[Genealogy] Atypical Spellings in FamilySearch and More

Michael John Neill mjnrootdig at gmail.com
Mon Apr 20 10:59:46 CDT 2026 

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Genealogy Update

20 April 2026

** Importance of Other Spellings

** AI for Genealogy--intro price extended through 20 April

** AncestryDNA results webinar

** Full Text Webinars--ready for delivery


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Importance of Other Spellings

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There's a short criminal case against my ancestor in Illinois right before
the turn of 20th century. John M. Trautvetter had been selling alcohol
illegally. When I viewed the AI transcription of the case file at
*FamilySearch,
*none of the references to Trautvetter were read as "trautvetter." All of
them had a variety of spellings as shown in the illustration. Usually if a
name is written numerous times in a record, it gets transcribed correctly
at least once--which means you'll find it in a full-text search.

Not this time. I had to get creative. That will be discussed in a later
update. Just remember all those spellings and look at the transcriptions
you do find to see renderings of your name that you might have never
thought of (and check out our presentations on Full-Text search mentioned
in this email).
[image: image.png]


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Introduction to Artificial Intelligence for Genealogy

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Ancestry DNA webinar

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AncestryDNA Results Analysis–2026

*Confused with your DNA results at AncestryDNA? *

Michael takes a commonsense, down-to-earth approach to genealogical DNA
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on relying on automatic processes that are often misunderstood.
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Discussion will include: the importance of reviewing currently known
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rushing into brickwall work, reaching out to matches, tree-less matches,
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avoiding duplicating work. Then we’ll talk about setting new goals and
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Full Text Webinars

*Check out our offerings on full-text search at FamilySearch. Get the most
of it!*

*download immediate*

FamilySearch Full-Text Webinar

We’re excited to offer this revised presentation on the full-text searching
at *FamilySearch*--reflecting changes made to the site since this was
recorded in August 2025. We’ve redesigned our presentation as this
functionality continues to change. And…we have an extensive handout
complete with forms to help you find more people.

If you have purchased an earlier version of this presentation--email me at
mjnrootdig at gmail.com for the code to order this revision for $10.
Fully Utilizing Full-Text Search: Revised for 2026

Your purchase includes:

   - *A 90 minute (or more presentation)* you can view as often as you want.
   - *Detailed handout* with charts and forms to help organize your
   searches. Charts and forms sent as separate files you can edit and
   customize and not as a locked PDF you have to re-create yourself as a new
   document.

We’ll be including and discussing:

*Determining what is in Full-Text Search—*what you can access at home and
what you will have to be in a FamilySearch facility or affiliate to access.

*Seeing How AI Transcriptions are different*—they aren’t like the
transcriptions made by humans. That can change your approach.

*Remembering that Full-Text means every word*—approaches need to differ as
we aren’t looking up a name in an index any more.

*Asking Who* is in the record? We aren’t just searching for the main person
like we did with traditional indexes. We’ll discuss how to determine who
could be mentioned in a record.

*Determining How to search?* There are a variety of ways to search and
filter results. We’ll see how each one works to help determine the best
strategy.

*Creating search strategies*—how full-text search changes your approach and
why just dumping terms in search boxes is not always effective.

*Determining what you found* The interface does not always make this clear.
We will show you how to get beyond the confusion and help you get enough
detail for a citation.

*Creating effective problem-solving approaches*—what to do when you cannot
find something you want.

*Demonstrating practical examples*—completely new people and families from
our previous presentations.

Available for immediate download for $30
<https://michael-john-neill.dpdcart.com/cart/add?product_id=246272&method_id=268990>.
Complete handout included and additional forms.

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Why There?

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When a record is located for a relative, one should always ask “why there?
Why was that record in that place?”

Many times the reasons are mundane and have obvious, instant answers. The
land deed was recorded in the jurisdiction in which the property was
located. The relative died at home and the death certificate was filed in
the local records office.

The answer may be known and that answer may still be a clue. A relative may
die in the nearest hospital in a different county or a different state. A
couple may travel to a neighboring county because that county seat is
easier to get to or no one at that courthouse knows the father of the
bride. A relative may naturalize a few counties from home because his
nearest relative (and witness) lives in that other county.

Or the location itself may be a clue. Many relatives of my own from Hancock
County, Illinois, married in Kahoka, Missouri, in the 1941-1945 era.
Generally speaking the groom was home on a short leave and at that time a
couple could go to Kahoka and get married the same day. They could not do
that in Illinois. In this case, a marriage of a couple in that place may
cause me to wonder if the groom was in the military.

There are many other examples. But the point here is that researchers
should ask themselves “why is this record here?” Just thinking through that
question can help our research and give us some insight.

Sometimes there is a reason, but we will never know what it is. Some
mysteries are destined to remain mysteries.

And sometimes, particularly in the case of elopements, the location may
really have no connection to the couple or the marriage. It may have just
been the first stop on a trip where a license could be had.

And then if the marriage is relatively recent, they might have eloped to
Las Vegas.

But that’s a whole other story.

Common Names at FamilySearch Full-Text Webinar

*Overwhelmed by common names like Smith or Jones in your family tree? This
presentation offers advanced strategies and techniques to help you
effectively use FamilySearch’s full-text search and find those elusive
ancestors.*

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*Full-Texting the Smiths and Jones:*

*Strategies for Common Names*

Using FamilySearch’s Full-Text search is easier when the name is relatively
uncommon. It’s more of a challenge when the last name is Smith, Jones,
Brown, or something similarly common. In this presentation, we will look at
approaches to maximize the chance you find that common-named person. No
approach is full-proof and we will not be so brazen to guarantee success.
No genealogist should ever do that.

What we will do is help give you some ideas and techniques to give you a
better shot at finding your commonly named person. We can lead you through
some examples and give you some ideas to modify to search for your own
people. *We will assume you’ve got an understanding of how full-text search
works*. This presentation will not cover the basics of using the full-text
search functionality of FamilySearch (you can watch our first presentation
for that—nearly two hours and an extensive handout
<https://genealogytipoftheday.com/index.php/2025/09/05/fully-utilizing-full-text-search/>
).

The Smith-Jones presentation will cover:

*Identifying all the key elements* that distinguish your ancestor from
others. Your ancestor is more than a name. Crafting as detailed an
ancestral profile as possible facilitates the construction of effective
searches and we will see how to elicit as many of those details as possible
from records you already have.

*Organizing a search strategy.* Making certain all relevant search
combinations have been searched is key to maximizing the chance you find
your commonly named ancestor. We will see how to create your own forms and
outlines to do just that.

*Tracking Results to Problem-Solve.* Searching for common names requires
the researcher to be as methodological as possible to make certain all
options have been considered. It is impossible to determine if all
effective means of search were used if negative results tracking is not
done.

*The Name’s the Thing.* Last names such as Bird, Lake, and Farmer have
their own issues as well. We will see some approaches that can help locate
these names.

*Case Studies*. We will look at sample case studies common-named persons.

*Please note*: *We can’t guarantee success*. What we can do is help to give
you tools to increase your chances of success with common names.

 Order for immediate download at our regular price of $40
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FamilySearch Full-Text Problem Solving Webinar

This presentation assumes that you have a working knowledge of how to use
the full-text search at FamilySearch (order that presentation for $30
<https://michael-john-neill.dpdcart.com/cart/add?product_id=246272&method_id=268990>—download
immediate).

We will look at examples (ones not discussed in the original presentation)
and follow a consistent process and methodology to maximize the chance that
we find what’s available for the individuals in question. It’s important to
leverage all you know about an ancestor combined with the power of
full-text search—we will focus on: family members, migrations, and known
events and relationships. Our approach is systematic—we avoid the rabbit
hole approach that can make full-text searches inefficient.

Released. Pre-orders have been sent. Regular price $28
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Using the FamilySearch Catalog Webinar

Media file and handout released--nearly 60 minutes!



Order for immediate download (no streaming) for $24.00
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<https://michael-john-neill.dpdcart.com/cart/add?product_id=248898&method_id=271851>Normal
price is $28.00

Confused about what is on FamilySearch? Having difficulty knowing what is
online there and how to access it? This presentation will lead you out of
the confusion.

Contents will include:

Various ways the catalog can be searched–the six verbal ways (location,
title, keyword, surname, author, subject) and the two more numeric ways
(call number and film/image group number). We will see how to:

   -

   effectively navigate the catalog search results,
   -

   determine how catalog materials can be accessed,
   -

   be aware of all geographic levels for a specific location,
   -

   determine what indexes and finding aids are available
   -

   see how common record types are frequently cataloged


Presentation made by Michael John Neill

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------------------------------------
Michael John Neill
Genealogy Tip of the Day
PO Box 17, Henderson, IL 61439
http://www.genealogytipoftheday.com
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