Using wildcards to search databases

Examples
Where a Mc surname may have been recorded as Mac, or vice versa, use a wildcard * to locate it. M*CDONALD will find both MCDONALD and MACDONALD entries.ANN* will capture ANN, ANNE, ANNIE, but also ANNABEL, ANN-MARIE etc. It will also usually return entries exhibiting extra forenames, such as ANN ELIZA.In the Ancestry and FamilySearch databases:- If you want to search for names that differ only by one letter, use the question mark (?) wildcard. A search for Johns?n will return both Johnsen and Johnson.
- You can search alternate spellings with the asterisk (*), which represents 0 to 5 unknown characters. The query Bolan* will return results for Bolander, Bolanger, Bolandre, etc.
- A query for Smel*er will search for Smeltzer and Smelzer, among others.
These characters can be substituted anywhere in the surname or forename and can be employed in various combinations.
A few searching tasks
Give using wildcards and other searching techniques a try through answering the questions posed in the document which can be found below in the Downloads section. These are totally optional. They use free online databases so no subscriptions are required. We suggest discussing your answers in your Study Group’s discussion area – to access that, click on the Study Group icon at the top of the page.The resources in the ‘See Also’ section below can be consulted for more information on the topic.Genealogy: Researching Your Family Tree

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