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

[Dick Eastman]

It sounds like Soundex indexing, a standard that has been used in
genealogy for about 80 years.

 - Dick Eastman


On Wed, 30 Aug 2006 09:49:02 -0500, "Deena Butta"
<dbutta at glenviewpl.org> said:
> 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
> 
>   _____  
> 
> 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
> 
> 
>   _____  
> 
> 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.>
> 
-- 
  Dick Eastman
  richard at eastman.net