To help find wife's maiden name:


In the lower left hand corner of most old deeds, you will find signatures of two to four witnesses. The first one is always from the husband's side. The next one is always from the wife's side. That is to protect her 1/2 dower right under the law. Nothing you will ever use will give greater clues to maiden names than witnesses on old deeds.

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http://jefferson.nygenweb.net/tid2.htm updated March 7, 2009

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