Help, Hints, and Name vs Soundex
How Can You Help
Accuracy of Records
Every effort was made to verify the accuracy of the index database. In some cases, the original records are smudged, illegible or poorly written. If you have a correction or addition, after the search, please click on "suggest update" to generate an email with the corrected information (Don't worry folks, we generate it for you.)
Missing Records
Some records may be missing. If they are, please send an email with as much information as you have. This will help ensure a more complete database.
Comments
If you would like to add comments to the record in the database that will help other researchers, please send it along. The comment field is not designed to be a full biography of the person or replace the original vital records. Comments should limited to basic identification information.
For example:
- This person is the child of John Jones and Mary Peters
- The spelling of John's last name is listed both as Killbride and Kilbride in various records
- buried in St Rose cemetery, no headstone found
- Listed in the death record as Mrs Ed Quinn. Her first name is Ethel.
After searching for the person, click on "suggest update" and generate an email with the additional information.
Find A Grave Memorial Numbers
Find A Grave provides a wealth of information based on cemetery records and gravestones. If you know the Find A Grave memorial number for anyone in the database, after searching for the person, please click on "suggest update" to generate an email with the additional information (Don't worry folks, we generate it for you.)
Hints on How to Find Your Ancestor
General Hints
- Use the volume number and page number from the index listing and search the Newtown vital records microfilm. The local librarians can assist you with the microfilm.
- There may be multiple people with the same name on a microfilm page. Be sure to look over the entire page to get the correct record.
- Spelling variations may exist. For example: if the name is Riley, it may be spelled Riley, Reiley, Rieley, Riely, etc. in the index. If the name does not appear, enter in just a few letters of the last name, e.g. "Ri". Also, try a Soundex search.
- You can display any combination of birth, death or marriage records in a search.
Birth Records
- The birth records are usually listed by the father's last name. In the listing, the father's name will most likely be shown. The actual birth records have both the mother and father listed. In about 50% of the listings, the child's name is entered.
Death Records
- Children - sometimes children are listed as "child of", "son of", daughter of" or "infant of". You will need to cross reference the listing with your other family information.
- Spouse - sometimes a wife is listed as "Mrs. John Doe". You will need to cross reference the listing with your other family information.
- Remember, spouses are listed by the married name, not their maiden name.
Marriage Records
- In the original index on microfilm, only the husband's name was listed. The online index provides both the husband's name and the wife's maiden name.
Partial Name Search vs. Soundex Search
What is Partial Name Search
- The name search assumes the characters entered are a subset of the name.
- Example 1 - If you enter Quinn in the search field, the database will search for any name containing Quinn. In the Newtown database, it will return both Quinn and Quinnlavan
- Example 2 - If you enter nn in the search field, the database will search for any name containing nn. In the Newtown database, it will return Bennedict, Bennett, Bennis, Connor, Connors, Connolly, etc.
What is a Soundex Search
- Selecting the Soundex option allows you to perform a search based on phonetics and pronunciation, as opposed to spelling. For more information, see the Wikipedia entry on the Soundex system
- When performing a Soundex search, start with the full name and then try variations after that.
- Example 1 - If you enter Reiley in the search field and choose name search, the database will search for any name containing Reiley. In the Newtown database, it will return both Reiley and O'Reiley. If you choose Soundex search, it will return Reiley, Reilly, Rielly, and Riley.
- Example 2 - If you enter Briscoe in the search field and choose name search, the database will search for any name containing Briscoe. If you choose Soundex search, it will return Beers, Birch, Boris, Briggs, Brikey and Briscoe.