Full text searches are not always perfect. On 19 February 2017 a search for the word “ufkes” resulted in two matches in the face of Lt. General James Brickel.
Using Indexes at FamilySearch Making the best use of indexed materials at FamilySearch requires a knowledge and understanding of how the indexes at FamilySearch work and how they do not. After providing an overview of search strategies to use at FamilySearch we will look at several examples where locating the person of interest was more involved than simply typing their name the search box and finding it the first time. This presentation will also briefly address organizing your online search strategy. Handout included. Order for immediate download.
We’ve mentioned this before, but some problems can be worked around or solved by thinking about every assumption we have made about an ancestor and “their situation.” Every assumption. Especially those that are near and dear to our heart. Those are the ones that can create the biggest stumbling blocks. If you don’t have documentation for a “fact” about your ancestor, then that fact could be incorrect. Even if you do have documentation for a fact, that documentation could be incorrect. Always consider the possibility that what you think you know could be wrong–and then ask yourself: what would I do differently if this “fact” weren’t true? And then do it.
Negative evidence generally is a conclusion that one draws from the absence of information that one would suspect. Not finding an ancestor’s name on a real estate tax list would be negative evidence indicating he did not own property in that area–because if he did own property, his name would be on the real property tax list
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