Your best bet is to search using as much birth and death information as you have. Sources at the site will be ranked based on this information. Even better is to search on an uncommon names. In my case, I could search for Cuthbert Hayhurst. That name must set some type of record for being uncommon. Cuthbert was an ancestor of my great-grandmother and came to the colonies with William Penn.
The reason for searching with uncommon names is that the more names in the family tree, the more results this site provides. It can sometimes be a chore to wade through what are sometimes unfruitful matches.
How to Search Genealogy.com™ for Family Trees
- Best Way to Search: Go to Active Searches for easier searching. At the Active Searches page, you need only to enter your ancestor data once to search all the websites listed at the left. Active Searches is a free service that creates the optimal searches for your ancestor data.
- Manually search yourself. This will open a new window so you can refer back to the search hints above.
Genealogy.com™ Website Capabilities
See the definition of terms for any questions on the meaning of the entries.
| x | free searches |
| * | free viewing of pedigrees |
| x | paid viewing |
| * | free downloads of pedigrees |
| x | paid downloads |
| ** | contact information for submitter |
| ability to see all the names submitted by a particular researcher | |
| ability to restrict searches to updates since a specific time | |
| searches with spouse's name | |
| x | searches with parent's names |
| x | searches by place of birth |
| searches by place of marriage | |
| x | searches by place of death |
| searches by country | |
| x | searches by state, province, or political subdivision |
| x | searches by date |
| ability to specify date ranges for searching | |
| x | searches by exact spelling of name |
| searches by metaphone | |
| searches by soundex | |
| *** | ability to automatically find possible matches in your ancestry |
* Free genealogy information can be found on individual websites. The company family tree CDs or on-line viewing are not free.
** Contact information on submitters can be obtained for each pedigree on the CDs.
*** Works with the the company's software.