Wills, probate and estate records can be the best family history records you ever find. Additionally, understanding your female ancestors rights with regard to land ownership, dower rights, and their place in society at the time, can help you know how to find women in the records to help with your family tree. In this episode, we explore what to look for in wills, estates, understanding probate, land, vital records, civil law vs. common law states and tying the records together. Learn the definitions of the language used in legal documents. Learn where to find women prior to the 1850 census, when women and children were not named in the census records. Guest Judy Russell, The Legal Genealogist, explains it all.
Academy Members can use this link below to watch replay of the Q&A Session from September 16, 2026. The chat is also available below the lesson on the Dashboard. Q&A...
Found the same family twice in one census? Here’s how to prove it’s a double enumeration. In this real case study, I walk through two John A. Shoemaker families listed...
