Comments on Genea-Musings: AFL with "New Search" on Ancestry.com

Thanks for this tip. Turns out that the old search...

2009-11-12T22:21:43.365-08:00

Thanks for this tip. Turns out that the old search also is able to pick immigration records with free text better than the new one.

I often try to find a family by using a location a...

2009-11-11T18:50:47.360-08:00

I often try to find a family by using a location and a first name, or a location and a last name. This strategy works well when indexing or image quality has "hidden" my targets. I agree, it does not work in "new search", only in old. I use old search almost exclusively for that reason.

Okay, I think I've been converted. I'd heard compl...

2009-11-11T09:36:45.765-08:00

Okay, I think I've been converted. I'd heard complaints about the new search not being as good as the old search, but I never paid much attention - because after all, I got god results with the new search, right? When I read this, I decided to give the old search a new try, and figured I'd start with one of my stumpers, the family that stops showing up on censuses entirely after 1910, when I had myriad other records that show them living in the same area through the 1940s.

I input a name into the old search, and up they popped on the 1930 census, the 5th result on my list! Yes, this census taker had particularly bad handwriting, and so they weren't indexed exactly under the names I was searching - but it appears that old search thought "Torrence" and "Morton" Quinn should be returned for "Terrence" and "Martin," while they never showed up anywhere in pages of results in new search.

Thanks!

Thanks for the information. I have had the same p...

2009-11-11T07:42:15.978-08:00

Thanks for the information. I have had the same problems. What is really irritating is when I know the document is in Ancestry's database and it doesn't show up in the search.

And i thought it was me --- thanks

I was getting very frustrated - I thought it was j...

2009-11-11T06:15:05.750-08:00

I was getting very frustrated - I thought it was just me. Thank you for the clear explanation! I will definitely go back to the old search option. Theresa Casteel (Tangled Trees)

Ancestry search frustrates me to no end. Specifica...

2009-11-11T05:40:37.744-08:00

Ancestry search frustrates me to no end. Specifically for the reason you gave, as well as the excessive amount of clicks required to get results in the first place.

You're not alone in your frustration!