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These tips on finding maiden names are from the 1992 Jackson County (MI) Genealogical Society: Wills: Nothing will give greater clues to maiden names than the witnesses to old wills. In the lower left hand corner of most deeds, you will find signatures of two to four witnesses. The first is always from the husband’s side. The next is almost always from the wife’s side and that is to protect her one-third dower right under law. Mortgages: In the 1800s and before, it was traditional when the daughter married, as part of her dowry, for the father to either cover their mortgage or carry a note for his son-in-law. If you can find to whom their mortgage payments were made, 70% of the time it will be the bride’s father.
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