Women's History Month 2020: Suffrage and Genealogy Resources Part 1

Lucky for us we live in an era where we have bountiful resources for our genealogical research, both online and off. I want to start discussing resources by sharing one book that I think is a must for everyone. In fact, I'm a big fan of all of this author's books.

The Hidden Half of the Family: A Sourcebook for Women's Genealogy by Christina K. Schaefer. (Baltimore, MD: Genealogical Publishing Co., 1999)

Ok, so you're saying "But Gena that book is OLD!" Yes, I guess it is but it has resources you need to do a better job researching your female ancestors. This isn't a book of websites, instead it's a reference book of states, timelines, and what records you can expect to find for women. It takes into consideration how the laws of the time impacted women's appearances in certain genealogical records.

This book is organized by state. Here are the pages for Colorado.

Now you may notice that my copy has a coil binding. It doesn't come this way, I did this so I could lay the book flat. If you're interested in doing this to some of your genealogy books, you take the book to your local print place (I went to an big box office supply store) and ask them to cut the book's binding off and coil bind it. You can also ask them to add a plastic cover and back if you want. 

Do you have this book? It's a vital US genealogy resource because it not only provides info about suffrage but it also takes into consideration other records and women's place in society during different time periods.