Getting to the Roots of Your Family - RootsWeb - Ancestry.com

Help With Results This brings up a list of record types in a column on the left side of the
screen. By clicking on a record type, reasons for not finding a record are
listed as well as possible next steps to take.
Technical Information Information on computer system requirements, browser (i.e. Internet
Explorer or Mozilla Firefox) capability and viewing and printing images
is available here.
Research Tools Contains great information on a wide variety of subjects, including:
handwriting help, form of testaments, sums of money, produce, weights
& measures and what to do if you can’t read a word or a letter. It also
contains a glossary of terms such as: occupations, unusual words,
common word abbreviations, and medical terms. You can also find
historical information on the way people lived including: hearth & home,
the clothes they wore, their working lives and other curiosities.
STRATEGIES
An “Other Resources” tab contains links websites with information on:
societies, statistics, records, military records, heritage, genealogical
information sites, immigration/emigration and maps and gazetteers.
The “Discussion Groups” section can allow you to connect with people
researching all over the world, including in Scotland.
1. Before using any of your credits on index searches, experiment with your search variables. Try different
spelling variations of surname. The name may not be recorded the way you think. Keep track of the
variables you try.
2. Never forget spelling variations. 99.9% of the time your ancestor is not writing down their own name in a
record. It will be written however the scribe or clerk felt it should be written. The default searches work as
follows:
a. The default surname search will return all entries with that surname (example: a search for the
surname Gillie will give you the Brown-Gillie and Gillie-Stewarts.
b. The default given name search will also give you all entries with that given name (example: a search for
Ann will give you Ann, Mary Ann, Ann Eliza etc.)
c. Variations in given name or surname will not be automatically included in your search results unless
you check the “Use Soundex” box or the “Return all forenames that begin with these characters” box.
3. Use “Soundex” and/or “Wildcards” in your searches (you can’t use both at the same time). The following
wildcards can be used at ScotlandsPeople:
a. Use * (asterisk) or % (percent) for zero or more characters (example: Bro* for Brown, Browning, Brough
or Mar* for Mary, Margaret, Maria, Mary Ann
b. Using * is excellent for Mc or Mac. By searching for M*cDonald, you will get both McDonald and
MacDonald. For numerous spelling variations, you can use two or more wildcards (Example:
M*cGil*v?r*y will give you McGilvery, McGillvery, McGilivary, McGillivery, McGilleveray etc.)
c. Use ? or _ for substituting one character only (example: Johns?n for Johnson or Johnsen)
d. Searches in the surname field must include 2 or more letters (example: you cannot search for M* but
can search for M*c or Ma*).