FamilySearch Catalog Places Search: Difference between revisions

Revision as of 14:00, 18 July 2011

Introduction to the Family History Library Catalog > Place-name Search

Do a Place-name Search when you want to find records in the collection of the Family History Library by the name of a place (locality) where an ancestor lived.

Steps to Search by Place-name[edit | edit source]

The following steps will help you find records for a specific locality in the Family History Library Catalog.

Go to the Family History Library Catalog.
("Place-name" is the default search option. If it does not appear, select it from the drop-down menu.)
Type the locality. The catalog orgainzes places from the largest jurisdiction in a place-name to the smallest. Generally, the pattern is country, state or provice, county (where applicable), city or town. Places in the United States and Canada do not have a country level. The locality can be entered in reverse order to obtain the same results.
Click Search (even if the locality was selected from the drop-down menu).
Click a topic, such as Church records. (See also Locality Subject Subdivisions.)
Click a title to see more details.

Strategies for Using a Place Search[edit | edit source]

The names of countries are in English. The names of states, provinces, regions, cities, and other jurisdictions are in the language of the country.

Consider that records are kept at different jurisdictional levels. Search for the town or city if you are looking for records specific to that jurisdiction (cemetery, church, directories, town histories, etc.). Search for the county for records that would cover more than one town or that might be kept by the county government (vital records, court records, land and property records, county histories, etc.). Many important records might be located at the state or provincial level (census, military, state histories, etc.), or even at the country level (census, federal land, citizenship, etc.).

To search for a county, do not type the word "County" as a part of the search term. For example, to find Fairfax county, Virginia, type Fairfax Virginia or Virginia Fairfax in the search field.

If you do not know how to spell the place-name, truncate (shorten) the name or use a wild card character to replace letters you are not sure of.

If a place-name has more than one word, you do not need to type all of the words. Nor do you have to type them in exact order. The computer automatically finds all places with the word or words that you type, no matter where in the place-name they appear. For example, if you type Barton, the computer would find Barton Mills, Barton-on-Irwell, Great Barton, and so forth.

Sometimes a catalog entry is linked to more than one place. For example, an entry may be linked to several neighboring towns. To find out if a catalog entry is linked to another place, display the title details for the record of interest. If another place is listed, click on it to see information about that place.

What If I Do Not Find the Place I Want?[edit | edit source]

You may not find the place you want for various reasons. Before you conclude that the catalog does not have records for that place, try the following strategies:

Be sure you typed the place-name correctly.
Search for records using a different jurisdictional level. For example, if you cannot find records for a town, search for county records.

@@ Line 1: / Line 1: @@
-''[[Introduction to the FamilySearch Catalog]] [[Image:Gotoarrow.png]]'' '''Places Search''' <br>
+''[[Introduction to the Family History Library Catalog|Introduction to the Family History Library Catalog&nbsp;]] &gt; Place-name Search'' <br>
-__TOC__Do a '''Places Search''' when you want to find records in the collection of the FamilySearch Library by the name of a place (locality) where an ancestor lived.
+Do a Place-name Search when you want to find records in the collection of the Family History Library by the name of a place (locality) where an ancestor lived.
-[[Image:FamilySearch Catalog Search Buttons.jpg|thumb|right|450px|<center>''FamilySearch Catalog''  search buttons</center>]]
+=== Steps to Search by Place-name  ===
-== Steps to Search by Places  ==
+The following steps will help you find records for a specific locality in the Family History Library Catalog.
-The following steps will help you find records for a specific locality in the FamilySearch Catalog.
+#'''Go to the '''[http://www.familysearch.org '''Family History Library Catalog''']'''.'''
+#("Place-name" is the default search option. If it does not appear, select it from the drop-down menu.)<br>
+#'''Type the locality.''' The catalog orgainzes places from the largest jurisdiction in a place-name to the smallest. Generally, the pattern is country, state or provice, county (where applicable), city or town. Places in the United States and Canada do not have a country level. The locality can be entered in reverse order to obtain the same results.<br>
+#'''Click''' '''Search''' (even if the locality was selected from the drop-down menu).<br>
+#'''Click a topic''', such as Church records. (See also [[Locality Subject Subdivisions|Locality Subject Subdivisions]].)
+#'''Click a title''' to see more details. '''<br>'''
-#'''Go to the [https://www.familysearch.org/search/catalog FamilySearch Catalog].'''
+=== Strategies for Using a Place Search  ===
-#("Places" is the default search option. If it does not appear, select it from the menu.)<br>
-#'''Type the locality.''' The catalog organizes places from the largest jurisdiction in a place-name to the smallest. Generally, the pattern is country, state or province, county (where applicable), city or town. <br>As you slowly type a phrase into the '''Places''' search box, possible matches will appear in a drop-down list below it. Click on the match that best matches the locality you seek. Names of places in the Catalog are cited  from largest to smallest jurisdiction, for example, United States, Utah, Salt Lake, Salt Lake City. Keep that in mind when viewing search options. Many provinces, counties, and cities share the same name.'''Click''' '''Search''' (even if the locality was selected from the drop-down menu).<br>
+The names of countries are in English. The names of states, provinces, regions, cities, and other jurisdictions are in the language of the country.
-#'''Click a topic''', such as Church records. (See also [[Locality Subject Subdivisions]].)
-#'''Click a title''' to see more details. '''<br>'''
+Consider that records are kept at different jurisdictional levels. Search for the town or city if you are looking for records specific to that jurisdiction (cemetery, church, directories, town histories, etc.). Search for the county for records that would cover more than one town or that might be kept by the county government (vital records, court records, land and property records, county histories, etc.). Many important records might be located at the state or provincial level (census, military, state histories, etc.), or even at the country level (census, federal land, citizenship, etc.).<br>
+To search for a county, do not type the word "County" as a part of the search term. For example, to find Fairfax county, Virginia, type '''Fairfax Virginia''' or '''Virginia Fairfax''' in the search field.<br>
+If you do not know how to spell the place-name, truncate (shorten) the name or use a wild card character to replace letters you are not sure of.
+If a place-name has more than one word, you do not need to type all of the words. Nor do you have to type them in exact order. The computer automatically finds all places with the word or words that you type, no matter where in the place-name they appear. For example, if you type '''Barton''', the computer would find Barton Mills, Barton-on-Irwell, Great Barton, and so forth.
-[[Image:{{FSCPlaRes}}]]
+Sometimes a catalog entry is linked to more than one place. For example, an entry may be linked to several neighboring towns. To find out if a catalog entry is linked to another place, display the title details for the record of interest. If another place is listed, click on it to see information about that place.<br>
-== Strategies for Using a Places Search  ==
+=== What If I Do Not Find the Place I Want? ===
-The names of countries are in English. The names of states, provinces, regions, cities, and other jurisdictions are in the language of the country. If you search for the name of a country, written in the language of the country, the catalog will indicate on the results page No results found and to "See" the country in English.
+You may not find the place you want for various reasons. Before you conclude that the catalog does not have records for that place, try the following strategies:
-Consider that records are kept at different jurisdictional levels. Search for the town or city if you are looking for records specific to that jurisdiction (cemetery, church, directories, town histories, etc.). Search for the county for records that would cover more than one town or that might be kept by the county government (vital records, court records, land and property records, county histories, etc.). Many important records might be located at the state or provincial level (census, military, state histories, etc.), or even at the country level (census, federal land, citizenship, etc.).<br>
+*Be sure you typed the place-name correctly.<br>
+*Search for records using a different jurisdictional level. For example, if you cannot find records for a town, search for county records.
-To search for a county, do not type the word "County" as a part of the search term. For example, to find Fairfax county, Virginia, type '''Fairfax Virginia''' or '''Virginia Fairfax''' in the search field. To find more records try a search by putting a comma after Fairfax, in the place name, a drop down list of each township or locality will appear. Click on the township or locality for links to more records.<br>
+=== See also  ===
-If you do not know how to spell the place-name, truncate (shorten) the name or use a wild card character to replace letters you are not sure of.
+[[Locality Subject Subdivisions|Locality Subject Subdivisions]]
-If a place-name has more than one word, you do not need to type all of the words. Nor do you have to type them in exact order. The computer automatically finds all places with the word or words that you type, no matter where in the place-name they appear. For example, if you type '''Barton''', the computer would find Barton Mills, Barton-on-Irwell, Great Barton, and so forth.
+[[Introduction to the Family History Library Catalog|Introduction the the Family History Library Catalog]]
-== What If I Do Not Find the Place I Want?  ==
+[[Family History Library Catalog Surname Search|Family History Library Catalog Surname Search]]
-If you type a name in the Places search box but no pull-down list appears, that means there are no places with that spelling found in the Catalog.  Before you conclude that the catalog does not have records for that place, try the following strategies:
+[[Family History Library Catalog Keyword Search|Family History Library Catalog Keyword Search]]
-* Be sure you typed the place-name correctly.
-* Search for records using a different jurisdictional level. For example, if you cannot find records for a town, search for county records.
-== How Do I Find Related Places?  ==
+[[Family History Library Catalog Title Search|Family History Library Catalog Title Search]]
-*The '''Places within''' feature allows you to see what other areas are covered by the same jurisdiction. Click on it to see a list of smaller jurisdictions within that larger jurisdiction. You can also use the '''Places within''' feature to display all the localities for a particular jurisdiction such as: country, province, state, or county. To use the Places within feature, click on the link that says "Places within [followed by the name of the place].
+[[Family History Library Catalog Film or Fiche Search|Family History Library Catalog Film or Fiche Search]]
-*The '''Part of''' feature lists the larger jurisdiction which a locality is part of. For example, this could be the name of a county for a city, or the name of a state or province for a county.
+[[Family History Library Catalog Author Search|Family History Library Catalog Author Search]]
-[[File:Places_Within.JPG]]
+[[Family History Library Catalog Subject Search|Family History Library Catalog Subject Search]]
-== See also  ==
+[[Family History Library Catalog Call Number Search|Family History Library Catalog Call Number Search]]
-[[Locality Subject Subdivisions|Locality Subject Subdivisions]]
+<br>''[[Introduction to the Family History Library Catalog|Introduction to the Family History Library Catalog]] &nbsp;&lt; &nbsp;Previous&nbsp; | &nbsp;Next&nbsp; &gt;&nbsp; [[Family History Library Catalog Surname Search|Surname Search]]''
-{{FamilySearch Catalog}}
+[[Category:Family_History_Library_Catalog|Family_History_Library_Catalog]]
-[[pt:Catálogo do FamilySearch, Pesquisa de Lugar]]
-[[Category:FamilySearch_Catalog]]

FamilySearch Catalog Places Search: Difference between revisions

Revision as of 14:00, 18 July 2011

Contents

Steps to Search by Place-name[edit | edit source]

Strategies for Using a Place Search[edit | edit source]

What If I Do Not Find the Place I Want?[edit | edit source]

See also[edit | edit source]