Have you ever become frustrated with FamilySearch’s results? Sometimes they seem completely random and unrelated to your initial search or they pull results from England, Germany, and other foreign places. After you have exhausted Ancestry record hints and general searches in Ancestry and FamilySearch, you may want to try searching a specific collection.
I prefer searching a specific collection in the following situations:
· The individual has a common name with John Smith or Mary Johnson. Searching an individual collection helps eliminate people with the same or similar names from other localities.
· You are fairly certain an individual is in a specific state and you want to perform a focused search.
· You have both of the parents’ names and want to search for all of their children within one record set such as Iowa marriages or Pennsylvania death records. Do this by only searching the parents’ names and leaving off the child and any dates.
· You are frustrated with a lack of records and have tried using many different combinations of search terms and wildcards.
I used your method for a USCT family I was having trouble with in GA, had only the death info on veteran from milinfo and I found the wife right away. Thank you so very much for sharing the information Anne and for posting it Heather.
ReplyDeleteHad to laugh at the first full paragraph. I often feel that way about FamilySearch. I appreciate the tips we received during the conference. Thanks for posting.
ReplyDeleteYeah! I got another death certificate this time for a son - I feel like a fisherman who has found a good spot. I want you to know I had already tried three days of deathindexes.com so I am thrilled.
ReplyDeleteGreat explanation!
ReplyDeleteThanks Anne, I will give this a try!
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