ancestress

[ an-ses-tris or, esp. British, -suh-stris ]

/ ˈæn sɛs trɪs or, esp. British, -sə strɪs /

a woman from whom a person is descended.

Origin of ancestress

First recorded in 1570–80; ancest(o)r + -ess

See -ess.

On one or two groups Mafuia, an ancestress of Maui, is mentioned as finding the fire.

Legends of Ma-ui--a demi god of Polynesia, and of his mother Hina |W. D. Westervelt
From her ancestress Eve woman was believed to inherit the natural propensity to lure man to his undoing.

Taboo and Genetics |Melvin Moses Knight, Iva Lowther Peters, and Phyllis Mary Blanchard
Sunbird, fly away, fly to my ancestress' house; bring me apples and pears; come back soon.

Comparative Studies in Nursery Rhymes |Lina Eckenstein
Jack and I saw it together, and he laughed, and said now he knew who my first ancestress was.

A Soldier of the Legion |C. N. Williamson

The Quaker woman Elizabeth Hooton was an ancestress of mine.

Mark Twain's Speeches |Mark Twain (Samuel Clemens)