Digging for Your Roots 2012: Ancestry Library Edition Database

May P. ChanPrairie History Room

Regina Public LibraryPresented October 20, 2012

©2008, updated 2012

Digging for Your Roots Genealogy Series

Outline

Brief Introduction ALE vs Ancestry.com

Main resources found in ALE ALE’s revamped home page 2 case studies – developing search strategies

1940 US federal census Schmidt (Sitz) family – Canadian census collection

Additional Resources

What is it?

Ancestry Library Edition (ALE) is an enhanced library database version of Ancestry.com, the largest and most popular genealogy website on the market.

How do the two sites differ?Ancestry.com or .ca

available to individuals and organizations for an annual subscription

Offers genealogical records as well as the ability to upload your family trees, to chat with other researchers, purchase genealogical books

Ancestry Library Edition (ALE)

available to institutions via Proquest subscription

Offers genealogical records but without of the “interactive” features

Accessibility

Ancestry Library Edition (ALE) is now available at all Regina Public Library branch terminals (both public internet and CatPlus).

The database is in-house database use only meaning you cannot log in from home to access it.

All of our computer terminals allow you to print, save and email files from the database.

Main Resources found in ALE

Canada 1851-1911 federal Census returns 1906 and 1916 Prairie Census returns Canada Parliamentary Marriage and Divorces,

1867-1919 Ontario Birth, Marriage and Death records,

1857-1934 Quebec Vital & Church Records (Drouin

Collection), 1621-1967 British Columbia Birth, Marriage and Death

records, 1872-1990

Main Resources – continued…

Canada… Nova Scotia Birth, Marriage and Death records,

1763-1960 Canadian Passenger Lists, 1865-1935 Border Crossings: From US to Canada, 1908-

1935 Canadian Soldiers of World War I, 1914-1918 Old United Empire Loyalists List, 1885

Main Resources - continued…United States

federal Census records, 1790-1940 New York State Census records, 1892, 1915 &

1925 California Births, Marriages and Death records,

1905-1997 California Divorce index, 1966-1984 Border Crossings: From Canada to US, 1895-

1956 New York Passenger Lists, 1820-1957 U.S. Passport Applications, 1820-1925 U.S. Naturalization Records, 1795-1972

Main Resources - continued…

United States… Civil War Service Records World War I Draft Registration Cards, 1917-1918 World War II Army Enlistment Records, 1938-

1946 U.S. General Land Office Records, 1796-1907 Daughters of the American Revolution Lineage

(over 150 volumes) American Genealogical Biographical Index (over

200 volumes)


England, Scotland & Wales English & Welsh census records, 1841-1911 Scottish census records, 1841-1901 Free BMD indexes, 1837-1915 England & Wales – Births, Marriages and Death

indexes, 1916-2002 Gretna Green, Scotland – Marriage Registers,

1794-1895 England & Wales, National Probate Calendar

(Index of Wills & Administrations), 1858-1966


United Kingdom & Ireland… UK Incoming Passenger Lists, 1878-1960 British Army WWI Service Records, 1914-1920 British Commonwealth War Graves Registers,

1914-1918 UK, City & County Directories, 1600s-1900s England & Wales, Criminal Registers, 1791-1892 Ireland, Civil Registrations – Birth, Marriage and

Death indexes, 1864-1958 Ireland, Births and Baptisms, 1620-1911


Europe Hamburg Passenger Lists, 1850-1934 Baden, Germany Emigration Index, 1866-1911 German Phone Directories, 1915-1981 Mecklenburg-Schwerin Census, 1819, 1867, 1890

and 1900 (in German) Denmark Births, Christenings & Marriages, 1631-

190ss (in Danish)


Europe… Norway Births, Christenings & Marriages, 1600s-

1800s (in Norwegian) Sweden, Church Records, 1500-1941 (in

Swedish) Netherlands, Genelias – Baptismal & Death

indexes, 1811-1960 (in Dutch) Poland, Jewish Records – Birth, Marriages and

Death indexes, 1550-1993


Australia and New Zealand Australia Births, Marriages and Death indices,

1788-1985 Australian Electoral Rolls, 1903-1980 Australian Convict Transportation Registers,

1787-1868 New Zealand Electoral Rolls, 1853-1981 New Zealand Naturalisations, 1843-1981 New Zealand, City and Area Directories, 1866-

1955

Resources Not Carried in Ancestry Library Edition

(Note: most of these resources are available through Proquest’s HeritageQuest Online database which is also available through Regina Public Library)

Biography & Genealogy Master Index (BGMI) Family & Local Histories collection (primarily U.S.)

(*HeritageQuest Online) Freedman’s Bank Records (*HeritageQuest Online) Historical Newspaper Collection Passenger & Immigration List Index (PILI) (note:

PHR has the print copies) Periodical Source Index (PERSI) (*HeritageQuest

Online)

How Do I Log In to the Database?

1. Log in to any public internet terminal at any computer terminal with your Regina Public Library card and PIN number (4 digits).

2. Click on either the Internet Explorer or Firefox icon on the desktop or within the “Internet folder” under “All Programs”

3. Type in the url for the “Databases by Subject” page www.reginalibrary.ca/reference/central/ (note: this page is the home page for on the computers in the Prairie History Room) and click on the Genealogy category.

Home Page of Ancestry Library Edition

Main Navigation Bar – Search Categories

Recent Genealogy Databases

Explore by Location Feature

Case Studies

Objective: to learn more about the data sets in Ancestry and to develop more effective search strategies

2 case studies 1940 US federal census

Eleanor Roosevelt (wife to President Franklin D. Roosevelt)

Canadian Census collection Daniel Schmidt and family, who settled

in Saskatchewan, ca. 1902.

Case Study #11940 US Federal Census

1940 US Federal Census cont’d…

Search Tips - Surnames

When searching for a surname and you are unsure of its spelling, try using these options: Exact – no variations; exactly how you have spelled

the name Phonetic – spelling what you hear; a letter/symbol to

represent a particular sound Soundex - coding system used to group together

surnames that sound alike, but have variant spellings Similar Variations - There are alternates and spelling

variations that are commonly used E.g. HASHE = HASH

Search Tips - Surnames

Using wildcard/truncation symbols – basically it’s using symbols to search by using only a portion of the word

2 most common symbols Asterick * (replaces multiple letters) – eg.

JOHNSON/JOHNSTON/JOHANSON could be searched as JOH*SON

Question mark ? (replaces 1 letter) – eg. SMITH/SMYTH would be searched as SM?TH

These symbols only work in EXACT MATCH!!! If you select Phonetic/Soundex, both wildcard & truncation symbols are ignored




Printing a Record from ALE

Case Study # 2Canadian Census Collection

Daniel SCHMIDT immigrated to Canada from the Ukraine ca. 1901. He was born in Russia ca. 1883 and married Caroline Hepting in 1901.

The couple settled in Saskatchewan, somewhere around the Melville area and had a total of 11 children, including Elizabeth, Martha, Henry and Olga.

Canadian Census Collection

Canadian Census Collection

1911 Canadian Census RecordIs this really Daniel SCHMIDT?

1916 “Brick Wall”

Tried searching various combinations of Daniel/Dan and SCHMIDT/SMITH to locate the family in the 1916 Prairie Census without any luck. What would you do?

HINT: Tried looking for either the wife or the children in the census. In this case, I chose Olga because the name is not as common and does not offer as many variations as Karolina (e.g. Carol, Caroline, etc.) or Elizabeth (e.g. Elisabeth, Liza, Ellie, etc.)

Breaking Through the 1916 “Brick Wall”

Additional Resources - # 1ALE’s Find Answers

http://tinyurl.com/alefaqs

Additional Resources - # 2

Morgan, George C.

The Official Guide to

Ancestry.com.

Provo, Utah : Ancestry

Pub., c2007.

ISBN: 9781593313043 or

1593313047

025.069291 MORGA

Additional Resources - # 3

Ancestry Insider Blog (http://ancestryinsider.blogspot.com) – unauthorized reviews of Ancestry.com and FamilySearch.org websites

Additional Resources - # 4 RootsWeb & Ancestry Weekly newsletters -

http://newsletters.rootsweb.ancestry.com/

The End

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Education

Digging for Your Roots 2012: Ancestry Library Edition Database