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Archiver > TMG > 2000-01 > 0946925957


From: Lee Hoffman/KY <>
Subject: Re: TMG-L: Source Entry - married or maiden surname?
Date: Mon, 03 Jan 2000 13:59:17 -0500


Hugh Wilding wrote:
>I think the correct etiquette is that on marriage the wife becomes Mrs John
>Doe. If the wife reverts to Mrs Jane Doe, this implies he has died or
>deserted/divorced her - whatever, she considers the marriage at an end.

I don't disagree with this, but it is becoming somewhat dated depending on
the woman's own preference and to some extent on the area where she lives.
And with greater emphasis on equality of the sexes, many women now retain
their maiden name after marriage, or incorporate their husbands (hypenated
names). Many divorced women revert to their maiden name. A cousin of my
GF, reverted to her maiden name (in the 1880s) after her divorcing her
husband and her son was named for her father -- including his surname. My
neice took back her maiden name after divorce while her children retained
their father's surname.

>I find this too although often it's the specific identifying detail that
>seems to cause most worry. I don't know if you have a copy of the UK-Info
>CD (names, addresses, telephone numbers) but I now don't raise this in
>*polite* conversation because of the hostility that I have met. I tend to
>use the post town and county - here's an endnote as an example:

To reduce the amount of private information in citations, I usually keep
only the town and state/country and make a general note that further
information is available from the writer. The problem with this is future
readers finding the added info when the writer is six feet under. <g> But
often by then any detailed addresses would not be vaild anyway with the
person moving or dying in the meantime.


----------
Lee Hoffman/KY
E-mail:
My website: <http://www.users.mis.net/~lhoffman>;
--------------
A user of the best genealogy program, The Master Genealogist (TMG)

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