How do I found out my great grandma's surname?

maiden names biggest stumbling block have. there several ways, or none of may work. of data on-line free counties , years; available on-line fee, , requires digging @ county library or courthouse.

marriage certificates or wedding stories in old newspapers.

death certificates.

children's birth certificates. is, mary smith had children albert, bruce, carol , dorothy. birth certificate may give mother's maiden name. may misspelled on original, or, if data on-line, may mis-transcribed. more of 4 birth certificates (or birth index entries) can find, better.

obituaries. if mary smith survived or preceded in death brothers tom, dick , harry kablonski, you've got maiden name. obit writers don't distinguish between half-brothers , brothers, though, if woman's mother had children 2 men, might survived brothers don brakes , bob wire.

census data. john , mary smith living in beloit in 1910, john head of household , in same household harry kablonski, relation father-in-law. mothers-in-law may give too, may have name of second or third husband. same token, brothers , sisters in law may it, b-in-l may widowed husbands of husband's sister, , sisters-in-law may using late husbands names, not maiden one. if b/s in-law single , under 16, bet. in rare cases woman desert or divorce someone, keep married name , report herself single.

or, john , mary living harry kablonski, head of household, in 1910; john's relation son-in-law, mary's daughter. once in while john , mary nephew , niece.

wills. harry kablonski bequeaths $100 "my daughter mary, married john smith".

cemetery plots. harry , henrietta kablonski in section 14, plots 1 & 2; john , mary smith in plots 3 & 4. treat clue, obviously, not proof.

given names. if mary smith names child harry kablonski smith, you've got clue.

2 problems here.

first, names - "lewis" springs mind - given , surnames both.

second, people surnames middle names named parents admired, not relatives. there spell-binding evangelist named lorenzo dow in half of 1800's. 10,000 children named after him. forgotten today. can go crazy trying find "dow" in smith family tree if find lorenzo dow smith. if see james garfield smith or robert lee smith, know not garfield or lee; dow real red herring.

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added later:

people suggest birth certificates naive. figuring 20 , average span between birthday , birth of middle child (not first child) 30 years,
born - 1990
parent - 1960
gr parent - 1930
great gr parent - 1900

states didn't require birth certificates in 1900. did, didn't. might find christening record on-line. of go 1700's.

plus, birth records birth name. need up, unless want hope there 1 "mary" born in chicago in 1903.

i'm trying find family genealogy don't know great grandma's surname. know grandpa's surname. how figure out?

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