Wednesday, September 26, 2012

Browse and Search?

Many sites that provide indexes to digital images of records also allow you to browse the images, by locality or name, or however the original records were organized.

Do not forget this option. It might be easier to browse than to use the index.

Saturday, September 22, 2012

Employer's Last Name as First Name?

I've been experimenting with searches on  Genealogybank.com, and in an attempt to locate things faster and make new discoveries, in my attempts to find information on C. A. Liddle who worked for the Pullman Car Company, I searched for

last name Liddle
first name Pullman

This works like a proximity search and was faster than messing with the proximity settings and better than a keyword search.

Just a thought.

You can see the image located here.

Monday, September 17, 2012

Friday, September 14, 2012

Lazy Trick for FindAGrave

Sometimes I can be a little lazy.

In the Google search box, I type in:

lastname county state findagrave

rampley hancock illinois findagrave

newman linn iowa findagrave

etc.

I get results from Findagrave--and a whole lot more.


GenealogyBank Search Tips

For those who have not been able to find them easily, we've posted the search tips from GenealogyBank here. Enjoy!

Wednesday, September 12, 2012

Leave Out the First Name

I've been experimenting with searches on GenealogyBank and a few recent finds have reminded me that sometimes newspaper items about our family never mention the first name at all.

Try leaving out the first name--use the last name, a county, location, etc. and see what you find.

There are items where only the last name is used. Are you missing them?

Sunday, September 9, 2012

Ancestry's Syncing of Microfilm Images

Those who have used the digital images of passenger manifests at Ancestry.com and had occasional difficulty with how they "sync" up, might want to read  my recent post on Rootdig-http://rootdig.blogspot.com/2012/09/too-much-manifest-and-not-enough-month.html

Sunday, September 2, 2012

Names Are Not Really Names

"Name" searches on sites that search newspapers and other full-text material often really are not just looking for names.

They are looking for the "first name" near the "last name." How near depends upon the site--sometimes users can specify how "close" the "first name" and the "last name" have to be to each other in order to be a match.

Census indexes, marriage indexes and other databases where the information is actually keyed in as a "name" aren't usually set up as proximity searches.

60% off Genealogy Webinars-Labor Day Special

It's rare for us to offer our 60% sale, but we're doing it in honor of Labor Day.  There's never been a better time to order one of our how-to genealogy webinars. 

Now is a great time rev up your research skills as we swing into fall. 

Our download rates are the best in the business. Our presentations are informal, down-to-earth, and practical. The only agenda we have is helping you with your research.

Coupon code "sixty" at check out will reduce your order by 60%. Downloads are immediate. Sale ends at 11:59 PM (Central time) 3 September 2012. Don't wait--your ancestors are not getting any younger. 

Check out our list of over 30 presentations here:


Topics include:

Females
Problem-Solving
Brick Walls 
Court Records
Land Records
Search Techniques
Genealogical Proof
and much, much more!

Thanks!

Hope to see some of you virtually in the near future. Suggestions for additional topics are always welcomed. 

Michael
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Michael John Neill
Genealogy Tip of the Day