Single, Widow/Widowed & Married status in Indexing Fields
I really think that where information is clearly documented, having the terms single, widow/widower & married would be very helpful to people searching their ancestors records. I would have a field box for the direct person in the record, for their parents and their spouse. For instance today as I've reviewed a record I've come across a daughter who has died to a widowed mother. Without the information (which you dont see in an indexed record) you often assume that the mother was single, but as we see in this case it wasn't the case. In a marriage record if it was indexed that one of the parties was widowed you would know that you had to search for a previous spouse. I think just having this simple extra information could open up many new possibilities for people. So, I'm wondering whether it's possible to add another field to our indexing records whereby if the status is clearly documented in the record we can record it. 
Comments
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Agreed. If I'm indexing Susan Smith, widow, there is no way to indicate she was married. Should I add Mrs. in the title box?? Otherwise it will be assumed she was single.
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You should not add in Mrs, unless Mrs is written on the record. When a researcher sees the image then they will see the entire story.
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Adding the married or widowed name as an Alternate Name in the Other Information will help provide the information to the researcher and aid the search engine. A widow's name can be listed as her married name.
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