To search for keywords, such as "land records"
use the Site Search.
You don't have to fill out all of the fields, but
you must at least fill out the "Last Name" field. If you leave a field
blank, Family Finder will allow anything in that field. It is usually
a good idea to leave the "Middle" name blank unless you really only
want matches that are listed with that name (remember that not all
information may have been typed in with the middle name).
If you only enter an initial in the "First Name"
field, the Family Finder will find names with that initial. For example,
if you search for "J Smith", this will find "J. Smith" and "J Smith".
Do not enter titles (like Dr., Earl, or Queen) or
suffixes (3rd, III, or Jr.). Just search for the name
without the title and then check the results for the ones you want.
To search the Social Security Death Index use the search
fields above. Social Security Death Index matches (if any) will appear
with your other results.
The Family Finder is constantly searching the Internet for new names.
If it did not find what you wanted, try again
in a few days. If you know of a new genealogy page
or site dealing with genealogy, it is possible that the Family Finder
has not found that page yet, so please tell us about your page
so we can add it.
To search for accented characters in names, do not
type the accents in your query. That way you will find the name even
if the person who typed in the information was not able to put in the
accents.
Occasionally, if you search for a very common name or last name,
the Family Finder will report that there are too many matches
for the name you entered. This is to save you and us from wading through
thousands of matches. To reduce the number of matches to a manageable
quantity, make sure to enter both a first name and a last name. You
may also want to try narrowing down the results by entering birth and
death information, if you have it.
