Digging Deeper in FamilySearch Records
Heart of the Family is a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associate Programs and other affiliate services. This means that thefamilyheart.com receives a small commission by linking to Amazon.com and other sites at no cost to the readers.
In this video interview from RootsTech, we sat down with Robert Kehrer, FamilySearch Senior Product Manager, to get some tips and strategies for better searching on FamilySearch.
The presentation to which Mr. Kehrer refers is “Finding Elusive Records on FamilySearch“.
Tips for using the unindexed areas of FamilySearch
- Approximately 2/3 (or 77%) of FamilySearch’s images are unindexed.
- Use the indices in images or third-party indexes (i.e., books).
- Look at the beginning of the image set for page numbers, table of contents, etc.
- Look at the thumbnails for where image sets stop and start.
Advanced Search Tools
- Search with wildcards.
- Filter results by collection.
- Only deal with the records you want to deal with.
Learn how to iterate on your search results
- Change the parameters.
- Take out some names.
- Close down the marriage data.
- Change the place.
- Expand the date range.
- Don’t just “click, go look at the results, and if you don’t see anything you like, leave.”
Wildcards: the star and the question mark
- The star character * will match 0 to an infinite number of characters.
- Example: searching for “stan*” could return “stan” with 0 additional characters replacing the *, or “stanislaus” with 5 characters replacing the *.
- The ? question mark only substitutes for one (1) character.
- Example: searching for “Eli?abeth” could return “Elizabeth with a “z” or “Elisabeth” with an “s”.
- Only 1 unambiguous character is needed before the * star character.
When searching, remember that dates in the search system are exact
- For example, if you request records from 1800—1804, you will not get records from 1799 or 1805.
- The system assumes that if you wanted records from those dates you would have asked for them.
Hinting is the opposite of searching
- Hinting uses all the data that has been placed in the family tree for a specific person.
- It also uses information from the surrounding “one-hop” people, such as parents, spouses, and children.
- It builds a “cloud of data” around the ancestor and uses all of that to search.
- Users will see new hints almost every month.
- The system gets a live feed of changes to family trees, and new hints are typically generated within seconds, depending on how busy the system is.
- New records are applied to tree data every month.
Here’s to smarter searching and more ancestors being found!
[cite]
This post contains affiliate links. I may receive a small commission if you choose to make a purchase, but it does not add anything extra to the price you pay. For more, please read my full Disclosure Statement. I appreciate your support!
Great post! I don’t use FamilySearch much, because a lot of the records I need are available from easier to use websites. But sometimes I do try to find something on FamilySearch (usually without much luck).
I have found a lot of inaccurate information on Family Search which is shown in my Family Search Trees. Quite a bit is correct, but a LOT are incorrect. I just found another file which IS completely wrong with wrong names, dates, and everything is incorrect & i asked to have removed. Looks like both @detective” and whoever searched didn’t look at vital information as to dates, months, exact names etc but created & shows 4-5 files incorrectly.
Hi Cindy! FamilySearch family trees are created and maintained by users, some of whom are advanced researchers, and some of whom are beginners. Many of these trees are rife with inaccuracies, but they can also provide important clues. I almost always look at online family trees (not only at FamilySearch but also at Ancestry and WikiTree), but I take them with a very large grain of salt, especially when they don’t include sources… and sometimes even when they do!
The documents you can find at FamilySearch are completely different, and many come from the repository where they were created. These documents are more likely to be accurate, but as with everything in family history, “trust, but verify!”
Do contact that family member! I’ve received amazing information from cousins I didn’t even know I had!
I believe it was family search for my Grandfather’s files. It was the first file shown (i think), which is very misleading unless others are very careful of all banes and dates. Looks like they saw the same State and City he was born and assumed it was him. I can’t make corrections for info i have found in Family Search trees (and would take too long if i corrected every mistake i find. I can’t always rely on Family Search to be accurate….many are, but many are not.cIt just seemed like not being careful and checking data completely.
I do find quite a bit of information which i did not have, but it’s inaccuracy which I find frustrating because anyone can copy the inaccurate information ;which i have then noticed in other Trees. I love checking for files and information now and then and do appreciate the hard work it takes to create these files. It is frustrating when i cannot change or add the CORRECT information when i do find inaccuracy. They find files and information about family which i did not know – which brings big smiles when i discover things i didn’t know.
I have been “stuck” for several years to go any further back in time for my maternal side of family due to inaccurate Census information switching throughout the years and completed by the same person every time (i think). I am in a situation of my family history on that side of my family which has several States in which Census files were destroyed, so i am at a dead end and have been for 2 years. I am hoping to be able to contact one family member who “could” have some of the information which i need to continue on and find more information and keep going back in history of my family. I continue to look and hope something will turn up and give me the big break-thru that i need!
Thank you!