Finding The Name You Want

        There are 2 FGS lists.  They should contain the same data, but are sorted differently -- one alphabetically, and one by FGS# (family order).  Sometimes, the two lists get "out of sync", but not by much.  Check the dates at the top of the pages.  If they're the same, then the files are the same.

        After selecting an FGS file (Alphabetical or by Family), you can quickly jump to a particular person by using your browser's FIND function (hold down the [Ctrl] key, then press the [F] key) to open the Find window.  Then type in the FGS# or name and click "OK" (be sure to note if the "match case" box is checked for an "exact match", or un-checked for no case checking).  If that's not the person you want, use the FIND function again for NEXT.  Be sure to wait until the file has fully loaded into your browser before searching, otherwise you'll get a "Not Found" even if the person is there.

        Since these are LEE files, it's usually easier to find a spouse's name, if you know it, or a sibling or child with an unusual name -- try that 1^st (in the "Family" file), then try the LEE you're looking for 2^nd.  Also, if you're looking for a name like "Lee, Sterling" and don't find it, try looking for "Sterling". You may find "Lee, William Sterling".  I frequently find names others can't by using this method.

        If you're looking for a John LEE b.ca.1780 (and don't know his spouse's name -- see above), you might be better off looking in the "alphabetical" list 1^st, so that all the John LEEs are together.  If you find what you think might be the right person(s), write down the FGS#, then find the same FGS# in the "Family" list to see who the others in the family were.

        Here's a typical "hard" search to make:

Lee, Thomas ?-1774     r.StMarys'ML
???, Mary
    Lee, Richard
    Lee, William

        In this case, you don't have the spouse's maiden name, nor any "unusual" name to go for.  You could search the "Family" file for every "Lee, Thomas", and see if he has a wife Mary and sons Richard and William (there will be a lot of Thos's), or you could search for all the "StMarys'ML" entries, but here's a trick.  If you copy ALL the "Lee, Thomas", "Lee, Richard", and "Lee, Wiliam" records from the "alpha" file, then sort them by FGS# and look for the combination shown above, it might be faster than hunting thru the whole "Family" file (and you might not see Richard & Wm. if they're far down the sibling list, and there's a lot of interveining desc's).  [NOTE: You can't search for ", Mary" because there might be a name in place of "???", and they will be scattered all over the file.].  If you have WordPerfect, you should be able to do this.  If you have a different word processor, that has the ability to sort by line, then you might be able to do it as well.
 

       If you don't find what you want, send me an e-mail query (but PLEASE use an indented format (as shown above) with not more than a dozen or so names -- NOT a long-story narrative format).  If a match is found, I'll e-mail you all the data I have on that line, or send you the FGS# so you can find the name in the lists.  If there's no match, and you give enough data, I'll enter it into my file and let you know if future queries match your data.

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