Revert back to Maiden name after death

Phenix

hi,

this is probably a broad question but would a widow have reverted back to her maiden name after the death of her husband in the early 1900's to travel abroad?
my great grandfather died at the age of 25 leaving a young widow and a 2 year old child. the child was left with a relative to be raised. as story goes, my great grandmother went to abroad to find work. I cannot find any trace of her under her married name.
would it have been easier for her to travel abroad under her maiden name as all paper work, birth cert etc would be in that name?

thanks
P

L1011

It wouldn't have been any easier or harder really; it'd have been her own choice really. Have you found anything under the maiden name?

Phenix

hi - thanks MYOB - her name would be quite common, so Im finding it hard to track her. I was also informed in the GRO offices that when looking for records of people who may have travelled to UK, its quite difficult. Emigration records in Ireland are not as well kept as Immigration records in the UK.....is this true?

Coolnabacky1873

It was not considered emigration when travelling from Ireland to the UK up to 1922 because the country was called the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland. It was internal migration, same as moving from Galway to Dublin. Therefore, no need for emigration or immigration records.

Phenix

ah ok.... thank you
not sure where to go from here......will continue to search irish and uk records under both names and see where it leads..........

Coolnabacky1873

As best you can, try and narrow down to when your g-grandmother went to the UK and where. If before 1911 have a look at their census from that year.

Also consider that she may have remarried very quickly after your g-grandfather died, possibly in Ireland or the UK. It's worth searching the civil registration indexes for both Ireland and England & Wales/Scotland (they are separate) to see if you can find a potential marriage.

Don't forget about spelling variations too (especially if the name has a lot of vowels or O/Mc/Mac).

When it comes to the family stories, use them as a guide but always consider that they could be incorrect. Maybe she never went to the UK and that's what subsequent generations were told.

Good luck!

traceyrogers

I believe I have found my great grandmother in the 1901 census listed as Catherine O'Brien, widow, with her daughters Lizzie Ryan and Ann Ryan, so presumably she reverted to her maiden name once widowed. Oddly enough I believe she was pregnant with my grandfather Michael at the time of the census, and as far as I know he was registered as Michael Ryan at birth - no certificates found yet...

Jellybaby1

Phenix wrote: »

hi,

this is probably a broad question but would a widow have reverted back to her maiden name after the death of her husband in the early 1900's to travel abroad?
my great grandfather died at the age of 25 leaving a young widow and a 2 year old child. the child was left with a relative to be raised. as story goes, my great grandmother went to abroad to find work. I cannot find any trace of her under her married name.
would it have been easier for her to travel abroad under her maiden name as all paper work, birth cert etc would be in that name?

thanks
P

Hard to believe, but I have the same story. Can't find my grandmother's death for love nor money, and I also thought she may have gone to England to work. If she got remarried then she becomes totally invisible as no-one here knows anything about it and so I just don't know who I am looking for. Nothing turned up on the UK records when I had my subscription for Ancestry either. I enjoy mysteries which have some chance of being solved, but this is really tricky.