"I can put the wash on the line, feed the kids, get dressed … and get to work by five of 9, 'cause I'm a woman…" Thus sings the attractive blonde dressed in business attire, a bathrobe, then an evening gown as she moves seductively through the classic 1970s Enjoli fragrance commercial. The lyrics selling "the 8-hour perfume for the 24-hour woman" captured the image of the quintessential professional woman who was still a good wife and mother (Getting misty-eyed for the '70s? Reminisce to a clip of the spot on YouTube <www.youtube.com/watch?v=4×4MwbVf50A>.)

When you think of your own mother, grandmothers and great-grandmothers, the Enjoli image of the woman who does it all may not immediately come to mind. Yet many of our female ancestors played multiple roles in their families: wife, mother, financial manager, teacher, disciplinarian, even breadwinner. They also served their communities through church groups and women's clubs.

Makes you wonder, then, why it can be so difficult to trace women in genealogical records. Prior to the 20th century, most historical records were created for and about men. Property was usually listed under the man's name, and men ran businesses and the government. Meanwhile, a woman typically changed her name each time she married, and, of course, children carried men's surnames to the next generation. Add a seeming shortage of written documentation by women themselves, and you see why the perceived silence can seem so deafening. If finding the females in your family tree has you singing the blues, get back in sync with these eight research strategies.