RSS feed
Using Search Engines to Find Ancestors
First posted in response to a question on a mailing list on October 23, 2004
Q: I have been on the temp free list for Ancestry.com I did a search under Richard W. BILKEY and soundexed it. It came "Zero Results" Are you saying there is another index I can look under
A: When using search engines, don’t limit your searches too much. If you get zero results, widen the search parameters.
First tip - Use wildcards to allow for alternate spellings. Instead of BILKEY, try BIL* (the * is a wildcard for any letters after BIL) Don’t put in the first name. Don’t put in middle initials. Think about how the name might have been spoken and recorded at the time. Richard W. Bilkey might have said his name was R. Bilkey. Perhaps he gave his full first name but not his middle initial. Maybe the person recording it put Rich’d for Richard. Maybe the person writing it down spelled BILKEY as Bilkee or Beelkey or …. Be creative, try variant spellings and use wildcards.
Second tip - for this particular search below, you want to go to http://olivetreegenealogy.com/ancestry/free.shtml and try the spellings and wildcard feature above. Then to see a list of ships from Liverpool to New York in April 1865 follow these steps:
1. On the Ancestry search box, DON’T put a first or last name. Put the year of arrival as 1865 to 1865.
2. In the keyword field put apr . Only put 3 letters because if you look at results you get you will see that this is how all the months are indexed - as 3 letter months. So if you put april you’ll get zero results!
3. For Port of departure put Liverpool.
4. Then hit SEARCH and see what comes up. You’ll get a lot of results and you can see that there are many ships - Etna, Kangaroo, Helvetia and so on There is another way to get that list of ships — look up at the top of the Ancestry page where it says "You are here: Search > Immigration & Naturalization Records > New York Passenger Lists, 1851-1891 > Results" Click on NEW YORK PASSENGER LISTS. That brings up a new page with a search box but look BELOW that search box. See the list of years? Click on 1865. Let the new page load then click on the month you want (April) The list of ships arriving in April will appear
Third Tip — Always read the HELP file for every Search Engine you use. All Search Engines are different, you must learn what each can do for you. Also see http://olivetreegenealogy.com/#se for more ideas and suggestions re using search engines
Permission granted to distribute this article as long as nothing is changed, and all identifying information and URLs remain. Be sure to include the following footer:
© Lorine McGinnis Schulze Olive Tree Genealogy http://olivetreegenealogy.com/
Family historians tend to overlook the importance of old maps in their search. Completely forgotten about is the existence of early county maps that contain a wealth of information. Known as Land Ownership maps they represented a very detailed picture of the population of a given area. A large volume of these rare and sometimes valuable maps were produced in the mid 19th century for publicity purposes, property assessment and to attract new migrants A dedicated genealogist should research this wonderful item, for they continue to be a great asset in researching ones ancestors. The original cartographers and engravers produced these giant wall maps, that could average a 6 foot tall image and that clearly defined different survey zones. These maps focused on tax land assessment, supervisory boards, land deeds, political and voter districts. They would show the name of the resident, possible occupation, acreage owned and other notable ancestry interests. Outside of the libraries and government institutions that have a limited staff to assist you with your project. One should look for on-line map libraries for all your needs. These entities are quick to respond to inquiries and can offer a large library of premium priced images of outstanding quality. Browsing the Internet the ever growing entourage of genealogists, should be aware of two map libraries who have a reputation for quality reproductions. Either business has the professional staff and time to help you with your research. Http://www.historicmapsrestored.com is both a commercial enterprise and a non-profit organization that has for sale, sharp digitally remastered prints. In addition is http://www.maps-of-the-past.com. Both map libraries have a wide selection of land ownership maps, ideal for the family ancestral search.
Comment by infinity555 — November 11, 2005 @ 4:17 pm