Ancestry Scottish Census search acting up?

kathyc · Post by **kathyc** » Thu Mar 29, 2007 5:03 am

There must be something strange. I did an exact match search for records I knew for sure are there today, because I've looked at them before. Got absolutely no matches, despite having included nothing but information I knew for sure was in the record as listed on Ancestry. I found them later, but only on a ranked search.

Kathy

Post by **SarahND** » Fri Mar 30, 2007 4:31 pm

Hi all,
I finally got this dealt with... I think and hope. After my second message, telling them the problem again, assuring them I was not doing things I shouldn't with the boxes and asking them to try the search themselves... I got this response:

Dear Sarah,

We appreciate your message.

Well in that case, I am going to give you the number for our Family History Experts. They can walk you through the directions to make comments, corrections. For directions on the site, just hit the help tab by your username up at the very top, then type in "corrections". or 1-877-504-0905. Thanks.

If there is anything else with which we might assist you, please let us know.

Stacy
Member Solutions
Ancestry.com

So, it apparently needs a Family History Expert to replicate that search (JustJean and Sheila, take a bow!). I called the number, being tired of the fruitless back and forth with the help desk. Right away I got someone who checked, agreed, and called the programming department while I stayed on the line

Hoorah! He didn't know how long it would take them to fix it, but at least they now know...

Before calling I narrowed down the problem. Here's the scoop: It only affects first name only searches (i.e. no surname, but anything else you would like to specify) on just the Scottish 1871 and 1891, the latest ones added. I checked all the others and they are fine. What you will get with a first name search is all the people with someone of that name in their household. If you add a year of birth, place, occupation, etc., these will all apply to the person who comes up in the result, but that person can have any name at all, as long as they have someone in their household with the name specified on the search.

So, for example, search in the 1871 census for anyone named James ("exact matches only" checked) born in 1870 in aberdeen*, occupation: ag lab. You'd think the search would come up with no results, given the combination of age and profession, but no... you get three hits: Ann Cruickshank, Jemima Mutch and Alexander Ridd-- all born in 1870 in Aberdeenshire. One can imagine the wee things crawling out to the fields with their little farm implements and helping Dad

What they all have in common is that they all have an Ag Lab named James in the family.

Let's hope they clear it up quickly and that the new 1881 and 1901 censuses (coming "soon") will not have this glitch.
All the best,
Sarah

JustJean · Post by **JustJean** » Fri Mar 30, 2007 5:17 pm

Hi Sarah

Way hey.

....you got through to the people who call the shots....nice going!!! =D> No kidding they have a problem.

I don't think it takes an expert to determine that...but I am surprised that maybe no one has complained loudly about it before your efforts...ALthough they didn't say that did they.........

Anyhow....caution will be rewarded when searching in 1871 and 1891 until they get it sorted. I had pretty much concluded too that it only affected first name no surname scenarios but had not gone so far as to test each year.

All in all...good job well done!!

Now if they would only come clean about the indexing.....is it people or is it OCR??

k ......we can conjecture and we can have our gut instincts....but until they recant their prior statements I guess we're really left with hoping they are listening to what the general public has to say about the quality. Personally I don't care if it's OCR or people related...I just wish like heck they could improve it because I think it's darn shoddy indexing!!!!!

Best wishes
Jean

Post by **SarahND** » Fri Mar 30, 2007 5:40 pm

JustJean wrote:...but I am surprised that maybe no one has complained loudly about it before your efforts...ALthough they didn't say that did they.........

No, they didn't

And I will believe the "fixing" when I see it accomplished. However, the guy did sound refreshingly intelligent, and was not trying to tell me that I didn't know how to check and uncheck boxes, like the first level "Member Solutions" staff

The clincher, I think, was when I told Stacy that I had been a subscriber for SEVEN years and that I was fully aware of how the search function works

She quickly decided I'd better get passed to the "Experts"

JustJean wrote:.Now if they would only come clean about the indexing.....is it people or is it OCR?? k

I just can't believe that occupations like:

Grocer Not A Herch On Th Ordowary Acceplatson Of The
R S A Portrail & Landlcape Paiuter
Royal & Cottish Academician Portrart Ainnial & Landscape Pointer
Retined Mershonat & Acculine Of 10 Acres Of Land
Assistant Keeper of General & Trastiaula Registrar Davies Edinburgh
qunner Royk An Liblery
Proppirval Phrendogist
Sovaneno Phranaker
Coal Fitter A Tichmeal Phrose Applud Person And Employ Loal Gar Scholar
Farmer Of 150 Acceres Feplaying Phree 3 Labourers
Phryhman
Journeyman Tippe Founder Bert Ulent
Eradle & Barket Maker

and place names like:

Zue Onaf Aryroad Nennl
Gasgoa, Lanarkshire
Somershire
Dundee, Glasgow
Resburlishire
Bermfshire
Linbethgoneshire
Kunkardee, Perthshire

were transcribed by humans. Especially the place names, where the trained transcribers should have had, minimally, a crib-sheet with the county names on it

I have not been impressed with the level of knowledge of the people who deal with the public at Ancestry and I think we are just not getting access to the people who really know anything about how the indexes are made.
Regards,
Sarah

kathyc · Post by **kathyc** » Fri Mar 30, 2007 5:44 pm

That Linbeth must've been an important guy (girl?) in that area to have the whole county named after his/her departure.

Kathy

LesleyB · Post by **LesleyB** » Fri Mar 30, 2007 8:19 pm

Hi Kathy

That Linbeth must've been an important guy (girl?) in that area to have the whole county named after his/her departure

Nice one!!

best wishes
Lesley

scooter · Post by **scooter** » Fri Mar 30, 2007 9:10 pm

"qunner Royk An Liblery" is a recognised profession, but only after a skinfull on a Friday night when explaining to the police why exactly that traffic cone was supposed to be on the head of a statue depicting a crusty old general from the Boer war

Reading between the lines, I'm assuming this was supposed to say something along the lines of "Gunner, Royal Artillery"?

Scott

Post by **SarahND** » Fri Mar 30, 2007 9:25 pm

Hi Scott,
See this thread, if you missed the madness at the time

http://talkingscot.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=7165

Regards,
Sarah

Russell · Post by **Russell** » Fri Mar 30, 2007 9:31 pm

I always wanted to be a

Phryhman

.

I would make the best fish and chips in

Somershire

then retire for the winter to Marbella.

Russell