President’s Corner: Cracking the Code with Search Wildcards and Phonetics
As members of the Genealogical Society of Greater Miami, we all know that researching our family trees is rarely a straight line. Many of us are tracing ancestors whose names changed drastically as they crossed borders, passed through ports of entry, or were recorded by clerks who didn't quite catch the spelling. We’ve all hit that frustrating brick wall where we know a family member should be in a database, but their name just isn't popping up.
Because our ancestors' surnames were often translated, misspelled, or adapted over generations, flexibility is key when we search. A recent helpful thread on the JewishGen Discussion Group reminded me of two powerful tools we should all have in our genealogical toolkit—whether we are researching Eastern European roots, Sephardic lineages, or any family names that evolved over time.
Here is a quick breakdown of how to use Wildcards and Phonetics to break through your current brick walls.
President’s Corner: Cracking the Code with Search Wildcards and Phonetics
We’ve all hit that frustrating brick wall where we know a family member should be in a database, but their name just isn't popping up. Because our ancestors' surnames were often translated, misspelled, or adapted over generations, flexibility is key when we search.
A recent helpful thread on the JewishGen Discussion Group reminded me of two powerful tools we should all have in our genealogical toolkit: Wildcards and Phonetic Searches. Here is a quick breakdown of how to use them to break through your brick walls.
1. Mastering Wildcards: ? vs. *
Think of wildcards as placeholders for the letters you aren't completely sure about. Most databases support them, though it is always smart to check the specific site's search rules first.
The Question Mark
?(Stands for exactly one letter): Use this when you are debating between a single or double letter, or a specific vowel.Example: Searching for HARRIS but unsure if it has one 'R' or two? Search for
HAR?IS.
The Asterisk
*(Stands for multiple letters): Use this to capture major spelling shifts or variations in the middle or end of a name.Example: GREENBERG often appears in records as GRINBERG. Searching for
GR*NBERGwill capture both.
Mix and Match: You can even use both at the same time. If you want to find Greenberg, Grinberg, Greenburg, or Grinburg, try searching for
GR*NB?RG.The Vowel Strategy: A great tip passed down by fellow researchers is to use the
*wildcard specifically to replace unpredictable vowels. For example, searching for a name like Shewalowitch usingS*w*l*w*can successfully pull up Schawelowitz and Sawalowich all at once.
2. Exact vs. Phonetic Searches
When you look at a search dropdown menu on sites like JewishGen, Ancestry, or SteveMorse.org, you will often see options like "Exact," "Phonetic," "Soundex," or "Fuzzy." What do they actually mean?
Exact Search: The database will only return results that precisely match the spelling you typed. If there is a one-letter typo in the record, you won't see it.
Phonetic / Soundex Search: The system looks for names that sound like yours, even if they are spelled entirely differently. For instance, searching JewishGen using "Sounds like Savalovitz" will successfully bring up Shevalovitz, Schewalowitch, and Sevelovitz.
A Quick Bit of History: Some of us might remember the "old days" of visiting the physical archives, where we had to manually calculate Soundex codes by hand just to scroll through rolls of microfilm! We are incredibly fortunate that today's digitized databases handle that heavy lifting for us behind the scenes—though different archives (like NARA versus the NYC Municipal Archives) historically used slightly different indexing systems.
Put it into Practice
The next time you hit a dead end, try switching your strategy. If you are using a phonetic "Sounds Like" search and getting too much clutter, try switching to an "Exact" search but strategically placing a few * or ? wildcards to target the vowels.
Happy hunting, and may your next search bring you closer to your ancestors!
