Databases do not always handle names with apostrophes in the same way. O’Neill may be entered in a database as ONeill or O’Neill. Make certain you search both ways or find out how these names are handled.
© Michael John Neill, “Genealogy Tip of the Day,” http://genealogytipoftheday.blogspot.com, 18- June-2011.
When searching any everyname database to a census, start with the youngest child who has the “easiest” name. Children’s ages tend to be closer in census enumerations and names like John and Sarah, while they may have some variants are not nearly so bad as names like Henrietta and Permelia.
© Michael John Neill, “Genealogy Tip of the Day,” http://genealogytipoftheday.blogspot.com, 20- May-2011.
When searching first and last names in a database, consider interchanging the first and last names. It can easily happen in the creation of a database or in the taking of the census. The chance is slightly higher if the first and last names are ones that could “go either way.”
If your ancestor was named Johnson Gibson, is there a chance he is listed somewhere as Gibson Johnson?
© Michael John Neill, “Genealogy Tip of the Day,” http://genealogytipoftheday.blogspot.com, 16- May-2011.
Unless I am searching for an extremely unusual name, I always determine if a site has an advanced search page. Being able to search on as many fields in the database gives me more flexibility and allows for more creative searches than just ones conducted on first names.
© Michael John Neill, “Genealogy Tip of the Day,” http://genealogytipoftheday.blogspot.com, 11- April-2011.
When learning how a new database search interface works, experiment with wildcards and other search functions using names you have already located in the database. This is the best way to learn how search terms work, especially when the FAQ page is not well-written or non-existent.
© Michael John Neill, “Genealogy Tip of the Day,” http://genealogytipoftheday.blogspot.com, 31-March-2011.