Ancestry Library Edition (ALE)

Presented by May P. ChanPrairie History Room, Regina Public Library

Harvest Your Family Tree Conference, Kelowna, BC – Sept. 26, 2014

© 2014

Outline• Ancestry vs Ancestry Library Edition (ALE)

• ALE’s Main Content

• Brief Overview of how the database works—how to search and how are the results displayed

• Case Study #1: Daniel SCHMIDT and his family—where did they settle in Saskatchewan in the 1900s and what were the names of the children?

• Case Study #2: Tracking down the names of Francis Joseph Julian “Muggsy” SPANIER’s parents

• Question Period and Wrap-up

Ancestry vs. Ancestry Library Edition (ALE)

Ancestry.com/Ancestry.ca Ancestry Library Edition (ALE)

• Marketed towards individuals • Marketed towards institutions such as libraries, archives and genealogical societies

• Accessible from any internet capable computer

• Accessible only from within the physical confines of the institution

• Enables users to upload their own genealogical projects to the site, such as family trees, and to interact with other members

• No interaction for members or ability to upload projects.

Main Resources Found in ALE(Canada)

• 1851-1921 federal Census returns

• 1906 & 1916 Prairie Census returns

• Canadian Passenger Lists, 1865-1935

• Border Crossings from US to Canada, 1908- 1935

• National Railway Immigration Records, 1937-1960

• Ontario Birth, Marriage & Death Records, 1857-1934

• Quebec Vital & Church Records (Drouin Collection), 1621-1967

• Saskatchewan, Gazette Changes of Names, 1917-1950

Image source: Wikimedia Commons http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Canada_flag_map.svg

Main Resources Found in ALE(United States)

• 1790-1940 federal Census records

• Border Crossings from Canada to US, 1895-1956

• State Censuses, such as New York 1875, 1892, 1905, 1915 & 1925

• Passenger Lists including the ports of New York, Philadelphia and Boston, ca, 1800-1957

• Military records, including Civil War service records, WWI draft registrations and WWII Army enlistment records

• Historical directories and yearbooks (select states)

Image source: Wikimedia Commons http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Flag_Map_of_the_United_States_%281912_-_1959%29.png

Main Resources Found in ALE(England, Wales, & Scotland)

• English & Welsh census records, 1841-1911

• Scottish census records, 1841-1901

• England & Wales: Births, Marriages & Death indexes, 1837-1915

• Gretna Green, Scotland – Marriage Registers, 1794-1895

• UK Incoming Passengers Lists, 1878-1960

• UK Outward Passengers Lists, 1890-1960

• UK Naturalization Certificates and Declarations, 1870-1912

• British Army WWI Service Records, 1914-1920

Image source: Wikimedia Commons http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Great_Britn.jpg

Main Resources Found in ALE(Ireland and Continental Europe)

Image source: Wikimedia Commons http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Map_of_Europe_with_flags.svg

• Ireland, Births, Marriage & Death Indexes, 1864-1958

• Ireland, Griffith’s Valuation, 1847-1864

• Netherlands, Census and Population Registers, 1645-1940

• Czech Republic Censuses, 1857-1921

• Swedish Emigration Records, 1783-1951

• Hamburg Passenger Lists, 1850-1934

• Germany WWI Casualty Lists, 1914-1918

• German Phone Directories, 1915-1981

Resources NOT Found in ALE• Obituary Collection

• Historical Newspaper Collection

• Biography & Genealogy Master Index (BGMI)

• Passengers and Immigration List Index (PILI)

• Families and Local Histories Collection

• Periodical Source Index (PERSI)

• Freedman’s Bank RecordsTip #2: if you are interested in the Families/Local Histories Collection, PERSI or Freedman’s Bank Records, check to see if the institution also offers access to HeritageQuestOnline!

Tip #1: check to see if your library carries print copies of this index!

Generally though….…whenever a new resource is added to Ancestry.com or Ancestry.ca, this resource can also be found in Ancestry Library Edition (ALE) either that day or within a few days of its publication.

Note: ALE generally adds and updates approximately 30 data sets every month so make sure you check back on a regular basis!

ALE’s Home Page

Main Navigational Bar

ALE’s Main Navigation Bar – Search Categories

General Search Tips and Strategies• Avoid doing a general search on the home page!

• Focus specifically on what you want to accomplish today—e.g. tracking down the names of your great grandparents on your father side

• Avoid filling out every search field on the screen before clicking “submit”

• Be prepared to work! Bring in your notebook/binder, your memory stick, etc. Never think it will take you only 10-15 minutes to find what you need in ALE.

• If you are not finding the appropriate results, remember to read the “scope and content” information about the particular data set—e.g. no birth index for Illinois in ALE but there is Cook County, Illinois birth certificates index for 1871-1922. This info typically helps to explain the lack of results or how the information was originally compiled/retrieved

Advanced Search Options• Utilize advanced search options for surnames with variant

spellings:

• EXACT – no spelling variation – e.g. SMITH (no SMITHE, SMYTH, etc.)

• PHONETIC – what you hear – e.g. LESTER (to represent LEICESTER)

• SOUNDEX – finding surnames that sound alike and share the same code as one another – e.g. ROBERT and RUPERT (soundex R163)

• SIMILAR VARIATIONS – commonly used alternates and spelling variations – e.g. HASHE=HASH

• Wildcards & Truncation Symbols

• Use * to replace up to 5 characters in a word – e.g. john* to retrieve JOHN, JOHNS, JOHNSON, etc.

• Use ? to replace only one character – e.g. CH?N for CHAN, CHEN, CHIN

Other Helpful Search Tips• If you are not finding your relatives, try taking out the first

name/middle name or replace the first name with an initial

• Be careful when it comes to using nicknames in your search field!

• E.g. Margaret – nicknames include Meg, Maggie, Margie, May, Peg and Daisy

• If you are looking for someone with a more “unusual” first name, you stand a better chance of finding the person in the database

• Try broadening your search geographically. If you are not finding the family, try searching under the name of the community

Search Results in ALE• Search results are ranked according to relevancy so the most

“relevant” results are located near the top of the list

• Like any database, if you click on the record, you will see more information about why this record was selected. Remember to click on the link to see the “original record”

• Results can be printed, saved to a flash drive and emailed. However, check with the hosting institution first about their setup about printing and saving records from the database.

• NOTE: while you can email the results from ALE to yourself, the site sets a limit of sending only 5 results to a single email address. So it is better to bring your flash drive and/or be prepared to print off your results.

Case Study #1Daniel SCHMIDT was born in Russia ca. 1883 and married Caroline HEPTING in 1901—the same year they immigrated to Canada. The couple settled in Saskatchewan. They had several children, including Elizabeth, Martha, Henry and Olga. Where in Saskatchewan did they settle and when were the children born?

Clues:•Family settled in Saskatchewan sometime around 1901•Daniel was originally from Russia•Wife’s name is Caroline and her maiden name is HEPTING•Year of immigration is 1901•Children’s names include Elizabeth, Martha, Henry and Olga

Where to Start Looking:-Federal census collection

- 1921, 1911 and possibly 1901-Prairie census collection

- 1916 and 1906

Question: Why would we not begin our search in Saskatchewan’s Vital Records or Canada Passenger Lists?

Canadian Census Collection

Important Search Tip! Click on the “Show Advanced” button to get more

search options such as exact.

Canadian Census Collection

Note: this original search was conducted in the fall of 2012! These results are from 2012.

1911 Canadian Census RecordIs this really Daniel SCHMIDT?

1916 “Brick Wall”

• Tried searching various combinations of Daniel/Dan and SCHMIDT/SMITH to locate the family in the 1916 Prairie Census without any luck. What would you do?

• HINT: Tried looking for either the wife or the children in the census. In this case, I chose Olga because the name is not as common and does not offer as many variations as Karolina (e.g. Carol, Caroline, etc.) or Elizabeth (e.g. Elisabeth, Liza, Ellie, etc.)

Breaking Through the 1916 “Brick Wall”

1921 Canadian Census

1921 Canadian CensusObservations:

-SCHMIDT share the same soundex code as SMITH so make sure you keep this in mind while searching other records-In the 1916 Prairie census, Daniel is now going by the name of Ian-In the 1921 Canadian census, the mother’s name has changed from Karolina to Lucie. Apparently Lucie is now 2 years older than her husband whereas in previous census records, she was younger. So is Karolina and Lucie the same woman???-The names of the children have remained the same—Elizabeth (Elisa/Lizzie), Martha (Marta), Henry, Eva and Olga

Case Study #2I am trying to track down information about jazz musician Francis Joseph Julian “Muggsy” SPANIER (http://en/wikipedia.org/wiki/Muggsy_Spanier), specifically the names of Muggsy’ parents.

Clues:•Full name is Francis Joseph Julian SPANIER; sometimes went as Joseph Spanier•“Muggsy” is a nickname•Birth date is November 9, 1901•Birth place is listed as Chicago, Illinois•Death date is February 12, 1967•Occupation was jazz musician

Where to Begin Looking:-Vital Records, specifically a birth record registered in Chicago, Illinois-US census records, specifically from 1910 onwards

Birth, Marriage & Death Records Search

Next Steps….• A search within the Cook

County, Illinois Birth Certificates Index, 1871-1922 does not yield any results for a Francis SPANIER, born in Chicago on November 9, 1901

• My next step…Try searching for Francis SPANIER in the US Census records starting with the 1940 census and working backwards towards the 1910

1940 US Census

Question: Why would I want to start with the 1940 census first?

1930 US Census

Another clue: father was born in France while mother was born in Ireland

1920 US Census

Another clue: mother’s name is Katherine and Francis has several brothers including Joseph

1910 US Census

Father’s name is William but the family name is listed as SPENCER

Note: Soundex code for SPANIER/SPAMER is S156 while for SPENCER, the code is S152

Mary Margaret Juliet SPANIER

Father: William Arthur SPANIERMother: Katherina REILLEY

Joseph Summer Bacon SPANIER

Father: William Arthur SPANIERMother: Katherine Helen RILEY SPANIER

Still no birth certificate for Francis SPANIER but I did find…

Additional Resources

• Ancestry.Com Learning Centre (research tips; http://tinyurl.com/7qo742k) – FREE

• Ancestry Library Edition Answers (research tips; http://tinyurl.com/alefaqs) – FREE

• Ancestry Library blog (unauthorized reviews of Ancestry.com & FamilySearch.org; http://ancestryinsider.blogspot.com) – FREE

• Morgan, George C. The Official Guide to Ancestry.com. Provo, UT: Ancestry Pub., c.2007.

Thank-you!

May P. ChanEmail: maychan@reginalibrary.ca

www.slideshare.net/maychan(for a copy of this presentation)