Review of The Advanced Genealogy Search Engine - Day Five

Today, I had the chance to try out the information I learned when I read the Guide To Preforming Genealogy Searches that I found on the Advanced Genealogy Search Engine page. My hope is that by following the suggestions in the guide, I will get better results from the search engine.

This time, I put my first name and my unmarried surname into the search engine, surround by quotation marks. I hit enter, and, instantly, I learned that there were absolutely no results found by the search engine that time. That didn’t work. Next, I remembered that the guide said that many genealogy records are listed surname first, first name last. I reversed the order of my name, put it between quotation marks, and hit enter. I got exactly one result this time. It was the listing from Kelvin Grove Cemetery, where someone who had the exact same name as me was buried sometime in 1994. I am obviously still alive, so this isn’t a result I can use.


At this point, I am confused. I followed the directions I found in the guide, so, that should have gotten me the results I wanted, right? Perhaps the problem is that the person I am searching for genealogy information on, myself, is still alive, so there isn’t a record of death or burial to be found? I am perplexed.

Then, I remembered some advice a friend of mine, who knows a lot more about genealogy than I do, gave me. The friend said to start searching for someone who is three generations back from yourself. However, I don’t know enough information about any of my ancestors from that far back to even put into the search engine. Instead, just to see what happens, I enter the first, middle, and married surname of one of my grandmothers into the search engine. I surround her name with quotation marks, and hit enter. Will this work?

I quickly learned that no, this didn’t work either. The search engine literally says: No Results. I remove her middle name, and try again. Once again, I get the frustrating yellow box that says: No Results. I reverse the order of her surname and her first name, and again, get no results. Ok, then. What happens if I try my father’s name? There are three results that come up, but none of them are correct. Each person the search engine found has the wrong middle name. I give up! I am now finished trying to find information through the Advanced Genealogy Search Engine. I learned that this particular resource is simply not going to provide any help to me at all.