[Genealib] New Ancestry Library Edition Search Interface[addr][addr]

[Deena Butta]

hello.....
 
i have the unusual and unique name of "Pabisinski" in my lineage, and i
periodically search that name in ancestry LE.  any person bearing the name
"pabisisnki" is my relative, because there are very very few of us.
 
i was dismayed to see that they have messed with their indexing.  I used to
be able to search for "Pabisinski" and find my ancestors through the A L E
index (except for the ones the enumerators mis-spelled)
 
in the last year they have started indexing "pabisinski"  as "patesiwski."
 
it is interestiing that for s ome reason i still found the census link
through the search i did...but dismayinig that they have chosen this bizarre
spelling!
 
any idea what has possessed them to make these unfortunate changes??
 
oddly enough, they have chosen to index the name "palusinski" as
"pabisinski" when they added some earlier censuses.
 
deena
Glenview P L

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From: genealib-bounces at mailman.acomp.usf.edu
[mailto:genealib-bounces at mailman.acomp.usf.edu] On Behalf Of Redwine,
Katherine
Sent: Tuesday, August 29, 2006 3:34 PM
To: Librarians Serving Genealogists
Subject: RE: [Genealib] New Ancestry Library Edition Search
Interface[addr][addr]


To narrow the search further, click the checkbox on "Exact Matches Only".
This will only bring up matches to your exact search parameters.  Otherwise,
ancestry extrapolates alternate spellings, dates, etc. ad infinitium.  The
more closely related matches are given at the beginning.  I usually only go
through the first couple of pages--after that they seem very irrelevant.
They also have the star system--4 stars for good matches going down to one
star for barely relevant.
 
Another good technique is to select your database first--such as 1900
Federal Census, or WWI Draft Registration records--then search it
individually.  Click on "all databases" under "More Collections" at the
bottom of the main search page to get a list of all databases.  Check the
"Browse Records" section in the right column to see databases by subject.
 
I would not depend too much on the race designation in censuses--I would
work more from names, locations, and birth/death dates.  Each census seems
to vary in how the race data was taken and designated.
 
Ancestry has lots of ways to broaden and limit searches, which makes it very
complex--and time consuming--to use.
 
Katherine Redwine
Grace A. Dow Memorial Library
Midland, MI


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From: genealib-bounces at mailman.acomp.usf.edu
[mailto:genealib-bounces at mailman.acomp.usf.edu] On Behalf Of Larry Naukam
Sent: Friday, August 25, 2006 5:14 PM
To: Librarians Serving Genealogists
Subject: RE: [Genealib] New Ancestry Library Edition Search Interface
[addr][addr]



I just used it today and it was extremely frustrating at least in the
Library Edition census search.

I tried to limit it by race, by county , by state, etc. and I still would
get irrelevant hits. What was worse is that I was searching for a black
family, so obviously I wanted to drop out the white people (choosing
mulatto, Negro, or Black, whichever the particular census had). The biggest
problem was not the above but the fact that I did not get a count of census
hits; just page after page of click ons. I didn't know how many results I
had gotten. I know that the answer is simple, but the problem was really
that the patron was right there in front of me, watching me flounder.

I just think that the old way was better for newbie's and for us <ducking
and running for cover.>

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