[M36F-BK8
re the Wisconsin Marriage certificates - It asks for the name and the spouse's name. It's confusing because it asks twice for the spouses name and maiden name. There are too many spaces -- do I have to write her name twice?
Best Answer
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The bride is not married yet so her maiden name is her surname but you do not index it twice. Just once in the maiden name field and mark the surname blank. Field Help, Spouse's Surname, bullet point 3, states: " All other surnames should be typed in the surname fields." She has no 'other' surnames so mark it blank.
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Answers
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Thanks, but it also says spouses Maiden name and Maiden name
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For a typical marriage record on this type of form, a man, would have a surname but no maiden name and a woman would have a maiden name but no surname.
But, theoretically a widow marrying again could have a maiden name and a surname from her first marriage.
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@EVHLHM and @Dellory Matthews I need clarification on this. I am not currently working on this project but when I did, I put the last name of the bride in the surname field and marked the maiden name blank based on the PI's for Maiden name that say:
Index names in this field only if the record specifically refers to them as maiden or birth surnames. All other surnames should be typed in the surname fields.
But you said above to write the surname (last name) Just once in the maiden name field and mark the surname blank.
So for the first image, I would have put Given Name: Anna, Maiden Name: <blank>, Surname: DeCook.
Which way is correct? I might have misindexed a lot of names............... Big Oops!
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The next time you are working on a batch of this project, please share that batch code and ask any questions on your mind. This is so whoever is helping you can view the directions you are seeing.
But it might help you to know that the definition of a maiden name is a woman's surname before she marries.
https://www.familysearch.org/wiki/en/M_genealogical_glossary_terms
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I was referring to the batch that airland had written that began this discussion. M36F-BK8
So since a "maiden name is a woman's surname before she marries", shouldn't the name of the bride in the above batch be listed in the surname field since she is not married yet?
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I respectfully submit that EVHLHM did not give the correct answer.
As Lisa Kay Horlacher has correctly pointed out the Project instructions for the US, Wisconsin—Marriage Records, 1907–1939 [Part B] project state:
Index names in this field only if the record specifically refers to them as maiden or birth surnames. All other surnames should be typed in the surname fields.
What EVHLHM said contradicts that statement. Because the bride is not married yet her maiden name is her surname and it should be entered into the Bride's Surname field.
If the project team has provided instructions outside of the Project Instructions that agree with what EVHLHM said then the Project Instructions need to be revised. Otherwise, as has been the case in past Wisconsin Marriage Records projects, the only time that a name should be entered into the bride's maiden name field is when there is a name in the field on the image that specifically states that this is the bride's maiden name. In that batch that I looked at (M36F-BX6) it is the field that is labeled Maiden name of Bride if previously married.
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I did put the batch number. How do I tell which one of y'alls responses to follow? Also, it lists the number of marriage i.e. 1st, 2nd --- do I then assume the maiden name by this? Also, my original question was hard to understand, but -- it asks for maiden name ________then it asks for spouse's maiden name________. Even if I assume her maiden name which blank do I put it in?
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The batch in question has already been submitted.
For Wisconsin marriages, I think the best information is found in the 2 examples linked to the Project Instructions.
A man will have only one surname and no maiden name.
A woman might have only a surname.
But she might have a maiden name and also a surname if she was getting married for the second time.
Look for this on the marriage record:
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