June 2012
21 posts
6 tags
Ask Ancestry Anne: Search Tip #18 - Read the...
Sometimes it is best to start searching form the search form for a specific data collection. The form tells you what has been indexed which is critical in understanding what to enter.
Take for example the US Federal Census 1850 search form:
Relationships are indexed, because they are explicitly stated, so you can’t use that as a search strategy.
On a census form, if you enter a county and...
6 tags
Ask Ancestry Anne: Search Tip #17 - Search from...
There are a lot of reasons to use online trees, especially now that you can sync between FTM 2012 and online, but one I particularly like is that using your tree you can pre-populate your search.
Let’s say you are on a page for Joshua Lawrence Chamberlain. (I’m not related to this famous Union Soldier, I just use Civil War Generals as an example tree.)
Right underneath his icon, you’ll see the...
6 tags
Ask Ancestry Anne: Search Tip #16: Use Facets
Do you want a certain type of record? Say Military? Then you may want to try the Category and Sub Category facets down the side of your search results.
Let’s say I’m searching for Tarlton Gillespie:
But I suspect because of the year he was born, about 1787, that he may have served in the war of 1812, so I just want to see military records.
You’ll notice on the left hand side, the category...
6 tags
Ask Ancestry Anne: Search Tip #15 - Category...
Sure it’s nice to a long list of all the possible records we have for the person you are searching for. But sometimes you want to know what data collections we think your person is in. This is where you want to use Category Search. Let’s say you are looking for my ancestor Tarlton Gillespie:
To flip this to category search, in the upper right hand corner, where it says “Sorted by relevance”...
6 tags
Ask Ancestry Anne: Search Tip #14 – Limit Your...
We have records from many countries, but sometimes you just want one. Or maybe you just want to see historical record or stories &publications. Here is a quick fix for that.
Collection Priority
At the bottom of the advanced search form, you will see a box labeled Collection Priority:
Change “All Collections” to the country or record type you are after. Then check the “Show only records...
5 tags
See who we’ve found in 1940
Who can you find in the 1940 U.S. Federal Census? Here are just a handful of recognizable names we’ve already discovered in New York and Washington DC:
New York Katherine Hepburn “The Great Kate” was in New York acting in the stage version of The Philadelphia Story, which had closed its year-long run at the Shubert Theater just a few days before the census was taken. She wouldn’t be in New York...
3 tags
1940 New York: Why didn't I learn from 1930?
My Italian grandfather, Lou Ventura, was the easiest of my four grandparents to find in the 1930 census.
My other family lines had name changes, missing years, countries and hometowns I could never pronounce and that didn’t seem to remain the same over the course of any two decades. They had elusive documents I could never find, immigration dates and spouses that were always in flux.
Lou, though,...
4 tags
Ask Ancestry Anne: Finding Grandma's Family in...
Question: My grandmother, Jenny Golub, came to America in approximately the 1890s from Russia. She settled in Brooklyn, New York. I know she had many relatives but we lost touch with most of them. How can I find them? There are several Golubs throughout America and I wonder if any are related to me. Mother, Selma Golub Briskin, was born 5/8/17, although somehow this was changed to 1924 – I found...
6 tags
Ask Ancestry Anne: Search Tip #13 - Wildcards
Try wildcards with Restrict to Exact selected (see Search Tip #11 - Name Filters) to find unusual spellings of names.
There are two wildcard characters:
? (question mark) : matches one character which can be anything
* (asterisk) : matches 0 to N characters
So if you enter Sm?th* you can match Smith, Smyth, Smithe and Smythe
Ann* will match Ann, Anne, Anna, and Annabelle
My maiden...
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Ask Ancestry Anne: Search Tip #12 - Location...
This is my favorite search filter. Sure it may never have occurred to you to have a favorite, but I find this one incredibly useful.
When you are in search form and you start typing in a location, you will see our type ahead suggest a list of places for you.
Choose from this list. This allows us to quickly identify everything we know about that place. Once you’ve picked the place, you...
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Ask Ancestry Anne: Search Tip #11 - Name Filters
Search Tips 1 - 10 Have all been about where to search for information. Let’s change our tactics a little bit and examine ways to improve your searching when you’ve found a place to search.
If you are on Ancestry.com, make use of name filters when you do a search. We have over 10 Billion records and making sure you narrow your search results down to a reasonable amount, is probably...
7 tags
Ask Ancestry Anne: Search Tip #10 - It's a Big Web...
The internet is a big place, and while I firmly believe that Ancestry.com is the best place to start and store your finds, make sure you look everywhere. Here are few suggestions. Feel free to add other ideas as comments.
Rootsweb : http://www.rootsweb.com
USGenWeb : http://usgenweb.org
Fold3 : http://www.fold3.com (Ancestry.com sister site; lots of great military records)
...
6 tags
Ask Ancestry Anne: Search Tip #9: One World Tree
The OneWorldTree data collection gathers a lot of member trees together and creates an approximation of a master tree. We do not update this anymore, so it is a static data collection, but there are some goodies in there that you may not know about.
Here is what to do.
Start on the OneWorldTree search form. I’m going to search for one of my ancestors: Robert Howard Cash.
Which gives...
May 2012
22 posts
7 tags
Ask Ancestry Anne: Search Tip #8 - Message Boards
Ancestry.com or Rootsweb message boards can be one of those often forgotten but very useful places to find distant cousins who are searching for the same ancestors you are or those who are knowledgeable about a certain place or time.
You can find the link to our message boards in the header:
#
From there, you will go to the main dashboard where you can search for specific surname, location or...
7 tags
Ask Ancestry Anne: Search Tip #7: Ancestry.com...
When you are researching your ancestors it is important to understand where they came from and what records were collected. One of the best places to start is the Ancestry.com wiki:
The wiki has the entire contents of both the The SourceandRed Book
Let’s say you find you have ancestors from Kentucky. You can start on the Kentucky page, by going to state research and then scrolling...
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Ask Ancestry Anne: Search Tip #6 - City...
We’ve made a lot of updates to our City Directories, and we have launched a new index for them at: U.S. City Directories, 1821-1989 (Beta)
Don’t let the name fool you, this is ready for prime time. You can read more at our original post on City Directories.
But don’t give up even if you don’t find what you are looking for with a search. Check out browse on the right...
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Ask Ancestry Anne: Search Tip #5 - Surname...
These are a bit more rare to find on the site, though you will find in various places on the web and in libraries.
Just like you did for Local Histories, you can type the surname you are looking for into the Keyword(s) field:
You can also add a state in to try and limit the possibilities. A search for Wallace Virginia will require both the words to be in the description or title.
Look for...
Ask Ancestry Anne: Search Tip #4 - Local Histories
Local histories can be a goldmine of information, not just about who might be in your family tree, but what life was like during your ancestor’s life.
There are two ways to find them on Ancestry.com. First, in the Card Catalog and second in Place Pages.
Card Catalog
To find a local history in the card catalog, type in the county or city name and the state into Keyword(s). Don’t...
7 tags
Ask Ancestry Anne: Search Tip #3 - Card Catalog
It’s easy enough to lose yourself in the Census and Vital records, but with 30,000+ data collections out there, you are most likely missing some great bits of information.
The Ancestry.com Card Catalog is a great place to start discovering those hidden treasures.
If you mouse over the Search tab in the header, you’ll see a list of options with Card Catalog at the bottom:
On the...
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Ask Ancestry Anne: Favorite Search Tip #2 - Place...
When you start researching a new area, or if you are just trying to find something new and different for a place you are familiar with, Place Pages is a great place to start looking.
Go to our Search Home Page and go down to the bottom of the page. You’ll see the map which is where you begin.
Click on the link of whatever state you are interested in. Or if you are not interested in the...
