How to Use the inGeneas  Search Engine

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Using the search form provided, type in the surname and given name of the ancestor of your choice-the more information you provide, the more precise the search will be-this will result in fewer matches. If you feel certain of the spelling of a surname/given name combination, entering all the information may save you time by providing a more focused list of matching records.

If you are not certain of how the surname is spelled, if it is commonly misspelled or if your forebears used more than one spelling of a given surname, your best bet is to click on the soundex box. A soundex-type search will look for surnames that are spelled differently but sound the same. For instance, if you do a search for "McDonald" with the soundex option checked, in addition to exact matches for the surname McDonald, you will also get results for the following surnames with both the Mc and Mac prefixes): McDonnall; McDanald; McDaniel; McDonagh; McDonnell; McDonnel; McDonele; McDonnnold; McDonnough; McDonnoll, etc. Soundex is extremely helpful when searching for relatives in a family where the surname prefixes Mc/Mac were both used (note that the use of the wildcard character %, as described below, can also perform such a search).. Soundex can be a very useful tool in completing a thorough search. It is important to note, however, that soundex can also produce some matches that you might not expect. Because of the way it interprets different letters, a soundex search on McDonald will produce the related spellings listed in the previous paragraph, but will also show matches for the following surnames: Maggidan; McAdam; Mugden; McTuhn; McWhitney; Meston; and, Mighton. It is also important to know that soundex searches take a bit longer to complete.

It is important to bear in mind that even if YOU are sure of the spelling of a given surname, the person who recorded the information may not have been. In the 18th and 19th centuries, illiteracy was widespread and many immigrants may not have known how to spell their names. In addition, some of the records, or the handwriting in the records, are in conditions that provide challenges for the person undertaking the transcribing -- in such a case, a best guess is all that can be offered, but it may not always be accurate. You may find it helpful to refer to the inGeneas  Alternate Surnames list.

The search engine supports the use of partial words. This means that if you are not certain if the name will be recorded under Donahoo, Donahue, Donahugh or Donahew, you can type Don in the surname field and the search results will include any records matching any of these surnames.

You can also use the % sign as a "wildcard". This means that it can take the place of one or more letters in the search. For instance, if you typed Sm%th in the surname field, the search engine will report all records for the surnames Smith, Smyth, Smooth, Smeith, Smaigth, etc. In each case, the wildcard character % took the place of the highlighted letters. Similarly, if you are not sure if the name is McDonald, MacDonald or M'Donald, type in %Donald to produce a list of all records matching any of these surnames.

The search engine is not case sensitive -- any and all of the letters can be typed in any combination of upper case and lower case.

Once you have typed the information in the search fields, simply press enter or click on the SEARCH button. Shortly thereafter, a list of all matching surnames/given names will appear along with the age and year associated with each record. Scroll through this list to see if any of the records might apply to an ancestor.

If your initial search is not successful, consider using an alternate surname spelling. In this case, the inGeneas  Alternate Surnames list may be of help.