One piece of advice that I always give to new genealogists is to be sure and record women in their records with their maiden names. Since they may have multiple surnames over their lifetime, this helps to keep track of which woman you are talking about. Changes in surnames can make it very challenging to trace women!
An example I encountered in my research is Minerva Jane Strickland.
Minerva was born in about 1834 in Florida and was the daughter of John Strickland and Elizabeth Poppell. John died young and Elizabeth married Wiley Grice. By the 1850 census, Minerva had taken the surname Grice.
On August 15, 1855, Minerva married Jacob Carter in Jefferson County, Florida. Unfortunately, Jacob died sometime between 1860 and 1869. He appears to have served in the Civil War, but little information is available. It is possible that he died during or shortly after the war.
Next, Minerva married Andrew Jackson on February 18, 1869 in Taylor County, Florida. He appears to have died before 1876.
Minerva married once again on January 29, 1876 in Taylor County, Florida to James Jackson Sapp.
The clue to tracing Minerva through all of her name changes, marriages, and moves was her headstone in the Fellowship Primitive Baptist Church Cemetery in Madison County, Florida, which read “Minerva Jane Strickland-Grice-Carter-Jackson-Sapp”.
Thank goodness for that headstone! I kept losing her between marriages and this clue helped me to find all of the marriage records.
