Researching Your Lynched Female Ancestors

Cattle Kate, WY, 1936

Did You Know Women (White and Black) Were Lynched? 

Juanita, 1903, CA

While lynching primarily targeted black men, both black and white women were also victims—often for speaking out, defending loved ones, or simply being accused without evidence. Approximately 200 women were lynched in the United States between the late 19th and mid-20th centuries. The vast majority were Black women, though White, Latina, and Indigenous women were also lynched.

Lynching wasn’t just racial terror—it was also used to silence women.

While most lynching victims were men, women faced this brutal form of violence for various reasons, including:

Just to name a few of the women: 

• Mary Turner (1918, GA) – A black woman, 8 months pregnant, lynched for protesting her husband’s murder and speaking out against racial violence
• Laura Nelson (1911, OK) – A black woman and her teenage son lynched without trial or evidence
• Juanita (1903, CA), - A Mexican woman 
• Kate Townsend (1883, LA) – A white brothel owner, possibly lynched in a business dispute.
• Helen Stark (1893, CO) – A white woman accused of robbery, lynched alongside three men.
• Josefa Segovia (1851 CA) A Mexican Woman, same town as Juanita in 1903, Downieville, California,

History of US Lynchings
There are not clear statistics of the US lynchings prior to 1882. However, during the Civil War, the Reconstruction Era, and up to the depression era at least 4743 people were lynched according to newspaper accounts, court records and church records. Perhaps the tension of the Civil War brought this activity into popularity, or the fear of losing power, or the anger toward sympathetics and abolitionists, but US lynchings affected every southern state. The open lands of the new frontier, even California, was not spared. Matter of fact, all but Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Rhode Island and Vermont recorded lynches.

America's Lynching Practices

Although over 90% of the victims were African American, there were also white victims, mostly transplants from the northern states. The majority of the victims in Alabama, Georgia, Louisiana, and Mississippi were carried out by lynch mobs. Of course, Florida, the Carolinas, Tennessee, and Kentucky also had notable numbers. Lynching victims were not limited to men. A woman in California was lynched as early as 1851.

White lynching victims were often targeted for opposing mob violence, being accused of crimes, or being immigrants, particularly Italian, Irish, or Jewish people.

Seven Resources for Finding Lynched Female Ancestors

Letter from Colored Federated Clubs of Augusta to President Woodrow Wilson, 1918

1. Name Search

A comprehensive listing of lynched victims is not available. However, the following will get you started: The Finding Josephine blog post "Was My Ancestor Lynched?" lists several places to look for names.

2. Historical American Lynching: One of the better search sites for names, states and reason for being lynched is the  American Lynching  Data . This information is based on the NAACP Lynching Records that can be located at Tuskegee University.

3. Collections: Check with a local college/university collection. Be sure to ask the check the catalog of dissertations and search under the popular keywords. These dissertations may not be in the normal library catalog. A doctoral thesis, of let’s say within sociology, may take a more personal social approach analyzing activities using names and citing court records. In 2008 the University of Washington named 3000 known US lynch victims collected as a research project. This list of names is available.

Maria Delongoria wrote a dissertation, Stranger Fruit: The Lynching of Black Women, where she lists names of “Black Female Lynching Victims” between 1886-1957 on pages 160-164.

4. The Laws: Check to see if any anti-lynching laws were put into place, or special sentences. By reviewing these hearings, you may find the reason why a new law was implemented, and you may even find your ancestor’s name attached to it. I usually start with a database like Lexis Nexis for these types of legal searches.You may find the names of those incited lynch mobs, as well as victims.

5. Local Newspapers: Local black newspapers kept relatively good records of lynching activities in their area. Rural black news may be reported by the largest town’s paper, but this news was often carried by word of mouth, so I suggest double checking the accuracy. Church news, like the Star Zion of the AME Zion church, also reported these activities.

6. Lynch Mobs: If your lynched ancestor was a white sympathetic, or part of a lynch mob, be sure to check the Democratic paper. Remember the Democratic party was labeled rebels and Republican were considered progressive.  Most southern towns had competing Democratic and Republican newspapers; Those involved in lynch mobs were often hailed as heroes in the Democratic reporting. See Imagery of Lynching: Black Men, White Women, and the Mob

7. List of Lynching victims in the United States has 537cited sources.  

Remember in 2022, (yes, 3 years ago), the United States Congress passed the Emmett Till Anti-lynching Act, making lynching a federal hate crime

Kathleen Brandt

a3Genealogy@gmail.com
Accurate, accessible answers

Researching: Women Who Kept Maiden Names?

 

   

Women and Their Maiden Names

The idea that women universally adopted their husband’s surname only became more rigidly enforced in certain cultures over time. However, historical records prove that women have kept their maiden names for centuries, whether due to legal necessity, cultural tradition, or professional identity.

In 1866 the above article now as written Keeping Their Maiden Names in Addition to the Husbands' Surname, but know that evidence shows that this practice existed well before 1866.

When and Where?

Colonial America and the 18th Century

• Puritan and Legal Traditions. In Puritan New England, some women retained their maiden names in legal documents, wills, and property records. For example, Anne Bradstreet (1612–1672), the first published poet of colonial America, was often referred to by her maiden name in records and literary circles.
• Quaker Women and Gender Equality. Quakers, known for their progressive views on gender equality, frequently allowed women to retain their maiden names. Mary Dyer (c. 1611–1660), a Quaker martyr, was often referred to by her birth surname in historical records. Quaker women involved in business or land transactions also maintained their birth names in official documents.

Scotland, France, and Early American Women
In Scotland and France, it was customary for women to retain their maiden names legally, even after marriage. This tradition carried over to French and Scottish-descended women in colonial America and Canada.

• In America, women like Mercy Otis Warren (1728–1814), an influential writer and historian of the American Revolution, used their maiden names publicly and professionally. 
• Many women involved in business also continued to use their birth surnames in trade records and property agreements.

Legal and Property Rights (1700s-1800s)

San Francisco Bulletin

Tue, Oct 04, 1927 ·Page 11

• Legal records from the 18th and 19th centuries frequently show women keeping their maiden names in cases related to land ownership, inheritance, and business dealings. 
• In some Southern states, married women retained their maiden names in property records to clarify ownership, particularly in cases where they inherited land from their birth families.

Newspaper Mentions and Articles

Bryan-College Station Eagle

Bryan, Texas

Wed, Feb 12, 1896 · Page 2

• The Liberator (1830s-1860s) – This abolitionist newspaper frequently mentioned women activists, some of whom retained their maiden names. Women like Lydia Maria Child were often referred to by their birth names in advocacy work.

• The New-York Tribune (1850s) – Articles from this period show that women in business and publishing sometimes kept their maiden names to maintain recognition in their professions.

• Marriage and Legal Notices in 18th- and 19th-Century Newspapers

• Many marriage announcements list women by both maiden and married names, indicating the ongoing use of birth surnames in public records.

Happy Women's History Month

Kathleen Brandt

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Researching That Female Ancestor!

 

All were not boring!

Were they housewives and mothers, were they teachers or schoolmarms, were they wet nurses or midwives, were they the maids, the slaves, the cooks? Did they attend suffrage movements or civil rights movements? Were they abolitionists, prohibitionists, or fighting for unwed mothers?  

What were their secrets? Listen in on The Mystery of Cornelia Gray. A woman who could be framed in generations of folklore was an enigma. 

Or were they like my Aunt Bertha!

Her unconventional actions as a wife and mother were all in the paper. Could this possibly be the 2g-Aunt that I knew? She was stern, wise and a pillar of the society in her 90's. Glad, I didn't paint that as her life-story, because clearly she was not afraid to buck the system. Perhaps her goal was to change the "role of the woman"  narrative. Either way, the family folklore of her being a wonderful family matron and widow was easily debunked. It was in broad daylight and not in secrecy. Go Aunt Bird! (Yep that was her nickname). 

 The Pratt Union, Pratt, Kansas 30 Apr 1914 

Our female ancestors influenced change. When I felt disempowered at work or at home, my mother would proclaim “the woman is the neck, that turned the head.” 

The Missouri Republican, St. Louis, MO,25 Aug 1873, Page 1

When looking for women ancestors, though, it can be challenging. The majority changed their names, and their identity through marriage. But remember all did not! Was your female ancestor one of the married stage performers who proudly held their maiden name? 

Let us share tips for researching your female ancestors

1.  Women Organizations. 

 The National Association of Colored Women’s Club, Inc.
founded Washington, D.C. in July 1896

 These groups may have been for ethnic socializing, divided by class, or designed to promote “worldliness” like an education curriculum for women on par with men. They were for women to vent, mingle, chart out their children’s social circle, and to influence politics often through their husbands.

2.  Local community and political activities.

The Missouri Republican, St. Louis, MO,25 Aug 1873, Page 1

Be sure to plot out your female ancestor’s timeframe using community and political issues. It’s overwhelming how many women groups met in “secret” to fight for their agenda. These groups may have been an ethnic groups, divided by class, promoting “worldliness” like an education curriculum for women on par with men.

 3. Women School Records.

The Clarion-Ledger (Jackson, Mississippi) 7 Jul 1870, pg.1

Men didn’t seem to bulk at women reading the Bible and taking darning and sewing classes.  But often the line was drawn at philosophical, maths, and “brainy knowledge.” Although 1800 education was seen as a way of making women better wives and mothers, there were progressives that moved the educational rod to encourage education for women to be transformative. I’m a proud alumna of Stephens College, 1333, Columbia MO, a women’s college. By the way, they have an amazing archive filled with history. During WWII, they housed and educated orphan teenagers from across the nation - children of war veterans. 

4. Church Minutes / Records. 

Have you read these gossip-filled accounts of the congregants?  Oh my…we have found records from Quakers, the women, who held important positions in conducting the Underground Railroad, to the public shaming of those in infidelity in the German churches of Missouri. Contrary to common belief, these records are not just filled with sacraments dates.   

5.  Immigrant Societies. 

Women were activists.  They helped with the immigrant societies. This was not just in port cities, but inland also. They were active in the Volga – Germans, Irish, German, Italian, etc. communities.  Again, scour the society books for familiar names. Review newspaper articles on the local immigrant societies. Discover which roles the women played. They were like matchmakers of old.  They connected wives and children to housing. They were thanked for holiday meals and performances. They fought for the poor and admonished “the wicked!”

6.  Delayed birth records of the community. 

         

At a brick wall? Try reviewing early birth records, especially delayed birth records of the community. We have uncovered over a half dozen female ancestors for clients as they were midwives.  Yes, you have to conduct the research, but if Louise was her name, be sure to uncover "Louise" named midwives on birth and delayed birth records. Delayed birth records come with affidavits that may assist in identifying your “Louise.”  

Other Readings:
Genealogists Can Reconstruct the Lives of Female Ancestors
The Daily Herald, Mar 26, 1998 , pg 39

Fewer Records Available for Women Ancestors
Victoria Advocate, Apr 06, 2003 ·Page 396 Tips to Researching Female Ancestor

Be Historically Correct

Kathleen Brandt

a3genealogy.com

Accurate Accessible Answers

a3genealogy@gmail.com 

Revised posts: 28 Mar 2022

6 Tips to Researching Female Ancestors