Ancestry com
Ancestry.com – Search Tips
Ancestry.com and Ancestry.co.uk are certainly among the easiest sites to use if your starting out on your family history. Both share a huge online database but you need to know how to use it in order to get the best results from it. Below is a simple easy to use guide on how to search on Ancestry sites.
Use Ancestry.com exact search correctly
Exact searches are very important as it can easily narrow down the results to a manageable degree, though it shouldn't be overused. There is a balance as it gives you complete control over your search results because each record that is returned must match all of the search criteria you enter. Only matches that meet your search terms exactly are returned in the search results area.
Use a broad search
Start with only one or two broad search criteria to start with. Next analyse the results, its these results that dictate what you do next. Too many results then gradually add more criteria to narrow your search. Too few results then drop one or more of your search criteria to broaden your search. Continue this process until you gradually hone in on the record for which you are searching. I find that anything more than 50 results per search area and its probably too much to look through.
Use the global search
Use Ancestry global search feature to get quick results. The genealogical data is served up by a simple entry of the first name and last name of an ancestor and then clicking the Search button.
The results page will show the various databases in the Ancestry collection and how many results are returned. As is mentioned previously in the article, you may need to refine by using the Broad or even exact searches.
Use of Ancestry.com Common names
Some Ancestry results may not help you in your research, even though they technically match your query terms. This is especially true if you are researching an ancestor with a common name. You may want to filter your search by locality, keyword, or other options to filter out unwanted results.
Time periods & geography
Many databases contain information that extends beyond one geographic location or time period. When this is the case, you may receive results that are outside the selections you designated in the original search. The Global Search template allows users to filter searches to a specific locality.
Increasing the number of results
You can often increase the number of applicable results you receive when using global search. One method is to always include a locality when performing a search. By including a geographic area you are telling the search engine to find information related to that locality as well as any information based on the name provided. Searches that include a locality will provide links to additional reference materials, maps. newspapers, phone directories, links, and any other data related to that area of residence.
Leave the first name blank
A second method to increase the number of results is to leave the first name blank. Some databases may not include all given names and others might include nicknames or alternate spellings, its even possible that all that are available are the initials of the first name in the databases.
Use of Soundex
Another great way to increase the number of results is to try different spellings of the last name. Many last names have changed spellings over time. Trying various spellings can therefore often increase the number of matches and also provide additional insight into family histories. In addition to trying other spellings manually, Ancestry also provides an automatic alternate spellings search option called Soundex.
Define your database
You may perform a global search and find a compelling database that you would like to spend more time searching on its own. Or you may be interested in the source and a description of the database. You can view information about a specific database by clicking on the information icon next to the database on the search results screen.
You will then be taken to the main page of the database, which includes a search interface for the database, the database's bibliography, and a description of the database.
Ancestry.com Wildcards
Wildcard searching is available for all text on the site, in both free and subscription databases. Wildcards are special symbols (the asterisk "*" and the question mark "?") which are used in searching to represent some number of unknown letters in a word.
Multiple letter Wildcard
Wildcards can be effective query tools if you are searching for words or names with alternate spellings, but do not wish to view all the extra matches that SOUNDEX searching can create. You can also use wildcards to view all words that begin with the same stem. Using an asterisk in a search "*" represents zero to six characters. Take for example a search for the name "Wil*" This may well return "Will, William, Willy, Wilfred, Williams" and so on, as you can see it provides a great expanse on the defined letters
Single letter Wildcard
A single character is represented by question mark "?" for example "Sm?th" equals both "Smith" and Smyth"
Free Searches on Ancestry.com
You do not need a subscription to perform a search using Ancestry Global Search. Executing a search will display all of the databases relevant to your query, regardless of whether or not you subscribe to Ancestry. Additionally, you can view the actual results in many databases without subscribing to Ancestry. The free databases are designated by a special document icon.
The majority of Ancestry databases are subscriber databases. These databases require a subscription. These databases are designated by a special padlock icon to the left of the database.
What next?
Subscribers are given a username and password that allows them to access any of the databases located at Ancestry. To access all of the data located at Ancestry.co.uk you will need to subscribe, but its well worth it! Genes Reunited.co.uk are a good alternative as well as the new ability to learn more about your family history with the basic paternal lineage test at GeneTree.com
These are good alternatives to Ancestry.com as they are free from the start and produce results in a slightly different way. In effect, you supply the detail and they automatically send you there finding via email.
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