MAD ABOUT GENEALOGY
HELPING YOU DISCOVER YOUR BRITISH FAMILY HISTORY ONLINE
Hidden Records on Ancestry – are you missing a trick?
You might wish to print off a FREE Ancestry County Records Worksheet from the MadAboutGenealogy Resource Library to help you keep track of what you have searched. Click Here to access the Resource Library.
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This post has been re-written.
Hidden Records on Ancestry – how to find them
Let’s go through the process step by step…
1 Log into Ancestry.
2 Click on the Search tab at the top left hand side of the Home page.
3 A drop down menu appears – click on Search All Records.
4 You will see a normal Ancestry search form, now you are going to do what a lot of people don’t do! Work your way down the page until a map with the heading Explore By Location comes up.
5 Click on United Kingdom and then chose which part of the UK you wish to search.
6 A large map of the UK will appear with a list on the right hand side of all the databases that have records for the whole of the UK.
7 Click on the + sign on the top left hand side of the screen which will enlarge the map until you see small blue and white icons appear.
8 If you hover your mouse over an icon it will show you which county the icon represents and how many collections Ancestry has with information on that county.
9 Note these collections only have information on that county, they will not be on the list that was shown in step 6.
10 Click on the icon for your ancestors county and a list of databases for that county will appear on the right hand side.
12 You will notice a column at the far right of the list of databases with figures in it. This indicates how many records are in the database, not how many names, but records. However some records have a 0. This indicates that the database has not been indexed and this is where some great genealogy treasure can be found.
13 When using these zero records you will probably find that they are printed books or pamphlets, if this is the case then go to the end of the book and see if there is a printed index there. Sometimes there is an index there and sometimes there isn’t, but it can be a great time saver if there is.
14 Keeping a record of which collections you have searched is important as you can then come back at a later date and check if any new databases have been added. I have noticed that Ancestry slips in the zero record databases without announcing them on their new records listings. So it is worth keeping a watch on your ancestral counties.
Hidden Records on Ancestry – Summary
Now you know about the hidden records on Ancestry I am sure you will find some family history gems in these little accessed databases, especially as they won’t appear as the shaky green leaves on your online Ancestry family tree or on a general search. Just work your way through my step by step instructions and you will soon be searching deep in the Ancestry Archives. Searching this way means you can be sure that you are making the most of your Ancestry subscription.
Happy Ancestor Hunting!
If you want to research these data-sets and you don’t have a subscription to Ancestry then do remember that Ancestry offers a Free 14 day try before you buy period – Click on the links below.
USA Readers – Click Here to access a 14 day free trial of Ancestry don’t miss this great opportunity!
UK Readers – Click Here to access a 14 days free trial of Ancestry don’t miss this great opportunity!
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Interesting, I’m in the U.S. and do not see “Card Catalogue”… and instead of “Record Collections” heading, I have “Products and Services”. However, if I go to the “Search” link, and scroll all the way to the bottom, there I will find a button for “View All In Card Catalog”.
Hi Bonnie, Thank you for your comment about the difference between Ancestry.co.uk and Ancestry.com. I’ve just taken a look and can see where I find the Card Catalog button in the UK site is missing on the USA site. Also as you say the Card Catalog button is situated at the bottom of the drop down box under the search tab. I can see that I will have to search both sites from now on and give alternative instructions for my USA readers. Thank you for pointing this out, a great help. Have you subscribed to the MadAboutGenealogy mailing list, the link is the is the yellow band at the top of the Home page? I can promise not to bombard you with emails, but I always send out an email once a week with the latest genealogy news and also any breaking news that is so interesting and important I can’t wait to tell my readers plus of course any discounts or special deals for genealogy items Kind regards, Linda