ancestry.com

Too Many Panagiotises in the Suggestion Pan

These references in the “Suggested Records” for a passenger list for Panagiotis Verikios are confusing and potentially helpful. This confusion is why I usually do not use the “Suggested Records” at Ancestry.com.  The potential for help is also why I wished Ancestry.com gave more details on the “Suggested Records.” I’ve not worked on Panagiotis Verikios in a while […]

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Does Ancestry.com Think Troutvetter Does Not Sound Like Troutfetter?

Some names are made for “unexact” searches or the use of wildcards. Trautvetter is one of those names. I was reviewing probate records for members of the Trautvetter family using the “Illinois, Wills and Probate Records, 1772-1999” at Ancestry.com. Because the name gets spelled a variety of ways, I searched for troutvetter with the search slider set to […]

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Can Ancestry.com Add More to the “Suggested Records?”

I’ve been using the database “Germany, Lutheran Baptisms, Marriages, and Burials, 1519-1969,” as published on Ancestry.com. We’ll have a more detailed post about this database later, but for now there’s one limitation to the search results interface. The “Suggested Records” section is inadequate. Even with the relatively unusual name of Elsche Tjarks Janssen there are three additional […]

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What Soundex Might Be When Searching At Ancestry.com

I’ve been reading “guides” Ancestry.com has to their search settings. And I’m a little bit confused. From the Ancestry.com discussion of “name settings:” Soundex Variations: Soundex is a common algorithm used to generate alternate spellings of a surname. If you choose this option, any record that contains one of the Soundex variations for a surname might appear in your […]

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DAR Lineage Books in Recent Ancestry.com Database

A recently released Ancestry.com database,”North America, Family Histories, 1500-2000,” appears to contain digital images of most Daughters of the American Revolutionary War lineage books up through volume 152. This database appears to be digital images of a variety of “family histories” that have been converted from microfilm. It is possible to view the list of titles […]

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Why Does Ancestry.com Strip the Boarders?

The “view record” page for Harm Fecht on Ancestry.com indicates that he is the only individual living in his household in 1880. It’s easy to see at the very bottom of the image included with this post. When I encountered the record while looking for someone else, I thought it looked strange as I was fairly familiar […]

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Thoughts on Ancestry.com’s Illinois “Marriage Index, 1860-1920”

Ancestry.com recently announced the “Illinois, Marriage Index, 1860-1920” on their website (it’s probably been there for some time to be honest). In reading the “about” section for this database, it becomes clear that Ancestry.com‘s  “Illinois, Marriage Index, 1860-1920” is actually the “Illinois Statewide Marriage Index 1763-1900.”This database is on the Illinois State Archives website and […]

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