The Forgotten Female

History is full of blunders that hopefully turn into lessons.  One of those is the lack of recognition women have been regarded through time.  Even as late as the 1950s most women didn’t hold office, become business professionals, or otherwise engage in the business or political world.  One that gets me was the practice of naming a woman as “Mrs. My Husband,” like my mother being called “Mrs. James R. Thornhill.”  Come on guys, were you so scared of her you wouldn’t even say her name for fear she would devour you?

Recognizing Women

As a Family Historian I must learn how to recognize the contribution women made during our history.  One of those is to recognize what was going on behind the scenes while men were off tending the crops or making policy.  Take John and Abigail Adams as an example.  There is a reason we have so many great letters between that husband and wife, it’s because they were never together!  While John was in Philadelphia, a six day trip from their home in Quincy, Massachusetts, Abigail was in reality a single mother raising six children.  She had to pay bills, keep the house in order, make sure the children were educated and cared for, and resolve any family issues that arose.  Thomas Jefferson Rusk and his wife Polly were in the same position.  While he was helping to give birth to Texas, she was at their home in Nacogdoches raising their seven children.  Thomas had a great love for Polly and for Texas, and this tension probably contributed to his taking his own life.

Another way we need to recognize women is their role of bringing children into the world.  Remember that before the early 1900s there were no antibiotics or antiseptics and pain killers were generally not used.  There were no phones to call doctors or otherwise get help when a woman went into labor.  Hopefully the woman wasn’t alone when the time came and could get some help, even if it was an experienced neighbor.  And this process happened over and over, with many women either being pregnant or recovering from childbirth from their late teens into their forties.

Finding the Forgotten Female

The best thing we can do to find our female ancestors is to recognize that they were there.  If we see a married man in the census living alone, then we need to find his wife.  If we see a man living with several children, don’t just assume the wife went somewhere but try and find out what happened to her.  And when we see all those “Mrs. John Smiths” in newspaper articles, recognize that while being Vice President of the Missionary Society may not bring world peace, she was doing her part to make the world a better place.

Heroes of the Past can help you recognize the women in your family’s history.  With our research skills combined with the knowledge how our ancestor’s lived, we can learn the hidden secrets of your female family of the past.  Contact us today to get started!