A Genealogist's Guide to Discovering Your Female Ancestors : Special Strategies for Uncovering Hard-To-Find Information About Your Female Lineage (Paperback)

by Sharon Debartolo Carmack (Author)

Editorial Reviews

Review
"...an outstanding book... required reading!" -- New England Historic Genealogical Society

Product Description
Our foremothers are just as important to our family history as our forefathers. After all, half of your ancestors were women! By using the valuable research techniques and sources in this book, you'll be able to uncover historical facts, personal accounts and recorded events that form an intriguing narrative biography of the women in your ancestry.

Product Details

• Paperback: 152 pages
• Publisher: Betterway Books; 1st edition (March 1998)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1558704728
• ISBN-13: 978-1558704725
• Product Dimensions: 11 x 8.5 x 0.6 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.2 out of 5 stars See all reviews (9 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #777,818 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

19 of 19 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Far from this author's best work, July 22, 2002

By	Michael K. Smith (Gonzales, Louisiana) - See all my reviews (TOP 500 REVIEWER)

Despite the fact that half of everyone's ancestors are women, they traditionally have received short shrift from genealogists. Married women frequently appear on family group sheets as "Elizabeth Blank," teenage daughters are lost track of between censuses if their new husbands' names are unknown, and even the most dedicated family man was apt to leave everything in his will simply to "my wife." (Those of Acadian or Quaker descent are fortunate that religious records usually provide a wife?s maiden name.) Carmack is a well-known author and lecturer and one opens this book with high hopes that she will describe new techniques that will enable one to knock down some of those brick walls. Unfortunately, even the moderately experienced researcher is likely to be disappointed. While the first four chapters are filled with good advice on valuable resources, nearly all of them are equally applicable to researching both men and women: passenger lists, city directories, probate records, interviewing aging relatives, etc. Chapter Five is devoted to writing about women in a family history, and Chapter Six is a brief case study of one of the author's own female ancestors -- but again, the methods described would work just as well for a great-great-grandfather as for his wife. (What does one do to identify a wife who dies before the 1850 census, leaving a dirt-farmer husband unable to read or write, who remarries and leaves his worldly goods to his second wife? I have more than one like that!) Carmack is a specialist in social and ethnic history, which can be very useful in fleshing out one's family research -- but in that case, the title is a bit misleading. She provides full citations for all of her many examples, of course, as well as a 24-page *selected* bibliography -- which may be the most useful part of the book.

8 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Disappointing -- more facts, less speculation needed, November 10, 2002

By	Barbara C. French "Barbara F." (Rochester, NY United States) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

While the first few chapters of this book are moderately helpful, much of the book seemed to be devoted to "imagining" what life would be like for female ancestors. While this might prove to be an entertaining exercise, it is not consistent with good genealogical research.

11 of 12 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Only Four Stars?, July 3, 2002

By	"august-1" (Portland, Oregon; United States) - See all my reviews

I believe this book, like many others, fails to adequetly cover all aspect of & types of searches most people are trying to solve. Eventho the auther covered some of the very basic Of places a person may look, She failed to explain how & where or the tecniques that one would to trace & find a female ancester gone many years.It lacks a show of true knowelege & expertise. If i were grading this as a high school project I would grade it as a D for Content, C for effort & overall would have been returned as I for Incomplete.The dealer was very fast & more than met m expectatitions. Th book was as advertised & in excellent condition. Dealer gets Five Stars !Author gets One Star !! And an I for Incomplete works !!!