OMG! The Ultimate Strategy to Find Records

What if you can’t find your ancestor in a specific census record? What if you have looked everywhere and can’t find them? That is exactly what happened to me. I’m going to show you how I solved a mystery that had bugged me for years.
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TIMING
0:00 Intro
0:11 3 strategies to find a missing ancestor
1:05 Why is she missing from the 1880 Census?
1:38 Using Ancestry’s card catalog
3:14 Finding the roll number
4:20 Extracting into an excel spreadsheet
6:18 Filtering the spreadsheet to find an ancestor
7:20 Research Notes can offer clues
9:18 Alternative strategy when filtering by name doesn’t work
12:43 Using FamilySearch Full Text search
14:24 Guardianship records & estate package
18:45 What’s the relationship to this guardian?
19:48 Back to the 1880 Census on Ancestry
20:22 Recap
22:25 Mission Accomplished
23:10 Emojis used in fan chart
24:06 Where to find all three handouts?
25:08 Genealogy TV Academy info
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I’m a professional genealogist who loves to teach with video. It's all about genealogy, family history, and DNA to research. Goal: Create the best free genealogy videos on KZbin, teach genealogy research skills to build your family tree and research records. The best genealogy tutorial videos on “Genealogy TV” are about how to keep research notes, stay organized, genetic genealogy, find missing ancestors, find family history records, organizing DNA matches, and more. Learn genealogy for free on GTV. Learn Ancestry.com, FamilySearch.org, MyHeritage.com, FindMyPast.com, FamilyTreeDNA, AncestryDNA, 23andMe, WikiTree, National and State Archives, genealogical & historical societies, Chronicling America, Newspapers.com, Newspaper Archives.com, Fold3, Archive.org, Internet Archive, Wayback Machine, Digital Public Libraries, Google, Facebook genealogy groups, and the very best genealogy websites and resources.
Best KZbinrs for genealogy are Connie Knox on Genealogy TV, Ancestry's Crista Cowan (The Barefoot Genealogist), The History Guy, Aimee Cross Genealogy Hints, Family History Fanatics, Geneavlogger, Legacy Tree Genealogy, , Ancestry, FamilySearch, Useful Charts, Diahan Southard, Genealogy with Amy Johnson Crow, and Lisa Lisson.
#Genealogy #GenealogyTV #FamilyHistory

[@JPaulHawthorne]

That was one of the best episodes ever!

[@GenealogyTV]

Ah thanks Paul

[@maggiem4817]

Agree 100 percent, J Paul! It's also a great case study.

[@cloisterene]

That full text search is the best thing that's come along since the wheel.

[@GenealogyTV]

The best thing since the invention of the zipper.

[@grcleve7053]

This is why I try to thoroughly research and document the siblings and their family as well. 😁

[@Paul_Sheila]

Sheila here: This was an amazing find for you! Now I have more tips on how to locate my husband’s great grandpa. The earliest record I have is on a census where he is 7 years old living with another family. It’s gonna be a late night tonight researching this….I can’t wait 😊

[@GenealogyTV]

Go for it!

[@jenniferdaniels701]

My grandpa was with another family in the census, 110 years ago. His dad died a few years before that, and from what I've seen, including another widow with a child under 18, women didn't keep custody of their children when their husbands died. They had to live with someone else. But the one had only one child under 18, a few months away from his 18th birthday. She and the family filed with the court to let him stay with her. So I recomend to make sure you look at the death records for his father.

[@Katness07]

@@jenniferdaniels701 This just gave me an idea for my paternal grandma, who used to tell us of the unique way that her dad found a way to keep his kids out of an orphanage when her mother was gone. (Never understood whether she died or left) This dynamic will be spelled out in the census records too. Thank you and happy hunting!

[@foundbychance7777]

I can’t wait for familysearch to apply AI to more records. I love it!

[@GenealogyTV]

Me too!

[@adventureswithtime]

Great story. Connie, not only have you given us some great techniques, you’ve provided us encouragement.

[@kimba341]

If all of your values paste into a single column, you want to look for an option that is named something like "text to columns". This will allow you to break that single column up into multiple columns on what they call a delimiter. The delimiter can be a space, a tab, or maybe even a comma. Depending on the spreadsheet program that you're using, you may also be able to specify where you want the column break

[@GenealogyTV]

Thank you for that

[@Zellada]

This is also in older versions of Excel!

[@ladytessca]

Tried that two - but as the paste as text puts each piece of information in a separate row, there doesn't seem to be a way to to tell it a delimiter that works...

[@BenAlembik]

Omg Connie the same happened to me! My great grandmother, Mary was born in 1921. In 1923, her father died and her mother gave her to her cousin.

[@GenealogyTV]

I think this was more common than we realize.

[@cindycarrasco2383]

I remember a video you did regarding Siblings and Children sometimes have information that helps with the direct line when you can't find anything in regards to the direct line. This is an awesome video! Great tips and congratulations on finding Nannie! 🎉❤😊

[@GenealogyTV]

Thank you

[@joycecasper1474]

Can we safely say - don't dismiss any unfound record even if it does not appear to be needed to answer a particular question, because you never know what new information will be revealed! Thank you for this stunning lesson. I love your process and explanations

[@GenealogyTV]

Yes. Thank you.

[@nytn]

This is SO great, I have one ancestor in particular (2nd grandma) that I THINK had a similar situation and have struggled to find her. Same time period, too. I cant wait to try this out, thank you!

[@GenealogyTV]

Go for it.

[@lawrente]

Congratulations on your triumph! You deserve to Happy Dance! It also explains your Happy Dance level on Patreon! Love your presentations. I learn so much!

[@GenealogyTV]

Thank you so much!!

[@eujackmac]

Great episode! I found my paternal grandmother’s siblings all over the small town in which they lived after their mother passed away.

[@peggies5704]

This was awesome. A fantastic teaching moment in research. Got to love rabbit holes though, and what they may turn up!

[@GenealogyTV]

Glad you enjoyed it!

[@keithpratt8619]

Tracked down a couple of children from my 2nd great grandmother's first marriage mentioned on a Quit Claim deed including their married names. Was able to find much information on the first daughter but still nothing on the second one. I am thoroughly convinced I would never have this information without this timely video. Thank you Connie Knox! Again!!

[@GenealogyTV]

😀

[@mala3isity]

Woohoo! Good for you! I've always noticed the people who live with non-family and try to connect them somewhere but deliberately trying to find where they went is new. The text search is great. Thanks for showing us.

[@GenealogyTV]

Yes! Thank you!

[@mala3isity]

@@GenealogyTV My pleasure.

[@jenniferlakhlani]

What a treasure! Both your discovery and your video. I have a similar mystery of where my 3rd ggf is in 1850. I've never figured it out. I keep trying though. Thank you for all that you do. And congrats on the find. 👍

[@GenealogyTV]

Thanks

[@DaleBrotherton]

That was exciting. A lot of perseverance wins the day! Nice work!

[@GenealogyTV]

Yes! Thank you!

[@sharontabor7718]

Congrats on the find! My gggrandfather William Fletcher Centers was illegitimate, born in 1846 in KY. A 1851 record that survived a courthouse fire in 1902, mentions that he was apprenticed to Anderson McReynolds. No mention of his mother's name was given. He is not in the 1850 census. In 1860, every child with the surname of Center was living with a different family. My father found William Centers' Civil War pension record as Runnells, but we know it was the same person due to the very odd names of his sons Ozias Bransford, Yetman, and Conard), and the wife, Mary Ellen Hogue/Hogg, was the same. The majority of the Center children in the 1860 census used a different name in 1870 and later. Via DNA and a ton of McReynolds matches, we determined that William McReynolds was first married to Lucy Center. She died after her only child was born and William married next to a Bracken. We matched DNA with the children from the 2nd marriage, thereby connecting Lucy Center as the sister to Elizabeth Center, William's mother. William was having children with his wife and his former sister-in-law at the same time. Anderson McReynolds was an uncle to William McReynolds. We haven't yet found the connection to the other families the Center(s) children lived with. Elizabeth and Martha Center had 9 illegitimate children between them. Ex: A group of Ashford families are not really Ashfords. They took the surname of the family that reared them. Their mother was a Center and their father was ????. We don't know if any of the 9 children had the same father. We know the name of the mother because an obscure birth record provides the mother's name, the child's name, and the note "Illegitimate". KY was the first state to require vital records beginning in 1852. The record-keeping was suspended during the Civil War, and kept sporadically until 1911 when it became state law to record birth and death records.

[@FranklinHanover]

Thank you for your educational comment!

[@staceysparadise]

Fantastic video. If you ever run out of video ideas Id love one on how to find a child in the 1850's Canada/ USA with no paperwork prior to a baptism at an estimated 4 years old. If there is anyway to find documentation for a lost, missing, abandoned, or orphaned child with an unknown name...It's a long shot :)

[@beowulfwheeler2580]

This is why I always try to take the time to trace at least one generation of all siblings of a direct ancestor. It has solved so many many m😊ysteries. Great episode

[@davemason2604]

Hi. Definitely one of your best videos and well done on finding the census. I am from England and hopefully this video can help me with a lot of missing census records. Great video as always

[@GenealogyTV]

Thank you.

[@vm1776]

Very interesting story. I found my great-aunt in the census listed as the daughter of her great-grandparents and living in their home. At the time her parents were in the process of a divorce and her mother had obtained a job with lodging that didn't allow for children to come with her. Her father took in his son and the older daughters were quickly married but the youngest daughter was too young for that. Finding all the census records of the family helped me narrow down the date of my great grandparent's divorce within 3 years and then going through newspaper records for a very common first and last name looking for the divorce became a doable task. But a different last name than expected certainly makes things harder and once I found her then I was frustrated with myself for not having looked at the census in more detail previously to figure out who the teenager is in the household with the 90 year olds!

[@caseyzahn3226]

Awesome find! ❤❤

[@TheZeebop2007]

Brilliant! thank you, Connie!

[@MusicInMotion_67]

Great info Connie

[@user-cb3ml3ds8z]

Oh wow, and congratulations ❤

[@ShineKelly]

Well done! Excellent example of 'doing genealogy'! Thank you for sharing :) So useful! Love how you were excited too! Bingo!!

[@GenealogyTV]

Thanks so much! 😊

[@richardhoover4471]

Wow! Congratulations on finding your Nannie! That was great super sleuthing! I found the hunt very interesting and now found out you have connections to not only my Clark ancestors, but now my McDaniel ancestors, both of whom left Randolph for Highland County, Ohio!

[@GenealogyTV]

Awesome. Thanks.

[@debbiecarroll5672]

Thank you Connie!

[@ginagaladriel]

I'm doing the happy dance with/for you!!!! This is so awesome and gives me hopes that I can also find some documents.... hope this also work on Latinamerican countries which is where I'm having most problems finding things at

[@michaelmccullough9668]

I am in the same boat. I can't find my oldest brother in the 1940 U.S. Census. He was born in 1935 in Baltimore CIty, Maryland. So I would think he would be in the 1940 U.S. Census, but he isn't there. I found him in the 1950 U.S. Census. When the 1940 census was taken in Baltimore City. My father and mother were each living with their mothers in 1940 in two different place in Baltimore City. My mother and father got married later that year (1940) in July. Since my brother was born before my parents got married, I would think he would have been listed with my mother and her mother. But he wasn't. So, I have yet to find him in the 1940 census.

[@MarkCoatesYork]

I liked that, your hard work paid off

[@thenavigator25]

Exciting! 😊

[@Collieb7]

You are so knowledgeable 😊I wish i could figure out my brick walls. I am so impressed with you. Thank you.

[@GenealogyTV]

You can do it!

[@Brian.CynthiaMcKay]

This! Was awesome! Thank you.

[@GenealogyTV]

Glad you enjoyed it!

[@tammywilliams2035]

Totally amazing episode. I learn so very much from each of your videos.

[@GenealogyTV]

Thanks Tammy

[@LindaSchreiber]

Brilliant work!!! Fantastic!!!

[@GenealogyTV]

Thank you so much 😀

[@sherryledbetter1856]

Awesome! I can't wait to try this and hopefully find my biological paternal grandfather who was born out of wedlock. I know he's SOMEWHERE! 😊 Thank you so much Connie!!

[@GenealogyTV]

You're welcome. Good luck!

[@debbeb4499]

Congratulations, Connie! What fun for you.

[@GenealogyTV]

It really is!

[@KatharsisderWelt]

I love this!

[@rebeccasLanguages]

That was so interesting!! Thank you so much for all you share!!! I'll be learning that procedure with the spreadsheet. Thanks again.

[@davidbrice6950]

Brilliant research work Connie. 😊

[@GenealogyTV]

Thank you!

[@kayschroeder874]

Hallelujah! Great video.

[@GenealogyTV]

Glad you enjoyed it!

[@virginiahouser1060]

Excellent presentation of process, Connie! Thank you!

[@GenealogyTV]

Glad it was helpful!

[@RuthBird]

Wow! Congrats on finding her!!!

[@GenealogyTV]

Thanks!

[@bettygossell3408]

Very cool!

[@jrefrosefros5952]

Amazing!! 🎉

[@GenealogyTV]

Thanks

[@jamieaasen7285]

The best teaching moment! Amazing hard work and a You Got It! 🎉 WTG!!!

[@GenealogyTV]

Thank you so much!

[@barbarah5756]

Another brilliant episode, Connie. Thank you so much. Can't wait to try the Full Text Search.

[@GenealogyTV]

Hope you enjoy it!

[@VictoriaReginaAnn]

Very interesting video. Great researching.

[@GenealogyTV]

Glad you think so!

[@debandrew2802]

You go, GIRL!

[@GenealogyTV]

Thanks Deb

[@osliverpool]

Ha, lovely bit of work there! I've had one or two hard-worked finds myself, and I can really appreciate it when you pull off something like this! Oh, and it shows how important it is to document everyone you find, like McDaniel, even if they don't connect very strongly - you just never know.

[@GenealogyTV]

So true

[@breana1888]

I can't thank you enough for this. I had an ancestor whom I knew had several children, but I could not find most of them. After watching this video, I went on family search and looked him up through the experimental search, and found some deeds from various points of his life that listed the names of all of his children. THANK YOU! ❤

[@GenealogyTV]

Wonderful! Yay!

[@Tyler-zo6xe]

Thank you so much! This was so helpful. I finally figured out how to copy the record info into Excel.

[@cindym5856]

I have literally been searching like this all day, I'm going to go insane looking for my grandfather. Good luck to everyone

[@cindym5856]

well, still no luck for me. I searched every county and each town/city in the state. I have an aunt who is supposed to send me a Pic of the marriage certificate and death certificate. I just don't understand this side of the family. Did they not like to be known!? More questions than answers. Search continues. Thank you so much for that tip because I did find others with the same last name... that might help!

[@mdindestin]

Dang! You smashed that brick wall! It was bad enough that we don't have the 1890 census because of the fire.

[@DianneCrouse-jb7yy]

So interesting!

[@GenealogyTV]

Glad you think so!

[@vancraven7688]

What an awesome lesson. !!

[@GenealogyTV]

Glad you think so!

[@henrys9716]

Absolutely spectacular - we can learn so much from your thorough and methodical research skills!

[@GenealogyTV]

Thank you kindly!

[@MKB0720]

You are amazing, this is a very factual and detailed strategy...thank you so very much for sharing your processes.

[@GenealogyTV]

Glad you enjoyed it!

[@ramonaklassen9280]

Awesome! It's a lot of work, but it's so good to know. We'll done. Happy for you.

[@GenealogyTV]

Thank you!

[@JT1358]

Wish someone would do an equivalent series of programs for UK records - they are quite different, and not so extensive. My partner's grandfather is missing from the 1921 census over here, though he is in other records for that year.

[@faustbos]

Fantastic video. Some great tips. I started to wonder, how would I have looked for this (of course, knowing the answer already). There is one think I'd have done differently and I might have gotten luck over on ancestry. But certainly your tip about familysearch was worth the price of admission and you found a very important document. I would most likely have had that floating McDaniel family, already attached to the sister (the deceased Hale in 1876). The error in the census is something I would have assumed in my exhaustive search, so I might have thought to try Nannie (and some other last name). But doing a search for just Nannie, in NC, 1880 census, with a keyword of Niece. Also I set the birth to be 1872 + or - 5 years. This did not get me as close as I wanted, but as I cycled through potential wrong surnames related to my (your) family, I did eventually end up on a match with 2nd hit. So I tend to branch out my trees with siblings, if only to collect surnames, but you never know where these things would lead. NOTE also that the census recorded her as 5 years old, so my birth range with the + or - 5 years covered that. But regardless, the file you found on familysearch is interesting in other ways, so a good tip for the toolbox.

[@anneahlert2997]

Newspapers are helpful in these cases, also. One person I was researching began their life with their family in a town in Illinois. The family moved to Kansas when she was still small. A few years later, she is back in Illinois (without siblings) living as a "Servant" at the former neighbor's home. The Census after that, she is listed as a "daughter" for that family (still no siblings). Newspaper articles revealed that the father was accused of molesting her, and the mother had filed for divorce. The father never went to prison, but the mother had no husband/alimony to support the child, so she wisely sent her away from the scandal and gossip to live with former neighbors. The siblings were all boys and almost all old enough to work, so they stayed in Kansas. Without newspapers, none of this would have been explained, and I would not have had any way to confirm the person at the neighbor's house was not a same-name confusion situation.

[@jum5238]

I think I heard the scream of joy across the country from you. Well done!

[@GenealogyTV]

LOL

[@traej18]

Great episode, I had a hard time finding my 3rd great grandmother for the longest time. Her husband civil war record stated they were married in July of 1849 in the 1850 census her husband my 3rd great grandfather was living with his sister and her family in Illinois. July of 1853 they are in California because my 2nd great grandfather was born in California. She dies in March 1854 and my 2nd great grandfather is adopted out and living in Illinois later on. I'm still trying to figure out how he ended up with this one couple because I don't think they are related. From a record that I came early on in my search an ancestor had done some search on the Gilmours and had her name as Elmira never could find an Elmira that fit. In the Civil ware record there was letter from the adopted mother and she mentioned that my 3rd great grandmother name was Mahala and that helped a lot and I found her close by to my 3rd great father living close by with her father. I will try strategy to see if I can find an adoption record

[@sharonwhitney973]

Good job!

[@GenealogyTV]

Thanks!

[@cjbuzz01]

Wow!!!! That was Amazing. Family Search is my favorite ❤️ Thanks for sharing your techniques. Never thought to use Microsoft Excel or Word to search with copy paste and find.

[@GenealogyTV]

Thanks

[@marbah1889]

I know the feeling!

[@tiffanybuchanan5511]

Congratulations on your find. Don’t know if you noticed that Sarah Hale is on that 1880’s census record right about the McDaniels family. I know it’s time consuming and takes me down rabbit trails but I often research the other family members (siblings, spouses , in-laws) because occasionally I’ve come across someone labeled grandchild, niece or nephew and I wonder, who’s child is that and why are they raising them? Later it’s exciting when I put the pieces together. 😊

[@lisamccole9122]

Thank you so much for so many great search strategies. Was that your Sarah Hale in the line above AM McDaniel in the 1880 census?

[@patnoble466]

I use Add Custom Event routinely to add Surviving Children statistics from the 1900 and 1910 US Census. A comment might read "5 out of 7 children surviving as of the 1900 US Census." It could also be useful with an obit, but I rarely use it that way. I would source the new fact to the appropriate census record. This information is always useful for evaluating a household.

[@MAEURASTAR]

You are amazing! I'm 75 and wish I had the info on my grandmother who moved to America from Ireland, married my grandfather who moved here from England after fighting in the Boer War and had six children. I didn't meet any of Dad's relatives until I was 18. My grandparents were long gone at that point. Our families didn't stay in touch. So, I don't have a lot to go on despite having lots of cousins I never met.

[@GenealogyTV]

Thanks

[@learningcurvenz]

Wow, Connie, great sleuthing. It shows the value of never giving up. I was very interested in your demo tree charts, too. What were you using? Excel?

[@GenealogyTV]

The mini tree was on Lucid chart.

[@SBSMusicChannel]

So odd that I’m currently watching this from Randolph County NC 😂

[@GenealogyTV]

I do a ton of research in that area. I need to get out there in person again.

[@heatherlaird-mcleod3271]

Very good, do the same rules apply when researching UK & Irish ancestors.

[@ecstokes1]

You can address the single column paste problem with Data->Delimiter probably Space based on what you’ve shown. Use Textsplit if it’s more than one type of delimiter.

[@brendaashton6428]

Congratulations! I can feel your excitement over this discovery. I have so many mysteries of my own, but almost none are in the US, so the text search is not as helpful, but your excitement has me excited to restart a few of my roadblock searches. A recent discovery of my own also taught me a few lessons such as there is always more information in records than you think there is! I was looking at my 2xGGmother's death record and noticed something I hadn't before (probably did not know the relevant surname at the time I acquired it). The informant had a familiar surname for a married granddaughter. I had not known his first name until then. With that detai,l I was able to locate a marriage record in another country (The grandaughter's surname was wrong, her father's name was ridiculous... but birthdate and place and mother's name were correct). I did my own little happy dance over this one!

[@GenealogyTV]

Nice!

[@mikulakl]

Great video as always! The sleuthing is always my favorite part of family history research. I was wondering what program you were using when you were dragging around parts of the family tree around 19:21.

[@GenealogyTV]

Lucid chart. It’s free.

[@MarkJT1000]

Brilliant ! I've had a couple like that and the joy when you finally crack it ...... 😁 What sort of timescale did all this involve ?

[@GenealogyTV]

A weekend

[@JanButchart]

OMG is right! I know my McKenzie family came to NY in 1803. They moved west and settled in Waukesha Cty, Wisconsin. But I had no idea when. A Land Patent was issued in 1849 and the first child born in WI was in 1853. In the Real Estate Grantee Index in the full text records I found a records dated 1839 and 1841 that put my Mcenzies in Waukesha. Happy Dance!! Now I need to fill in the NY to WI gap. 😊

[@GenealogyTV]

Yay

[@cheryljames1695]

Great video! I just found my husbands 2nd great grandparents names. Have been looking for years but did those research notes (I didn't want to do) which helped so much. Also a cousin had a name of a child I didn't have and her husband name. Found a naturalization record which show her name when she came from Norway. Totally different last name from the sister. Then found a marriage record and bingo there the 2nd great grandparents names were. I did a happy dance for days lol. Thanks for all you do!

[@GenealogyTV]

Awesome. See, research notes are a game changer for sure.

[@RottenInDenmarkOrginal]

I found my great grandfather Bell by searching death records and obits where I stumbled upon my great grandmothers death certificate which had been signed by her brother in law. Turns out, he lied about his middle name being Alexander bc he had been locked up for swindling and being a William Lasseter Bell in GA with a rap sheet at that time would have caused a stir since my great grandmother was a founder of Atlanta and very well known. Alexander Bell was the brother of the GA congressman Hiram Parks Bell. The Bells were very well known and prominent in GA. My Sister had given up after 10 years of trying to figure out who he was, but I found it from reading and thinking outside the box in a couple of days! Sometimes coming in with a fresh set of eyes can be a benefit! Thanks for the search tools tips too!

[@KimberlyGreen]

I think you've highlighted a subtle limitation with geneology software. Optimally you would have already seen that 1880 census document. And, to flesh out the branches with the data, you would have added everyone to your tree, including Nannie. And you would have asked the question "Why is she a 'niece' but has the surname of her uncle?" But there's no way to attach her as a 'niece' without specifying her parentage, short of creating her as a one-off floater. Current software isn't good about letting individuals be created as point nodes, with connections of various types radiating out in a star pattern. Instead we're forced into a branching chain pattern that sometimes adds obscurity.

[@renitacollier3908]

I have, in the past, attached a note to the census record in my FTM that notes anyone or anything unusual in the record, ie. laborer by a different last name, grandson, niece, etc. If I don't have them in my tree, I add them as a floater in FTM and note that in the records. I also put it in my research notes and circle back to them every so often in hopes of finding out where they belong in the tree. I wish there was an easier way, but this works for me.

[@JustCallMeJaph]

When I have a floater or person who does not fit within the available family relationship options, I add the person's profile as a web link to the head of household's profile. Then, I add the head of household's profile as a web link to the floater's profile. But there should be more formal relationship options bc families are complicated.

[@mkitchens8163]

Thank you so much for this. I've been down similar trails so many times. And years ago, I did in-depth research into the local poor farm and child apprenticeships in the 19th and early 20th centuries. Many heart-breaking stories. By the way, are you connected to any Knoxes from Lincoln County NC, formerly from County Down, Northern Ireland?

[@GenealogyTV]

I don’t know. The Knox clan is from Edgecombe and Martin Counties in North Carolina in the 1800’s-today.

[@mqua4610]

Wow! I love your vids. I believe you can find gold in a salt mine!

[@GenealogyTV]

LOL. You know I’d try.

[@robertlittle7314]

The general strategy of copying transcribed US census records to Excel is wonderful. Sorting, filters, and highlighting are our friends here. I'm often working in Delaware County NY. For the early to mid 19th century, I can copy the whole county census as it's pretty small. I found at least one ancestor through a more creative filtering method, similar to one portrayed in the video. Hopefully I can find more as I copy more complete census records from that timeframe in Delaware County. I'll need to look further for 1790, as Delaware County was still part of another county, probably Albany County which was huge back then. I'll be doing the FAN club thing for Albany County 1880 and 1900 (not 1890 because it's not there), to track down my cousin's 3GGF.

[@GenealogyTV]

I wish you luck

[@Idellphany]

What an amazing find!! The keywords I was using with the new Family Search probate searches is the term "daughter" or "wife" as I am looking for my 2GG grandma's parents. (She shows up as a 16 year old at a family members house in NJ 1870 Census, and I am very genetically related to the paternal family line in this house). I have this house members wills and records, but she is not named anywhere! I will try the keywords "guardianship" and maybe "orphan". Thank you for the tips!

[@GenealogyTV]

Excellent ideas

[@sr2291]

I hope they add more records soon.

[@ladytessca]

Really liked this one and have recommended my group watch it before we meet at the library next week... As an aside, even in Google Sheets the Paste as plain text doesn't work for me...

[@godisloveireland]

Glad you found her! I had some thoughts. She could have been listed under surname of her middle name Watson, or her 1st name may have been in surname field. Just another couple of things to think about outside the box so to speak;

[@GenealogyTV]

Yes, good points

[@myleftshoe9]

I am told my grandfather didn't know his last name was Jones until he went to school. After the death of his parents he was raised by his maternal grand parents.

[@redhen689]

My daughter started building the family tree a few years back when she was in her late teens. She found that my husband’s grandfather’s first wife died shortly after childbirth in 1904. (It seems that no one in the family even realized there was a first wife). Initially my daughter had entered that the child had died as well. We saw no mention of the child in the census records, but my daughter found someone with the boy in their tree living with another family the details were sketchy. Then one of my husband’s cousins contacted the military asking for his military records. In paging through the dozens of pages, I found a reference to an amount of money paid monthly to the family that was raising the boy. We did a bit more research and learned that it was the deceased wife’s sister who was raising the boy. Unfortunately he died without having any children.

[@GenealogyTV]

Interesting.

[@dawnkingston7530]

I'm just starting. I have so much to learn. Thank you for helping to teach me. Can you please tell me what software you were using in this video to produce the family tree (where you linked the Aunt & uncle) . Thanks 😁

[@GenealogyTV]

I use Ancestry for my primary family tree. Where I demonstrated just the few people was Lucid chart.

[@dawnkingston7530]

@@GenealogyTV thank you!

[@sharontabor7718]

" " on either side of the name will narrow the search

[@kbeaney]

Wow.

[@LeOhio817]

Huzzah 🥳 I think I found an Aunt using this method. In the 1930s, 2 years after the death of her father, her sisters - including my grandmother, moved across the river from Georgia to South Carolina to live with their oldest sister and her husband. She stayed behind with an Aunt/Uncle to continue her education, graduate from high school and then go to college. I could not locate her or her mother (still working on that) but, I tried using the catalog the way you suggested and searched for her in the town she lived in previously. No luck. Then I tried searching by her first name and year of birth since her name isn’t really common. Voila 🎉 I believe I located her living as a boarder with an Aunt/Uncle, not to far from my great, great grandparents. She was listed under their surname, like Nannie. Her age is right and I know they didn’t have a daughter that age. I’m 99.9% sure it’s her, but before I break a hip doing the happy dance, I will dig deeper to be sure. Thanks for the tip.

[@GenealogyTV]

Fantastic.

[@naomifron4545]

Awesome Video! So much information. I do have a problem though, how do I find what township a town is in? I am looking at maps that show the counties and towns but when I fill in the panel to the right on the "Browse this collection", I don't know how to find the township. Would the township be the County Seat?

[@GenealogyTV]

It could be. Rolls might not have townships if it was not notes on the top. Or you might need to search all townships in the county to cover your bases.

[@Katness07]

My Father-in-law had a father who died when he was either just a newborn or just before he was born. The only thing he knew about his father is the first name "Britt". I had him do an ancestry DNA kit just last week, so I'm hoping that he finds some family on his biological father's side so he can know more about his paternal line. This pulling the text for all of the census data for the county might help me find out more about his father. (his mother gave him her last name when he was born)

[@GenealogyTV]

When you get the test results back, try to focus on 2nd cousins or closer on the paternal side (if you are lucky enough to have matches that close). Happy Researching.