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Top tip - using the Genes Reunited community

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Using Ancestry.com

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Paul

Paul Report 29 Nov 2007 15:07

I have just subscribed to Ancestry and would like to know the tips on how to get the best out of the site, someone has told me about a "wild card" search but I dont know what this is, I would like to know as much as possible, so I can get the most out of Ancestry while I am a member, any help would be greatly appreciated and I guess other people would also benefit
Thanks

ErikaH

ErikaH Report 29 Nov 2007 15:13

When searching for a person, always allows for mistranscriptions...mis-spellings etc.

If a search with the full name produces no results, try putting in just the forename and birth place/year info.............

Or put in the first three letters of a name, followed by an asterisk (*)........you must put in at least three letters or Ancestry will give you an error message.

Employ lateral thinking.......and be prepared to be flexible about ages and birthplaces.

Birthdays weren't a big deal then, not in the way they are now: also, people often thought that where they grew up was where they had been born; not always the case, of course.

Hope you enjoy your searches.........BUT..the best way to learn is to try things for yourself............

Reg

Sam

Sam Report 29 Nov 2007 15:13

A wildcard search is used where they may be more than one spelling for a name.

You would search on the at least three letter followed by an asterisk, so SMI* would bring up all the Smiths, Smithes, Smithson and Smilie etc etc.

Comes in useful where names have been mistranscribed or there is more than one spelling of something.

You can also use a question mark, for example a name in my tree POYSER can be spelt with a Z in place of the S. Searching for POY?ER will bring both up.

Sam x

Potty

Potty Report 29 Nov 2007 15:23

Also, if you have the name and DOB of a child, just enter the first name and the parents' first names in the relevant boxes.

Paul

Paul Report 30 Nov 2007 09:32

Thanks

Heather

Heather Report 30 Nov 2007 13:26

Just play on it 24/7 and you will learn how to get the best results - even just entering a small village name and trawling all the people there is fun.

You subbed to .com? Do you have a lot of USA ancestors/rellies?

Gwyn in Kent

Gwyn in Kent Report 30 Nov 2007 13:38

Further to what the others have said about mistranscriptions.....
I look for the shape of the surname
ie. whether it has characters above or below a base line. Many of my 'finds' have had very little resemblance to the wanted surname but have been tall or short at the right places.
One of the most elusive was found starting Sch.....instead of ..Bel

Gwyn