Expanding on Ms. McDaniel's comments. I try the easiest way first. If my "small net" does not catch my "fish," then I begin enlarging my net. It is mostly common sense coupled with experience and trial and error but a very common step for me are to expand the range for date of birth. I use that technique in many of the places where the search parameters are entered. For very difficult situations, I common use "the wild card" which is means that I can use "soundex," "uncheck exact matches," and for the very difficult ones I have found that entering the first three (3) letters of the first or last or first and last names with and asterisk (*) behind the third (3rd) letter of the first, last or first and last name. I found Henry MARSH with the very first try. I used "Exact matches, "Exact Spelling," and entered for the first and last names "Hen* " and "Mar* " and knowing that Henry was supposedly 45 yrs. of age (b. 1825) and he was supposedly in St. Francois Co., Mo. in the 1870 census - the township normally is not important at this stage - I did not even enter the date of birth and I only came up with "Henry March b. 1825 in Ky. & he was living in Big River, St Francois, Missouri and another gentleman "Henry Marie" born in Switzerland. This was almost a slam dunk and pretty easy. They can really get nasty and sometimes almost or impossible to find. Just one other hint about St. Francois Co., Mo. in the various censuses. The way St. Francois Co. is listed is not always the same. Here are the variations. You can make note or just remember to try a different spelling. 1830 - St Francois, Missouri 1840 - Saint Francois, Missouri (note) 1850 - St Francois, Missouri 1860 - St Francois, Missouri 1870 - St Francois, Missouri 1880 - Saint Francois, Missouri (note) 1900 - St Francois, Missouri 1910 - St Francois, Missouri 1920 - St Francois, Missouri 1930 - St Francois, Missouri I hope this information may help someone in their research. E.B. Lyon ----- Original Message ----- From: Cynthia McDaniel To: mostfran@rootsweb.com Sent: Saturday, November 06, 2010 10:04 AM Subject: Re: [MOSTFRAN] Lookup for Henry MARSH It is possible to search using only a first name in Ancestry.com as long as you restrict the area of search. I have often found the person I am looking for by using this technique when I couldn't find them using their last name. Searching for an unusual name is often more fruitful than a more common name so knowing the children in the household is helpful. Cynthia McDaniel From: mostfran-bounces@rootsweb.com On Behalf Of Euel B. Lyon Sent: Saturday, November 06, 2010 10:24 AM To: MOSTFRAN-L@rootsweb.com Subject: Re: [MOSTFRAN] Lookup for Henry MARSH Ancestry.com did not interpet the census image as "MARSH" rather they intepreted it as "MARCH." This is a very common occurence. Even the simplest of names sometimes are not interpreted corrected. I have found that sometimes you have to use a bit of imagination and go through trial and error to find who you are looking for and sometimes that does not work or they just are not in any census for that year. Euel Baker Lyon 1870 United States Federal Census Name: Henry March Birth Year: abt 1825 Age in 1870: 45