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I chose to take my husbands last name out of tradition and pride, mainly, and when he asked me if it was my plan to do so, I said of course. We both knew I would before he asked, though. He has a pretty common last name, so it was an easy decision. Since I was a kid I was always afraid I'd fall in love with some guy with a horrible last name— Hitler or something like that. I wasn't worried about becoming someone’s property, because I would never marry someone who would consider me property. The only tinge of sadness I experienced when I changed my name was because I was so proud to have the last name I had, and that family history, but that was paternal as well. But a good thing was people always spelled my maiden name wrong, so now I don't have to keep fixing that.

As for Genealogy, the women you speak of would probably been appalled to think that they shouldn't have changed their names. Most men aren't in the business of treating women as property that they love, although I'm sure some have historically. But I don't think changing your name does that. There's nothing I could buy or own that I would want to have a family with, snuggle up to at night, or share my life with.

If you're having trouble with Genealogy records, try to find marriage records dealing with the mans name in the line. I have found a lot of good information about family history and names from those records. In my family, my children have my family tree going back to when they first arrived in MA in 1628 ( and that line even before that in England) but has no clue about my husband's families except for the past two generations who were born here in the U.S. Funny thing to is that my brother is the only one that jokes I threw away a perfectly good English name, that can be traced back hundreds of years, to "become Irish". A few years back I'd have to fight myself in Northern Ireland!

We are likely cousins. One of my ancestors arrived in Massaschusetts in 1630. :-)

I chose to take my husbands last name out of tradition and pride, mainly, and when he asked me if it was my plan to do so, I said of course. We both knew I would before he asked, though. He has a pretty common last name, so it was an easy decision. Since I was a kid I was always afraid I'd fall in love with some guy with a horrible last name— Hitler or something like that. I wasn't worried about becoming someone’s property, because I would never marry someone who would consider me property. The only tinge of sadness I experienced when I changed my name was because I was so proud to have the last name I had, and that family history, but that was paternal as well. But a good thing was people always spelled my maiden name wrong, so now I don't have to keep fixing that. As for Genealogy, the women you speak of would probably been appalled to think that they shouldn't have changed their names. Most men aren't in the business of treating women as property that they love, although I'm sure some have historically. But I don't think changing your name does that. There's nothing I could buy or own that I would want to have a family with, snuggle up to at night, or share my life with. If you're having trouble with Genealogy records, try to find marriage records dealing with the mans name in the line. I have found a lot of good information about family history and names from those records. In my family, my children have my family tree going back to when they first arrived in MA in 1628 ( and that line even before that in England) but has no clue about my husband's families except for the past two generations who were born here in the U.S. Funny thing to is that my brother is the only one that jokes I threw away a perfectly good English name, that can be traced back hundreds of years, to "become Irish". A few years back I'd have to fight myself in Northern Ireland!

I am not opposed to a woman taking her husband's name. The majority of the women I know have done just that. Then there are some I know that kept their maiden names, because for business purposes had already become established in their profession and did not want to start over with a new name.

What I have found, depending on where the census was taken, is only the head of the house full name is given. Sometimes that can be a woman. The husband certainly did not design the census form. But somebody did. AND some 'families' did indeed keep and maintain good records on all the members of their family. I have found a few in my ancestry where that was the case.

I have also run into the situation where buildings holding the records (county court houses) burned down, and unless the families kept a 'Bible' or their own records, no records exist today for that particular time frame.

I have also found on ships manifest, IF the woman traveled unmarried her full name was given. Not so if the woman was married.

I had no clue how some are so sensitive about the 'status' of history and ancestry of woman.