Not Every Day Anymore...

We're not changing our name (Genealogy Search Tip of the Day), but we are going non-daily as mentioned earlier to some subscribers.

I hate to "make" a tip just to have one for each and every day. So when something runs across my screen, my desk, or my mind that seems like a good tip--we'll put it here. Consequently there will be days when there isn't a tip.

But I don't want to "create" tips just because I HAVE to have one for that day.

Feel free to spread the news about Search Tip of the Day to others who may be interested.

Thanks!

Google Alert for that Address

If your ancestor was a city dweller, consider adding their street address to your set of Google alerts in your account at Google.com.

Be a nice way to discover the house when it comes for sale, etc. and maybe increase the chance you get pictures.

This blog post mentions a newspaper article that gave me an address and when I googled it, I discovered the home was for sale, price, date built, pictures, etc.

Places at Ancestry.com

A quick reminder for those who subscribe to Ancestry.com and are searching based upon European locations.

My search of the 1880 census using Germany as a place of birth did not pick up individuals who listed Hanover as their place of birth. You have to be careful using European places of birth and frankly, trial and error is advised as sometimes what works today does not necessarily work tomorrow.

Are You Just Doing What Ancestry.com Suggests?

Here are two things that users of Ancestry.com's online tree integration of database results should know:

• how Ancestry.com's online tree handles UK vitals quarterly index results
• how Ancestry.com's online tree handles US SSDI last residences as death places

Ancestry.com's response is "we are aware" of the problem. 

Ancestry.com's Use of the SSDI

Users of Ancesty.com's service to "integrate" Ancestry's data into their trees will want to remember that (at least as this post was written), Ancestry.com classifies what is the "last residence" information on the SSDI as the "place of death" in your online tree.

Just to make you aware.

Here's a longer blog post about it .

If You "Know" the County on a Census

If you are 99% certain of the county where someone lived in a census, consider searches without the first name. Unless the name is very common, I've taken to leaving the first name out--especially after it took me forever to find Harvey Butler written in 1850 as Hervey.

Smihts in That Database?

Have you considered the possibility of transposition errors when searching that online database? Is there any chance that Smith was entered as Smiht?