Getting the Most Out of Ancestry

Transcription

1 Getting the Mst Out f Ancestry The first step in using Ancestry is t decide hw yu want t use it. 1. If yu want t search recrds such as census recrds and ship passenger lists t add t yur wn research, the Library Editin f Ancestry is prbably enugh. This is available thrugh libraries in mst cunties in the area, althugh yu must use it inside the library there is n access frm yur hme. The vast majrity f the cntent and databases n Ancestry.cm are als fund n the Ancestry Library Editin. Hwever, the Library Editin is distributed by PrQuest which has its wn prducts that duplicate sme f what s in Ancestry s Hme Editin. T prtect their wn prducts, they are excluded frm Ancestry s Library Editin (family and lcal histry cllectin bks, PERSI, Filby s Passenger Lists Index, Bigraphy & Genealgy Master Index, Freedman s Bank Recrds, etc.). 2. If yu want t cnnect with thers wh are researching the same family yu are and cllabrate with them, use their phts, stries and dcuments they have gathered, yu will need a persnal subscriptin which is nt cheap: $155.40/year (but remember, that s abut 3 frappacins per mnth). If yu want t try it ut, Ancestry ffers a 14- day free trial fr first- time users. Als nte that if yu use Family Tree Maker, it will nt link directly t Ancestry s Library Editin. Nt included with Ancestry Library Editin: One Wrld Tree; bituary cllectin; histrical newspaper cllectin; and a way t cntact ther researchers. Searching Ancestry: three ptins v Optin 1: Dive in and start searching manually v Optin 2: Start an nline tree and see what Ancestry ffers (autmatic) v Optin 3: Imprt a gedcm frm yur genealgy sftware prgram and see what smene else has psted (autmatic) Hw- T Articles, Vides and Webinars: v Ancestry.cm psts excellent training infrmatin under its Learning Center tab acrss the tp f mst pages. Click n the drp- dwn menu and chse a tpic. Yu can explre these at yur leisure. v Watch the vide at Optin 1: Dive in and start searching manually. This is the chice fr thse peple wh dn t want t pst the research they have cnducted. Perhaps they re afraid it may nt be accurate, r perhaps they re wary f privacy issues. Click n Search and then chse a categry f recrd frm the drp- dwn menu. v Yu can search each recrds grup separately, r yu can Search all recrds. Click n the Shw Advanced search frm t give yu mre search ptins. v Fr all searches, my recmmendatin are: Getting the Mst Out f Ancestry Sharn Ck MacInnes, Ph.D.

2 Start with selecting Match all terms exactly (Ancestry guides suggest yu nt select this, but I find it gives better answers t start with. Yu can always unclick it later). Enter the least amunt f infrmatin pssible t generate the mst recrds: yu ll want t narrw it dwn t name and lcatin at least. Fr example, if yu enter a death date, n census recrds will be returned fr that persn because s/he was alive at the time f the census. A death date may generate an entry frm the Scial Security Death Index r the Veterans Grave Prject, but yu re trying t track peple while they were alive. Dn t enter the spuse unless yu receive t many hits. There may have been a secnd spuse with which yur ancestr was enumerated and yu dn t want t miss that recrd. Dn t enter the gender I have a Cecil Watsn wh was entered as daughter. Again, if yu have t many hits, add this restrictin. At the bttm f the search page, decide what t restrict yur search t: Histrical recrds (censuses, military recrds, etc.), Stries & publicatins (usually articles), Family trees (leave this fr later), and Phts & maps (leave fr later) Example: I searched fr James Watsn, brn 1816 in Ohi and restricted the search t a Cllectin Pririty f U.S. I clicked Shw nly recrds frm these cllectins and Restrict t Histrical recrds. I srted the results by recrds and the first chices n the page were the 1880, 1870, 1860, and 1850 censuses fr him [plus 2 intervening recrds nt mine]. Hver ver each ne t see a preview t determine what yu want t pen and then right- click and Open Link in New Tab until yu have all the census recrds pen. Rearrange them by dragging them int chrnlgical rder. As yu lk at the riginal census recrds, be sure t lk n the pages surrunding yur family fr relatives! If yu have truble reading the handwriting, a transcriptin f the names and infrmatin almst always accmpanies the image f the riginal recrd. If the transcriptin desn t shw, click n the arrw up buttn at the bttm f the census image. Nt all transcriptins are crrect. Fr example, Mamie (Watsn) Ck was brn in Missuri but the transcriptin belw the image mistakenly states Wiscnsin. I crrected the transcriptin by clicking n the pencil icn f Mther s Birthplace in the transcriptin sectin (with my surce) and it psted the crrectin. v When yu receive the search results, view by either Recrds r Categries. The Recrds will give yu individual recrds like the 1870 r 1880 census fr individuals with all peple f that name. If yu hver ver the green recrd name, yu will see a preview. Categries grups the recrds by type: Census & Vter Lists; Births/Marriage & Death; Military; Immigratin & Travel; etc. When I did nt have any Exact bxes clicked, my search fr James Watsn restricted t the United States Cllectin, brn 1816, Ohi, gave ver 54,000 recrds in 4,284 categries. When I added + r 1 year t his birth date and Getting the Mst Out f Ancestry Sharn Ck MacInnes, Ph.D.

3 Restrict t this place exactly, there were 39 results and very few were relevant. When I changed the birth lcatin t Restrict t this state/adjacent states, it generated 255 results, several f which were extremely helpful. T restrict a field, click n Edit Search and check the field yu want. Als, yu can filter using the categries n the left f the screen. v What if yu dn t find yur ancestr s name? Unclick Match all terms exactly Try searching by initials f first name r a nickname (Jim fr James, fr example) Use wild cards: An asterisk (*) can represent up t 5 (perhaps even 6) characters and a questin mark represents ne unknwn letter f a name. Yu must, hwever, enter at least three letters in additin t yur wild cards fr a search. Yu can put wild cards at the beginning r end f a name, but nt bth. See then click n Search & Recrds and Chse a tpic and Tips and Hints. Reverse the given name and surname. Smetimes enumeratrs mixed them up. My Claytn Pattisn was enumerated as Pattersn Claytn in ne census. If yu find ther members f yur ancestr s family, search page by page thrugh the census t see if they just weren t indexed. Eliminate a given name r surname and try narrwing the search by using ther criteria, such as lcatin and birth/death years. Fr example, I didn t knw Mamie Ck s maiden name but I knew frm the 1920 census that she was 27, brn in Clrad, her father was brn in Ohi and her mther was brn in Missuri. T find her in the 1910 census, I left her surname blank, gave her birthdate as r 1 year, living in Minnesta (I used MN since she was living there in If that hadn t wrked, I wuld have used Clrad). I fund her, age 18, in MN as the daughter f Gerge W. Watsn. Substitute letters that are cmmnly mistaken fr ther letters by transcribers, such as: S and L T, F, J, and I K and R P and R O and Q U and W Read Ancestry s Census Search Secrets and Census Search Tips under the Learning Center tab in First Steps and Next Steps. Watch fr clues t maiden names. In the 1900 census, I fund Mamie, nw 8, daughter f Gerge and Julia K. (brn in Missuri!) Watsn, with Gerge s brther Cecil and Julia s brther Cyrus Falkner. Nw I have Julia s maiden name, plus an easier Watsn name t wrk with than Gerge. Nte that neither Gerge nr Cecil Watsn prvided this infrmatin. If they had, they surely wuld have knwn where their parents lived instead f un[knwn]. v If yu have a cmmn surname, dn t Search All Recrds. Take each categry separately: Census & Vter Lists ; Birth, Marriage and Death ; Military ; and Immigratin and Travel. All men in the U.S., fr example, were required t register fr the draft and their cards are nline thrugh Ancestry. That desn t necessarily mean that they served, hwever. Pay attentin t a man s life span. If a war was fught when he may have been physically able t serve in it, yu may find a lt f infrmatin n him that will fill in his life s details. The 1890 special census f Civil War Unin Veterans and their Widws survives (but the regular 1890 U.S. census was burned). It des nt shw James Watsn as a veteran. Getting the Mst Out f Ancestry Sharn Ck MacInnes, Ph.D.

4 Nw g t Search > Military. When the Military Recrds page appears, DO NOT enter the name f yur ancestr. First, narrw it dwn t the time perid (WW, CW). Yu will just have t enter the name again if yu dn t narrw it dwn. Because the census recrds fr James Watsn, father f Gerge abve, shwed that he was living in Springfield, Hamiltn C., OH in 1850 and 1860, and then Arcla, Duglas C., IL in 1870 and 1880, giving me a birthdate f apprx. 1816, I searched the U.S. Civil War Sldiers, database n Ancestry under Military Recrds. There were 53 recrds regarding every James Watsn wh fught frm Ohi ( Restrict t this place exactly ). It des nt mean there were that many men f that name, nly that there are that many recrds many pertaining t the same man. All f them are shwn n the same micrfilm rll. This is just an index t apprx. 6.3 millin sldiers (bth Unin and Cnfederate). The index gives precius little infrmatin ther than the side he fught n, the regiment and cmpany, rank, and micrfilm numbers. Yu must g t the Natinal Archives t lk at the recrd. There is a secnd military page that is equally imprtant which is reached at Alng the right side f this page are links t U.S. Civil War Sldiers Recrds and Prfiles, Civil War Pensin Index: General Index t Pensin Files, U.S. Civil War POW Recrds, U.S. Clred Trps Military Service Recrds, Cnfederate Service Recrds, U.S. Civil War Phts, etc. This seems t include mre recrd cllectins including state rsters, pensin recrds and regimental histries f sldiers. These recrds give ages at time f enlistment, and James Watsn was relatively ld when he enlisted apprximately 45 (estimating frm his census recrds). Only ne James Watsn fits that age: clicking n it, I saw that he enlisted as a crpral 27 Apr 1861 in Cmpany H, 20 th Infantry Regiment, Ohi, at the age f 44, and he mustered ut n 18 Aug 1861 at Clumbus, OH. Next, I clicked n his regiment which tk me t the regimental histry f the 20 th Infantry and learned exactly where they marched during their 3- mnth enlistment and what they did. v Nw mve n t Card Catalg under Search. This is where yu can search cunty histries, newspapers, maps, etc. fr yur ancestr r his residence and add cntext t their lives by understanding the histrical events that tk place in the places in which they lived. If yu hver ver the View Recrd, yu will see a transcriptin. Since I am interested in the Watsns wh lived in Hamiltn C., OH and Duglas C., IL, after I reached Ancestry Card Catalg I filtered it t include nly Stries, Getting the Mst Out f Ancestry Sharn Ck MacInnes, Ph.D.

5 Memries & Histries. Yu need t put certain phrases in qutes. Fr example, I searched fr Hamiltn Cunty Ohi and received 15 surces t check (4 were fr Hamiltn families and ne was fr Hamiltn NY). There were abstracts f prbates in Hamiltn C., marriage recrds, newspapers, Histry f Cincinnati and Hamiltn Cunty, Ohi, Hamiltn Cunty, Ohi Histry, etc. A search fr James Watsn in Stries, Memries & Histries using keywrds watsn Hamiltn cunty hi tld me that my James Watsn sld sme f his land t several gentlemen wishing t...build themselves summer residences...between Hamiltn and Cincinnati, n the Cincinnati, Hamiltn & Daytn railrad, which was just being built...where Glendale stands. I als fund his daughter Fanny s marriage (which gave me the unusual surname Piatt t use as a search item fr lcatins the Watsns migrated frm), prbate recrds in Hamiltn C., Ohi, and that he was living there in Use the filter Maps, Atlases & Gazetteers t see if yu can pinpint yur ancestr. Then click n U.S. Indexed Cunty Land Ownership Maps, (direct url is I searched fr the surname Watsn in Hamiltn C., OH and fund 6 Watsns in the 1869 atlas, including James Watsn in Springfield Twnship, Hamiltn C., OH. Change the zm (and wait fr the image t clarify) t see each wner. v Once yu knw many f the basic facts f yur family (where they lived and when, what cnflicts they engaged in, what histrical cntext they lived in, etc., search Public Member Trees t see what dedicated researchers have uncvered regarding yur family. If smene else has spent years researching yur family, they may have accumulated cpies f riginal dcuments, family phts, persnal stries, and fascinating details that will make yur ancestrs cme t life. This majr cmpnent f Ancestry is nt in the Library Editin. Disregard any family tree that des nt have surces attached t it, but cnsider cntacting the wner t see whether that persn nly upladed part f his/her infrmatin. When yu find a family tree that appears well- researched and cntains surces, abslutely cntact the wner. Yur query will be ruted thrugh ancestry and, unless yu give yur within yur query, the persn will have t respnd thrugh Ancestry. If yu want t be cntacted directly, give yur address within yur message. I can t tell yu hw satisfying this has been fr me!!! Optin 2: Start an nline tree and see what Ancestry ffers (autmatic): this is the chice fr peple wh want t see what thers have fund which might be useful. Yu need a subscriptin t pst a tree, uplad phts, search and attach recrds frm Ancestry t yur nline tree, dwnlad gedcms, etc. Yu can add infrmatin frm ther trees (see belw) Getting the Mst Out f Ancestry Sharn Ck MacInnes, Ph.D.

6 v Enter a name f, say, yur father r grandfather and his parents and birth/death dates. v Name the tree and chse whether it will be public r private. Click Dne v Yu will prbably see leaves at the tp f each name bx. Click there t find mre inf Optin 3: Imprt a gedcm frm yur genealgy sftware prgram and see what smene else has psted v First, yu must create a gedcm (the standard fr genealgy prgrams which allws yu t share files using any genealgy prgram, including Macs). Use yur genealgy sftware which shuld have a capacity t exprt t gedcm r create a gedcm r smething similar. Sme sftware prgrams will create a file directly as an Ancestry Online Family Tree. v Secnd, yu have t imprt yur gedcm int Ancestry. Under Family Trees, click Uplad a GEDCOM. When the Uplad a Family Tree page appears, the files n yur persnal cmputer will appear. Navigate t the.ged file yu want t uplad and click Chse. Then give yur tree a name and a descriptin. Chse whether yu want t Allw thers t see my tree as a public member tree by clicking the bx r nt. If yu unclick the bx, yur tree will be a private member tree. A preview f yur tree will cme up when smene searches Ancestry fr a specific persn in yur tree but they cannt access specifics r any ther persn in yur tree withut yur permissin. They can cntact yu thrugh Ancestry and yu can allw them permissin t access yur entire tree. Yu can always change frm public t private, r vice versa, at any time. v Accept the Submissin Agreement and click Uplad v Managing Yur Tree: Yur default view is prbably the Pedigree View. Click n any member f yur family t see his/her persnal page, r g t the upper right and enter a name in Find a persn in this tree. Click n a name t see that persn s full infrmatin. Yu can add as many events as yu like, but PLEASE add a surce fr each ne! T delete yur tree: Tree pages > Tree Settings > Delete yur tree (n right) v The menu abve is the key t managing yur entire family tree: Overview: main page shwing life events (timeline), parents, spuse, and children. Facts and Surces: the surces fr each life event will appear here. Yu can attach riginal dcuments that yu have scanned nt yur cmputer. Media Gallery: Click n + Add Media t uplad phts frm yur cmputer, type a stry, recrd audi r vide. Cmments: Yu can add cmments fr anyne t see, and thers can add cmments fr yu. Yu can delete them r leave them fr thers t see, and yu will be ntified by if any cmments are left fr yu. Hints: This is extremely imprtant if yu want t cnnect with ther family researchers and find ut what resurces thers have fund fr yur family. There are tw type f recrds generated by Hints : (1) Ancestry dcuments like census recrds; and (2) Public Member Trees Ancestry Dcument Hints: Getting the Mst Out f Ancestry Sharn Ck MacInnes, Ph.D.

7 Ancestry generates autmatic hints which may r may nt pertain t yur family such as censuses yu have nt used already as surces. If Ancestry has an riginal dcument like a census, it shws n the left. Click n it and yu will be taken t the actual dcument. Yu can then Attach this recrd t [name f yur ancestr] r Ignre this recrd. In the next screen, check the bxes next t the details yu want t add t yur tree (like an 1860 residence frm the census) and Save t yur Tree r Cancel. D the same with all ther Ancestry dcuments. Ancestry Family Trees Hints: Nw (als under Hints ) click n Ancestry Family Trees. In the case f my James Watsn, Ancestry fund 8 Public Member Trees with infrmatin that matched, at least partially, what I had entered fr James Watsn. These Public Member Trees line up side- by- side with yur page s that yu can see exactly hw they differ. Fr each ne, Ancestry pints ut when yur infrmatin is different frm smene else s r if it is new (yu had nthing fr that fact). In my search fr James Watsn, I disregarded 3 f the trees because they each had nly ne surce listed. I disregarded anther 4 trees because they had either partial r less likely infrmatin than I had, r because they had attached phts and dcuments that ShenandahGirl had riginally psted. Clearly there was ne researcher wh had researched this family intensely: ShenandahGirl. I clicked n the bx in frnt f ShenandahGirl s tree n the Review Member Tree hints fr James Watsn and did nt click n the ther 7 trees, and then clicked n Review selected tree hints. The next screen allws yu t select what specific infrmatin yu want t add t yur family tree. In my case, I prefer nt adding any fact t my tree until I check ut the surce. Thus, I pened tw windws, ne shwing ShenandahGirl s page fr James Watsn, and the ther shwing the Review Member Tree Hints fr James Watsn. Fr each new fact r different fact, I first reviewed her surce (such as a pht f a tmbstne fr dates f birth and death) befre clicking n the Add bx r the Nt a match bx. I have nt, in fact, added her infrmatin t mine yet but it s just a matter f nt having enugh time. ShenandahGirl and I have been in cntact with each ther fr a cuple f years nw. Interestingly, we live within driving distance f each ther and have gne n a week- lng research trip tgether in Pennsylvania. We will cntinue t exchange infrmatin and have ccasinal get- tgethers. Isn t genealgy fun?! Getting the Mst Out f Ancestry Sharn Ck MacInnes, Ph.D.