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20 ways to find | 20 ways to find an elusive names including using competing indexes, initials, abbreviations, middle names, nicknames, IGI standardized names, translations, letter substitutes, finding relatives, and searching the record without an index. | ||
<span>Just because an ancestor always spelled his name the same way, that does NOT GUARANTEE it was always spelled that way by a clerk or by an indexer. If your first search fails to find an ancestor, consider the possibility the name is spelled differently than you expect. In fact, experienced genealogists worry their skills are slipping if they are not finding several documents with unexpected spellings of the name.</span> | <span>Just because an ancestor always spelled his name the same way, that does NOT GUARANTEE it was always spelled that way by a clerk or by an indexer. If your first search fails to find an ancestor, consider the possibility the name is spelled differently than you expect. In fact, experienced genealogists worry their skills are slipping if they are not finding several documents with unexpected spellings of the name.</span> | ||
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# <span>'''''Nicknames.''''' Look for the ancestor by any known or guessed nickname. For example, look for William under Bill. For ideas see [[Traditional Nicknames in Old Documents - A Wiki List|''Traditional Nicknames in Old Documents – A Wiki List'']].</span> | # <span>'''''Nicknames.''''' Look for the ancestor by any known or guessed nickname. For example, look for William under Bill. For ideas see [[Traditional Nicknames in Old Documents - A Wiki List|''Traditional Nicknames in Old Documents – A Wiki List'']].</span> | ||
# <span>'''''Soundex vs. exact spelling search.''''' Some computer indexes such as Ancestry.com allow a Soundex spelling search. Switch to this option to find names with similar but slightly different spellings.</span> | # <span>'''''Soundex vs. exact spelling search.''''' Some computer indexes such as Ancestry.com allow a Soundex spelling search. Switch to this option to find names with similar but slightly different spellings.</span> | ||
# <span>'''''Surname only search''''' in computer indexes. Sometimes it pays to search for the family surname in a specified state or county without a given name. Browse through the results list looking for your ancestor with an unexpected given name variation.</span> | # <span>'''''Surname only search''''' in computer indexes. Sometimes it pays to search for the family surname in a specified state or county without a given name. Browse through the results list looking for your ancestor with an unexpected given name variation. Pay special attention to the shape of the name if letters are above or below the line but indexed incorrectly. For example, a capital B and R or lower case g and y could be misread. See the misread names chart below.</span> | ||
# <span>'''''Given name only search''''' in computer indexes. In a specified state or county, search for your ancestor’s given name without a surname. Browse through the results list looking for your ancestor with an unexpected surname variation.</span> | # <span>'''''Given name only search''''' in computer indexes. In a specified state or county, search for your ancestor’s given name without a surname. Browse through the results list looking for your ancestor with an unexpected surname variation.</span> | ||
# <span>'''''Unusual occupation search.''''' A few computer indexes (usually CDs) allow a search for occupations. If a hard-to-find ancestor has an unusual occupation, search the index for the occupation without a surname or given name. Browse through the results list for your ancestor.</span> | # <span>'''''Unusual occupation search.''''' A few computer indexes (usually CDs) allow a search for occupations. If a hard-to-find ancestor has an unusual occupation, search the index for the occupation without a surname or given name. Browse through the results list for your ancestor.</span> | ||
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[[Category:Beginners]] | [[Category:Beginners]] | ||