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Tips on How to Search the
Ancestral File
Required Information
What Searches Are Invalid
Tips for
Searching the Ancestral File
Search for
Children of the Same Parents
Narrow Your Search
Return to Ancestral File Search
Required Information
You must enter at least:
- An individual’s last name (unless you search for children
of the same parents or search by Ancestral File number).
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What Searches Are Invalid
FamilySearch will not search for:
- A first name only.
- Middle names. FamilySearch will ignore middle names unless you check the Use exact spelling box.
When you check Use exact spelling, the search will look for the individual's first, middle,
and last name exactly as you listed it. If you check Use exact spelling,
you may not list parents, spouse, event, year, or country.
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Tips
for Searching the Ancestral File
- You may search for any combination of first and last names
for the individual, parents, and spouse.
- You may search for just a last name. Up to 200 results will
be displayed on a page. Click Next to look at the other
results.
- For common surnames, fill in additional fields to improve
your search results. You will get better results if you enter
an individual’s first name and last name.
- Last names are standardized so that spelling variations are
retrieved in the results.
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Search for
Children of the Same Parents
To search for children of the same parents, enter:
- The father’s first and last name.
- The mother’s first name (the mother’s last name is
optional).
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Narrow Your Search
You may now use the following to make your search more
specific:
- Event
- Year Range (If you select Year Range, you must provide a
year in the Year box.)
- Year
- Country
- Use Exact Spelling (If you check Use Exact Spelling, you may
not list Parents, Spouse, Event, Year, or Country.)
- Ancestral File Number (Enter only the Ancestral File Number.
Do not enter any other information.)
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Return to Ancestral File Search
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