filed her application for naturalization:

Mary Petras' application for naturalization, dated December 1939.
From Ancestry Library Edition

                 And on April 19th, 1940 she took the Oath of Allegiance:

 But wait! Didn't the 1940 census still list her as an alien? Yes, it did. So what is going on here?  The census was taken on 13 April, six days before Mary took the oath and became an American Citizen. Technically, the census should have listed her status as "pa" for "papers filed."

 2. The two women in the documents below lost their U.S. Citizenship when they married alien residents. They were applying to get their citizenship reinstated or "repatriated" under the 1936 legislation, one because her husband had died and the other because they had divorced.

Oath of Allegiance - Family Search - Film # 007797040 - United States. District Court
(Nebraska  Omaha Division) - from FamilySearch.org

Oath of Allegiance - Family Search - Film # 007797040 - United States. District Court
(Nebraska  Omaha Division) from FamilySearch.org

 3. A single woman petitioning for citizenship in 1921 - shortly after women won the right to vote:

Ohio, Naturalization Petition and Record Books, 1888-1946 for Emma Johnson
from Ancestry Library Edition.
This is her Declaration of Intention.

In the hopes of finding an example of a woman applying for naturalization prior to 1920, I searched the indexes for early records in Lorain County Ohio, 1835-1845, Summit County Ohio 1843-1844 and Medina County Ohio, 1833-1860. I was really excited when Florence Weber appeared in the dockets for Medina County, the declaration of intention appearing in Volume D, page 265 of the docket and the naturalization record in Volume E, page 251:

Apparently, Florence can be a man's name in early 19th century France...

SOURCES:

• The Hidden Half of the Family A Sourcebook for Women's Genealogy by Christina Kassabian Schaefer.
• "Naturalization Records", The National Archives, https://www.archives.gov/research/naturalization/naturalization.html 
• ""Any woman who is now or may hereafter be married..." Women and Naturalization, ca. 1802-1940" The National Archives, http://www.archives.gov/publications/prologue/1998/summer/women-and-naturalization-1.html and part 2 http://www.archives.gov/publications/prologue/1998/summer/women-and-naturalization-2.html  
• They Became Americans Finding Naturalization Records and Ethnic Origins Loretto Dennis Szucs.
• "When Saying "I Do" Meant Giving Up Your U.S. Citizenship" by Meg Hacker, The National Archives https://www.archives.gov/files/publications/prologue/2014/spring/citizenship.pdf

Julia Hach - a Tribute

1996 Plain Dealer

Women's History Month is March. And that means ALL women's history. Not just the famous or infamous, but everyone of us. With that in mind, I want to pay tribute to a local woman who was very outstanding in her own understated way - Julia Hach.



Julia was raised on the family's dairy farm, Waltona, south of Medina on Route 3. Waltona was known for its advanced farming practices and award winning Guernsey cows. Newspaper articles from the 1940's regularly listed the milk and cream output from the Hach family farm's cows. The pragmatism learned on the family farm guided Julia all her life.

Medina High School Yearbook - 1949

Julia graduated from the Medina High School in 1949. From newspaper accounts and her yearbook listing, we find a young woman who was very active and very well rounded. She participated in 12 different clubs, including Glee Club, Choir, Orchestra, Band and Brass Sextet. I never knew that Julia was musical!

As a young woman coming of age during World War II, she dreamed of joining the Navy Nurses Corp. But she needed her father's permission and he refused to sign the papers.

Not to be deterred from her dream, Julia did become a nurse, going to school at the St. Luke's School of Nursing and later on the staff of St. Luke's, she worked her way to head nurse.

During her years of nursing, Julia also followed her love of animals, owning and raising standard-bred horses; trotter's and pacer's. Gazette articles from the 60's and 70's follow the success of her horses.

After retiring from the hospital, Julia worked for the U.S. Post Office, the Hinckley branch. In 1992, she retired for the second time.

It was around this time, the mid 1990's, that I made Julia's acquaintance when she came to the library to research her family history. Like all genealogists, we shared life stories and the proverbial "brick walls" of genealogy research. Julia learned of my service in the U.S. Air Force.

You see, Julia's biggest regret in life was that she had not served in her country's military forces. But she never lost her patriotism nor her admiration for women who had served. When the Women in Military Service to America Memorial was just a dream, Julia worked tirelessly as the Medina County field representative. She was among the thousands of women at its dedication in 1997.

Women in Military Service to America Memorial, Washington, D.C.

In the spring of 1997, Julia started contacting Medina County women who had served in the United States military. Her purpose was to compile their military biographies and donate the material to the local historical societies in order to document the contributions they had made to their country. That May, she gathered these women together to march in the annual Medina Memorial Day Parade, as they have done every year since then.

For most of these women, it was the first time that their service had been recognized.

In November 1999, many of these women veterans gathered to commemorate Veteran's Day together at a potluck luncheon at the Ohio National Guard Armory in Medina. After the luncheon, the women decided to formally organize as The Medina County Women of the Military.  Julia published the first of two volumes of Medina County Women of the Military from the compiled biographies. And she left behind enough material for the second volume

Besides forging a firm friendship, another life-changing development came out of our acquaintance. Julia connected me with my cousin Sharon Helmick Nicholson. One day, I was complaining about a "brick-wall" problem I was having with one of my ancestral lines. Julia asked which surname, to which I replied "Helmick". She told me that Sharon Nicholson, who I knew from the Military Women, was a Helmick. And I said, "Oh, but my Helmick's are from West Virginia. I said "Sure, right, Julia. Sharon and I are related." Several days later, Sharon showed up at the library with two big binders on her Helmick family. After studying it for some time, we determined that Sharon and I are fifth cousins, once-removed. And we have discovered that many of our family members share traits, such as a love for travel!

Medina Sun article from 25 May 2000. Julia is holding the flag. Cousin Sharon is right behind her.
All of these women are among the founding members of the Medina County Women of the Military.

Around this time, Julia became president of the Medina County Genealogical Society and she approached me about doing a series of genealogy classes at the library. We set it up and for several years she did a 6 class series for the Medina Library. The classes were always full. And her students were well prepared.

When Julia passed away in 2001, I took over the classes for one session. Even with all of Julia's handouts to work from, it was a huge task. And exhausting. But she had made it seem easy.

Julia would hate this tribute to herself. She never looked for attention or praise. She saw a job that needed doing and she did it.

But just like the military women whose service she recognized and documented, Julia deserves this recognition for ALL of her many contributions.

Julia L. Hach:
     Nurse

     Patriot
     Postal worker
     Horse raiser

     Genealogist

     Bird watcher
     FRIEND

SOURCES:
Cleveland Plain Dealer

Medina County Women of the Military Volume II, Medina County Women of the Military, 2005.

Medina County Gazette
     1 Jan. 2001
     6 Oct., 2001, p. A-2

Medina High School Yearbook - 1949

Medina Sun, 25 May 2000.

CHECK OUT THE COMMENTS FROM JULIA'S FRIENDS BELOW.