Sunday, May 31, 2026

The Danger of Specific Location Searches



Please be aware that if you are narrowing your FamilySearch Full-Text Search by location, you might want to make sure that you haven't gotten too specific. I've often found towns or cities listed incorrectly within the Catalog's description. The most common one I see in my research is Rutherford County, TN, being mistaken for Rutherford (city), TN. Rutherford the city is in Gibson County, TN.

One of my favorite ways to search is by using key community or family surnames. Today, I searched on some common surnames within my paternal grandmother's family and found a listing for Garrison Fork Baptist Church, Beech Grove, TN. So glad I found them! I never would have found this by looking within the correct location because it is listed as Weakley County, TN, instead of under Coffee County. No idea why anyone thought it was in Weakley County. The records from Beech Grove are the only ones on the reel, and there is nothing on the first few pages that would lead me to believe it was located there. This can happen within other sites as well and is not just specific to FamilySearch.  So, now to try and figure out how to ask for a correction so others don't miss out. Anyone interested in the Garrison Fork Baptist Church records on this reel can find it in the catalog here.  You will need to log in to access it.  If you don't have an account, no worries, registration is free.

No comments:

Post a Comment