Saturday 19 March 2011

Roots Ireland extends advanced search facility

Good news from the Irish Family History Foundation, the organisation behind the popular RootsIreland website.

The Advanced Search facility, previously being trialled in just eight areas of Ireland, has been extended (see Coverage below). The facility adds a number of fields to the search criteria for Birth/Baptism and Marriage records. It also has a knock-on effect on how much you have to pay.

For Marriage records: In addition to Standard Search fields you can now search using any or all of the following:
  • Spouse's First Name
  • Spouse's Surname
  • Father's First Name
  • Father's Surname
  • Mother's First Name
  • Mother's Surname
Be aware that the parents' first names and the mother's maiden name may not have been recorded in the original record.

For Birth/Baptism records: In addition to all the search fields in the Standard Search you can now search by Mother's first name or surname, or both. Combining these details with the Father's first name and/or surname should enable you to discover records for all siblings from the same family.

Coverage: All Family History Centres under the IFHF umbrella are now available with Advanced Search except Limerick and Sligo. Roots Ireland covers all counties of Ireland with the exception of Carlow, Clare, South/West Cork, Kerry, Monaghan, Waterford and Wexford, and Dublin City.

Payment: When using the Advanced Search option you cannot purchase individual records unless only one match is located. However, you can purchase the entire result set at a reduced cost. It is, therefore, essential to enter as much detail as possible into the search fields in order to restrict the resulting number of matches. You can then decide to purchase all these records at a reduced cost.

Before you undertake an advanced search be sure to check out the SOURCES page for the county you wish to search.