Help:Search the Wiki

Page Overview

 * The FamilySearch Research Wiki uses the Search Box found on each page to access the Wiki pages using different key words, key phrases, and search strings. This Help:Search the Wiki page shows how to get the best search results when looking for information on the Wiki. This page shows what keywords and search strings bring the best results for positive experiences when searching for available research resources.

The Search Box

Basic Search Strategies
Before you Search: There are 3 pieces of key information that will help you locate records much faster for an ancestor:


 * 1 What record to look for — What records are missing from an ancestor's life (birth, marriage, death, etc.)
 * 2 Where they lived — Find the location(s) they lived. (If only a country, state, county, or province is known that is enough to start searching.)
 * 3 When they lived — It is important to know a date range (in years) that your ancestor lived. Exact dates are not needed.

Case Study for Basic Search
While searching through your family tree, you find that your great-grandfather (Jedidiah Turner) is missing a death record. To help find the missing document, find the 3 pieces of key information:

1. What record is missing: death record of your great-grandfather, Jedidiah Turner 2. Where did he live: Jedidiah Turner was born in Illinois (you have the birth record). He also lived in Iowa, Nebraska, and Kansas. Family tradition states he was buried in Kansas. 3. When did he live: According to the birth record he was born in 1852. The exact date of his death is unknown. You know he died before 1930, the obituary of your grandfather (his son) dated Feb 1930, states both of his parents had died.