Genealogy Chat

for a start never use familysearch as a basis,just as an auxilliary tool.Remember that Catholics very rarely appear on familysearch. ANCESTRY.....so far (1) Using exact search and just changing names and little details seems a neater way sometimes of getting to the goal. (2) Keyword=if you put something in here the search seems to heed this before birthplace entered-so i put residence or birthplace in the keyword box. (3)If you find a census entry that is yours ,print it off straight away........in your first year maximize this facility,and print off as many as possible. (4)When printing off the census sheet,it defaults to a small version ,across the middle of the page-to make it fill an A$ sheet-go into the properies of the printer,and change image default from portrait>>>landscape,then click OK and print-but if the census sheet is just a repeat or not a key bloodline,save ink by printing out the smaller version-the black frame uses a lot of ink up.

Hi everyone! Thanks so much for all the brilliant tips - I shall print them up and digest them! I've been struggling with the familysearch site, but there are so many omissions that I was beginning to become disheartened. Onwards and upwards from now on - the housework and telly will have to take a back seat! Cheers Ally

Apart from this site I think ancestry is absolutely essential for this hobby. Gillian, familysearch cant compete with ancestry which has access to all the census from 1861-1901 and shortly will have the 1851 and 1841. Its well worth it for what about £1.40 a week 24/7 access and all the other goodies on there. I dont know how anyone can manage without it. You can play about with name combinations and just guesses for hours and hours (unfortunately!) and find things you would never find if you were on a pay to view. For instance, if someone has a really outlandish first name or middle name, I have googled that alone and found relatives which tie in with the family. By the way, re the 1851 census coming on line - a correspondent for a one name group contacted me - she had emailed them asking when and got the following mail back yesterday: It is true that we are currently working on the 1851 and 1841 census images. Unfortunately we do not have a launch date for these. As soon as they are available, you will see an advertisement on our home page. Let us know if there is anything else you can do.

You have to be very imaginative when viewing the census results as sometimes the indexed people's details look quite different if you know what the image SHOULD say. Earlier this summer I found someone who had been 'lost' to fellow researchers for years. She was from a small Sussex village and living in London ( we knew the family had moved) I searched just for... Sarah...wife.... b. Kirdford. The list was not too long and nobody with the right surname was there but I always look for odd looking names with the right shape. ie letters above or below the line. There was Sarah in the images. Instead of her name on the index starting with ..B.. it started with... Sch...

Hi Jeanie A I was also one of the 'naughty people' and agree with you about wondering whether or not the site had been 'closed' and if so what was the next password, It was fun but now I too am legit, it is a very useful site though and I dont regret paying the 12 month sub.

I agree about not putting in too much information. I often search just on the name with no other fields, provided they are not called John Smith! Your eye can pick out near matches much more efficiently that the software. If there two many matches then try just the birth county first and see how many that reduces to. Avoid using an exact date, I usually start with +/- 2 years. I often found people by searching on a first name and place of birth (and perhaps date of birth). Sometimes finds someone with the surname seriously mistranscribed. If you find any errors in names (you will!) then report them to Ancestry using the form at the right hand side rather than just moaning as many seem to do. Get ready for some late nights! MB

Wildcards are a good way of reducing the amount of the name which has to be matched - it doesn't defend against the beginning of a place/person name being mis-transcribed but at least if the name starts correctly you stand a better chance of finding it even if the end is garbled. It's also worth noting that sometimes there is no place of birth given at all. There was also a thread listing the 1861 pieces which are missing. Not sure whether there are similar gaps in other years. Having said that, it's great fun and weaving BMD records & census results together to trace a family can be very rewarding. good hunting! Christine

I am tempted to join let me know what you think please - although I find the Familysearch Org pretty good - please keep me informed - how much to join? Happy Tree Hunting - Gillian S.

I use the 'exact search' rather than the 'ranked search' as I find you get better results. And unless you are absolutely sure of where someone was living, don't put in a country or county, as the person you are looking for might be anywhere. Kath. x

Go through the surnames in your tree in alphabetical order and keep notes of all the searches you do. Or work as far as you can up one branch, then the next one, and so on. Kate.

Isn't that strange - i dont rate 'wildcard' at all! never use it , ever!! Jess x

Use Wildcards wherever possible. You MUST have 3 characters at the beginning though or you can't use it. They're absolutely brill. It doesn't work when you have the Soundex option on though - that's a whole other story lol

NOoooo! Ancestry is addictive and fascinating and time consuming and great fun , in a strange sort of way. Best tip i can give you is this;- less is sometimes more - dont fill all the criteria boxes and be prepared to use your imagination! Jess x

Hi! I've succumbed to temptation and joined Ancestry. Does anyone have any tips for making an organised search etc.? I feel like a child in a toyshop at the moment, not knowing where to start with all the goodies!! I feel that I should be more organised now so as to not waste more time than ever on my tree building! Hope someone has some hints. cheers Ally