Author Topic: Not sure which maiden name is the right one  (Read 1934 times)

Offline what0101

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Not sure which maiden name is the right one
« on: Wednesday 08 March 17 04:29 GMT (UK) »
I am researching Clara/Ida Mail who was born in Galicia in 1853. The only records I can find about her are from after she moved to New York. On her death certificate it says:

Name of father: Abraham Cantor
Name of mother: Rose Mail

But on both of her daughters' death certificates it says:
Name of mother: Clara Mail

I'm assuming the former means her surname was Cantor, but if that was the case, why would both of her daughters' death certificates say that her surname was Mail? Also, one of the daughters in question died when Clara was still alive.

Here are two of the death certificates:
Clara (aka Ida)
and daughter Sarah

Moderator's edit: Clara's date of birth corrected to 1853 at OP's request. Spades

Offline majm

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Re: Not sure which maiden name is the right one
« Reply #1 on: Wednesday 08 March 17 06:53 GMT (UK) »
Hi there,

I am not familiar with USA death certificates, but I notice on Clara's at the section 10 (Name of father) that the surname CANTOR seems to be in a different ink and different style of handwriting, so it may be that the surname has been added days/months/years after the registration was completed.

JM
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Offline KGarrad

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Re: Not sure which maiden name is the right one
« Reply #2 on: Wednesday 08 March 17 07:06 GMT (UK) »
My immediate thought is that she was the illegitimate daughter of Clara Mail.
But named Abraham Cantor as her father?

Or possible her mother had remarried to a Mr Mail some time after Clara/Ida's birth.
Garrad (Suffolk, Essex, Somerset), Crocker (Somerset), Vanstone (Devon, Jersey), Sims (Wiltshire), Bridger (Kent)

Offline majm

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Offline what0101

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Re: Not sure which maiden name is the right one
« Reply #4 on: Wednesday 08 March 17 07:33 GMT (UK) »
https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:2W5B-B3Q
https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:2WTV-4LN

I think these will be helpful.

JM

The info here is transcribed from the death certificates. On the daughter's death certificates it uses the maiden name Mail/Moil, but on her own death certificate (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:2W5B-QSC) it says her father's surname is Cantor and mother's surname is Mail.

Offline majm

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Re: Not sure which maiden name is the right one
« Reply #5 on: Wednesday 08 March 17 07:44 GMT (UK) »
I am not familiar with USA death certificates, but I notice on Clara's at the section 10 (Name of father) that the surname CANTOR seems to be in a different ink and different style of handwriting, so it may be that the surname has been added days/months/years after the registration was completed.

I am questioning the entry on Clara's dc.   I am suggesting that CANTOR has been added by someone else.   It seems to be in a different handwriting from any other hand on that document.   It is certainly in a different hand from 'Abraham' which can of course be a SURNAME in its own right.

Do you have Clara on the 1911 US census? 

Do you know when she and/or husband and/or daughter migrated to the US?

Would there be a record of her maiden name on any migration paperwork? 

I am not familiar with US researching, sorry.

JM
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Offline what0101

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Re: Not sure which maiden name is the right one
« Reply #6 on: Wednesday 08 March 17 08:39 GMT (UK) »
To me, it looks like Cantor was added at the same time as the burial information which was written a day after the rest of the certificate. Unfortunately there is no naturalization record and the immigration records were after she was married and only have her married name.

The only thing I can think is that the daughter, Sarah, listed a cousin with the surname Mail as her UK contact when leaving Glasgow for New York. Maybe she thought Mail was her mother's maiden name as well? Seems unlikely to me that she wouldn't know her mother's maiden name, but who knows.

I've tried to get more info on the Glasgow Mail family to try and figure out how they are related to Clara/Ida, but so far have hit a dead end. There is a UK naturalization certificate for the cousin, but no other records. Prior to that they were in Galicia/Ukraine and I've not been able to find any records from there (yet).

Offline iolaus

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Re: Not sure which maiden name is the right one
« Reply #7 on: Wednesday 08 March 17 08:44 GMT (UK) »
Could it be her parents weren't married?

Offline what0101

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Re: Not sure which maiden name is the right one
« Reply #8 on: Wednesday 08 March 17 08:50 GMT (UK) »
Could it be her parents weren't married?

It's possible, but I'd be surprised. I'll see if I can find a Ukraine genealogy forum and found out if in a case like that if the child would take the mother's name.