Is Ancestry missing the genealogy records you need? Here's how to tell 

I have been researching my family tree on and off for 50 years. Your site is very helpful and inspired me to dig in again. None of my six children show a hoot of interest, but my 21 year old grandson wants to learn. Who-hoo! I’m visiting him this summer and hope he will catch the genealogy “bug.”

I love the clear ways you explain a subject. I have been working for many years on my family history and this is the first time the card catalog clicked! You have helped me understand many other topics/areas. Thank you!

When I did mine (UK), Once I’ve exhausted the usual family members, I look at the collected data that is the same, births, baptisms etc, then an open search for ANY births, deaths, baptisms for the same general area with the same parents names, sometimes I get hits for missed infants that were born and died between census years

I ran into a similar problem once: I couldn't find an entry in the birth registry for an ancestor even though I knew his birth date and place from the marriage registry and the year wasn't among those lost in the Second World War. I ended up searching through the entries around the time he was born, and Eureka: It turned out he was born out of wedlock and the birth registry used his mother's maiden name as his surname. Ancestry naturally indexed him under that instead of the name he later had. Helpfully an official had written in the margins that his father had married his mother (over a year later) and officially recognized he was the father. Using that information, I was able to find another sister of his (born within that same gap) that I had previously not known about.

Ancestry drives me nuts sometimes with the way they label their collections. I have fallen in that hole that you were describing where I am looking for something that should have been there. Thanks for reminding me about the card catalog. I actually have found that if some of the counties where my ancestors lived still have their records (and that doesn't happen a lot, fires were a regular thing back then ) I can find things Ancestry doesn't have.

Thank you. I was not even aware of the "Card Catalog" BTW on that first fictional search, there was a Missouri Death and Burial index through 1976 that might have at least had a notation regarding the burial.

Even then some records are not indexed properly if at all. I've seen many a census records had to be checked one at a time and found it even though many variations of spellings were tried. Ugh.

This lady is very helpful...she uses visual aids with step by step information...THANK YOU

I'm positive I love ❤️ you You need a be in the algorithm more often. I've been on YT for 12 years and this is the first time I saw you You should be making a huge salary doing this. The ancestral sites need to sponsor your YT if they haven't already. I can be petty and resentful for folks making millions off their kids. I'd rather see folks who are actually making our lives better be compensated for their generous efforts. I am now going to resubscribe to Ancestry. I gave up years ago bc I did not know these tricks.

A big problem can be common First names, like Ann-or Anne/ Annie/ Anna /Hannah. My untraceable Aunt, has documents that name her in all spellings, Add the fact that she was born in Novemeber 1907--but registered in 1908, the combination of these facter's jumbled up, has caused me , and 4 pro Genealogists , to fail to trace her, after 18 yrs, beyond the current 1921 census, aged 13.

I'm running into this problem with ancestors from Germany. I had made a family tree back in middle school for an assignment, and I guess I asked my mom who her grandparents were so I was able to fill it out. But now that I'm older and trying to make a better, more well-sourced family tree I can find almost no way to link my grandfather with his parents in Germany with records because Germany was a mess during that time period (around the turn of the 20th century), and as such the record collections are a mess as well. The card catalog has helped me calm down and realize that the records just aren't there (yet?).

What a wonderfully engaging presentation. Thank you so much for sharing!!!

Oh my gosh! Where have you been!? I needed this information so badly. I just recently learned that a church which held records, was rebuilt and not all records are complete, survived, or were kept I guess.

Amy. That was very informative. I learned something new about collections and I’m sure it will assist me in my research. Thank you!

You are greatness. I can listen to you all day. Before my mother got married she had two kids. She stayed at her parents house. When I lk at census her two kids had different names fm my mom. Later when she got married my sister took my moms married name. My brother died at age of 5 before she got married. Cannot locate his birth certificate. Checked with ancestry but it stated he died at age of five.

Wish I had seen this many years ago. Very informative!

This helped me so much! Thank you!

If you have ancestors from New York , keep in mind, most records have not been digitized, such as birth snd death records.

Thank you very much

Thank you

For any sort of state-maintained record, sometimes you're better off going to that state's online archives, if they make those records available that way.

Ancestry is not my go to place to search for ancestors. I only found my 2nd cousins from Chicago using it. Familysearch does me far more utility for my Slovak ancestry, and for my Czech ancestry it’s covered by one of their regional archives.

How do I find a death record of a child when they were wards of the state, and that death occured in between federal census, and state census enumerations?

I’m going to learn how to index the 1950 census tonight .💃🏻

Can you make a video about how to research a Norwegian Military Veteran ? My Great - Grandfather Gilbert Strand served in the Norwegian Army, he was born in Hadeland, Oppland fylke, Norway. I’m trying to locate his military records in Norway. His farm name was Strandeeiet, and now it’s renamed to Strand, Gran,Oppland, Norway the farm is located in Gran. He married my great grandmother Gudbjør Olson Strand in 1892. There is a family story that my dad heard from my paternal grandmother ( Grandma ), that Gilbert was in WWI. I would like to learn and find out all the information that I can on him. As well in the 1910 United States Federal Census: it list his immigration year as 1906 but I went to the Norwegian Digital Archives and found a immigration record that stated in 1905. He left the Norwegian port of Oslo, in Norwegian immigration records from Kristiania 1871-1930 records. Thanks Cody

Where do I find the link to 5 online search strategies? Is it written or is it a video?

Thanks, for great information. WhatI found is to many, Thomas' in one small county in IN in the 1800's and using the same first names. Like who many boys were name George Washington ---- and you are looking for your George and who was his father, if you are lucky enough to have that. Records get lost or in some cases a court house has a fire. Or, did they have records then, PA marriage records were not taken. And county lines changes over time. Thanks

I was looking for the attached file you mentioned in your video that would have 5 tips for researching. I do not see it.

I'm having a hard time with Canadian records in Ancestry. I have also reached out to State archives and my ancestor doesn't match by spouse. There are others with the same name, it's like he has disappeared

5:00+ You say there’s nothing on that list covering the period you’re looking for: but what about the entry towards the lower end that goes up to 1976?

Greetings, Some years ago, looking up my mom and granny in the 1940 Census, I did see my mom and granny both. Unfortunately, at that particular time I didn't save any of the info. Now, I can't locate that info no matter how many different ways I look it up. Looking up my granny has been confusing to a certain degree as well. I've seen several different surnames she apparently used. As of now the earliest info that I have on my granny is from the 1930 Census. I discovered the info by accident researching her aunt. My granny was from Hinds County, Mississippi, born in 1923. My mom was born in Raymond, Hinds County, Mississippi in 1939. Is this possible, that sometimes you see information, all for it to seem as though it's no longer showing up any longer?

I found that most records aren't indexed, or the index is completely messed up...

How do you find an original death certificate that was micro filmed. I'm looking for a relative's (aunt) death certificate from 1929. She died in Detroit in 1929 and the death certificate was filed with Wayne County, Detroit's county. I've gone to the Wayne County web site and clicked death certificates and no luck. I spelled my aunt's name correctly using the funeral home card. Still no luck.

Any idea how often Ancestry updates their collections? I am looking for the image of a marriage certificate from 1995, so I can see the parent names. However, because of the 25-year privacy restriction, only records from before 1993 have images. It says on the collection's main page, "Updates: 20 Feb 2020: Added images for certificates from 1992 and 1993".... surely they should have 1995 images by now?

Can’t wait to find my adoptive brothers parents names on anything .

I quit Ancestry a long time ago... about the time they decided all your personal files belonged to them.

Why do some genealogy services only have some records? Family search, the mormon church, has nearly everything; with maybe an exception for land and deed records. Ancestry has some, but maybe My Heritage has the record , when Ancestry doesn't. Why can't they share?

I'm finding out the Benton I have recorded doesn't have the same Bentons I have from someone else.

You should also mention that there are religions that don't announce deaths of it's members outside the church. That is also irritating when trying to find out information for Genealogy trees.

Ancestry has records that they won't release because their excuse is "contractual obligation" even though the records are over 200-300 years old. This is obviously a money thing for Ancestry.

What if in the record of your ancestors father says desconocido? How?

I know your just giving an example but I see a death record for 1873-1976

Very Good!... 29 🐄🦉✝

Do you have clue about any old manuscripts of muslims ancestry of descendants of Phrophet Muhammad PBUH. Please help me if you are able to so.

I opened my tree. My mother’s in entire line was GONE!

so it’s not really free! you have to give an email address. I am not getting junk mail from you.

Imagine for use Latinos, Ancestry automatically add all last names to women but women never change their last names 😅. It is just messy.

At first, I thought I was going to learn something new and useful here, but no, you are blaming the member for entering the wrong information, or WHOEVER made the error in the first place. MY, complaint is, as a TEST of the system, I entererd the CORRECT information, but received no mention of my ancester at all. Even though, I took the official details from the Document, right in front of me. So WHY, can't it be found on the ;WONDERFUL Ancestry?

You need to think like computers think which is with logic only. Titles are based on "AI".

MRS Crow my Mother once told me that her Mother's Mother told my Mother that my great grandmother said that she was related to one of the Democrat USA Presidents that was worse than the ones that we have had sence Bush sensor was President and my great grandmother was the wife of a Baptist Preacher and also said that her and her family did not like having that President in their family tree like maybe they were thinking where is rope for a hanging from his part of the family tree seemed to be how much my great grandmother her family did not seem to like the President but I don't know how honest those other relatives were that was older than my great grandmother but then again I not been born yet to learn to know better and then on my fathers side of my family I think I found some evidence that seems to strongly suggest that I might be related to the real good Christian President that late John F. Kennedy Jr who brought his real good Christian influences to the Democrat party for a while and so Mrs Crow could Ancestry help find out for sure if I really I'm related to these two Presidents as well as the two OUT LAWS that I've been told that I also could have stuck up in my family tree cause they got shot so if they are related to me they might still be stuck up there in my family tree .

Thank you