If you have trouble finding a specific location, don't just conclude that the catalog does not have records for that place. There are many reasons why you may be having difficulties. Before you give up your search, be sure to try the following strategies:
- Be sure you typed the place-name correctly.
- If you qualified your search with another jurisdiction, try the search again without this qualification.
- Search for records using a larger jurisdiction. For example, if you cannot find records for a town, search for county records.
Once you locate the place for which you are looking, you will be presented with a list of places. If you qualified your search with another jurisdiction, the list should be short. If you did not qualify your search, the list may be long.
If the list shows the place you want, click on the place-name to see the Place Details record. This records usually contains the following items:
- View Related Places - Clicking on this button will give you a list of other places you might be interested in.
- Notes - A few historical facts and details about the place
- Topics - A list of topics for which records are available that relate to the place that you are looking for. This list might include such topics as: biographies, cemeteries, census records, church records, guardianship records, history, land and property records, maps, military history, tax records, vital records, voting records, etc.
