HOW TO FIND THE STORIES OF THE WOMEN IN YOUR FAMILY SUBSCRIBE & SAVE
Uncover the records that will help you trace the remarkable stories of the women in your family tree with Ancestry
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The past is filled with phenomenal women, both those whose names hit the headlines – such as the suffragettes – and those whose lives have left fewer clues on the paper trail, yet there is always more to discover.
The women in the Pankhurst family are household names even today in the history of women and the vote, and there are records on Ancestry that can help you trace your family’s suffragette heroines too. Their activities resulted in a collection of records which can be searched on Ancestry today: The ‘England, Suffragettes Arrested, 19061914’ collection.
How did these records come about? At the outbreak of the First World War the Home Office declared an amnesty to the suffragette prisoners, of whom there had been about 1,000 during this pre-war period (including roughly 100 men) – and the government created a list of all those who were granted amnesty. It is this list which forms the basis for the collection of records that can now be studied on Ancestry.
It is by exploring this wider collection that the stories of many more women come to light, going beyond the familiar names of the Pankhursts. Included in the records are entries for the Princess Sophia Alexandrovna Duleep Singh, daughter of Maharaja Sir Duleep Singh, and of Annie Bell, whose record shows she was arrested 12 times between 1909 and 1914 for militant activity including placing explosives in St John’s Church and the Metropolitan Tabernacle, London.
Some of our suffragette ancestors opted to voice their protest and tried to evade enumeration on the 1911 Census, refusing to fill in any of their
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details on the forms. In many instances, however, you will find women using the census forms to actively record their role and their views. By searching the 1911 Census on Ancestry you will be able to hear them voice their opinion in notes and comments.
Seeking unique female clues
Of course the suffragettes are just one facet of the rich story of women’s history. By exploring the collections on Ancestry you will be able to piece together details about the women on your family tree, studying the records to dig deep and tell their stories.
The coverage of women in family history records can provide access to one invaluable clue that is unique to researching women – maiden names.
It is possible that the maiden name can provide just the detail you need in order to verify that a record does belong to your ancestor. For instance, when searching on birth records.
Where the father’s details are absent from a birth or baptism record, then it is only the mother’s line that can be more readily traced through the traditional records.
Additionally, searching for a woman on the 1939 National Register you may spot details of her maiden name at the time the record was created (29 September 1939), and any subsequent married name(s).
Certain collections of records are particularly fruitful hunting ground for information about female ancestors – such as the collection of Nursing Registers on Ancestry. The step-by-step guide (right) shows the details you may uncover about the nurses in your family tree.