Do you type a woman's maiden name in the given name field or in the surname field
I am reviewing obituaries. In the past I have typed the woman's maiden name in the given name field but I have come across a maiden name typed in the surname field before the surname. In another project the maiden name was typed in the surname field. I have seen it both ways. Anyone know which is the correct way?
Answers
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You would type it in the surname field, specifically before the surname that they received when they married their husband. For example, if the person had the maiden name of Smith, and the current surname of Johnson, then their surname would be typed in as Smith Johnson. I hope that helps!
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Will help better if you provide the batch code of the project your question refers to, to take a look at the maiden names and surnames.
The Field help for woman surnames, and the project instructions of the obituaries requires to index the woman's maiden name in the surname field before the current surname. This would be the correct way to index maiden names.
Hope we have answered your question.
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Obituary indexing is complicated. You have to be able to determine that the middle name is the maiden name. So, if the parents are John and Jane Smith Doe, and there is nothing on the obituary that allows you to know Smith is a maiden name, then Given Name would be Jane Smith and surname is Doe. Since we do not use names to determine gender, the relationship is parent.
If the obituary says John and Jane (Smith) Doe, or John and Jane Doe (née Smith) then you could index the maiden name in the surname field and the relationship would be mother and father.
If the deceased is Mrs. Jane Doe who was born Jane Smith in Fayetteville on March 12, 1882, then you would index the surname as Smith Doe.
Lots of possibilities, best to share a batch!
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Also, if there is nothing in the Project instructions or the Field Help about the maiden name - you might consider looking at the General Indexing Guidelines - Indexing Surnames and read this information: Type the maiden name before the current or former surnames. A maiden name was often indicated by the words “née” or “born as.” A maiden name may also have been written in parentheses. Generally, it is good to look at all of these resources in the batch to make a determination on what to do with a Maiden name. Some records are very specific about Maiden names, which is why it is important to include the Batch title and Batch code to give us more information to help you determine what to do with this issue.
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It also depends on the project. In a few projects, there is a maiden name field. In many Spanish projects, there are separate fields for mother's surname and father's surname.
In some cases, you're unsure whether it is a middle name or a maiden name. In those cases, you put the name in the given names field. For the researcher looking for the person, either way will permit the name to be searched for and pulled up in a query.
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Talking about Spanish projects,, you are right! some of them have fields for father and mother surnames, and their married surname with the word De..... ie: Maria Antonia Suarez Reyes de Garcia. 👈️
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