Genealogy Chat

I have just joined ancestry and I wondered if anyone had any tips on the best way to look for relies and any tips that would be helpfull.Many thanks .x

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Hi Lesley The great thing on the census returns is that you can search on first names and yob - leave out surnames - that can be really helpful. Especially if someone has been mistranscribed. You can even just put in the village or place of birth - it's really useful sometimes. (Can be a pain in the butt if you're looking for a John Williams or someone!) Jill

Colette If you are like me you look at Ancestry, fail to find who you want, ask on here and someone finds it for you. You go back to Ancestry and there it is! It does pay to look at all the page and to find the time to look at all the alternative pages. Also look at the use of wildcards and Soundex (or phonetic spelling). Clive - all too often frustrated, confused and totally lost!

i agree with clive i have ancestry but the number of times i cant find who i am looking for and then somebody wonderful on here finds them for me. although the first time i found a family on ancestry for someone else on here gave me a great buzz. linda x

Most of my research is outside London, where I realise there might be different problems. Many of my folk have been found by just searching their forename and county and /or birth year. This has shown me people not included in a Soundex search because the transcription is too way-out.....- have even found a surname indexed starting Sch...when it should read...Bel.... I go by the shape of the surname. If the surname looks 'odd' and is the right shape, ie. with tall letters in the right place, or some below the line, ... I click and have a look. Invariably it's who I'm looking for. Gwyn

great site except for now - just when i thought i might have got a break through - i get Check Back Soon We're sorry but search. is temporarily unavailable. We are undergoing routine maintenance or we may be experiencing unexpected technical problems. We apologize for the inconvenience and ask for your patience as we work to correct the situation. Check back with us shortly linda x

Thankyou all fr taking the time to answer.I have found a lot of relies so far but still worry if they are the right ones.The name is right the place is right, so I take a chance.I looked for john James in wales and gave up there are just too many.Even though I know he married in Merthyr Tydfil in 1775 and his wife Amelia was born in 1840.It was just too daunting .I was impressed with the way it finds links for you when you put names on your tree.Oh well,can't stay chatting all night ,Iv'e got searches to do.Many thanks again and if you come up with anymore tips for me just post them here. ; )

Collette,Yes,I got 20 % off and got it for 60.