Thos Andrew MATHEWS Louth Ire/Aust

[DoctorJef]

Well, I just tried this - this time I got no results at all.
The search engine would not even recognise Co. Louth as a location.
Reading the comments on the Beta-site, it is fairly obvious that the only people who like the new site are within the familysearch organisation.
I have just looked for another family member and the site would not even recognise Ireland as a location.
Out of six test searches - only one produced a (correct) result
Makes a chocolate fireguard look rather useful.
Geoff

[shanew147]

see the screenshot below for the search I tried for the death of Francis Mathews between 1910 and 1930. In the location field just type Louth... as you do so a list of choices is displayed, including Louth, Ireland.

Four results should be shown for the search, including three deaths..


Shane

[DoctorJef]

OK, I tried it exactly as in your screenshot - I got 21 hits, none of which was the 1914 death in the greyed-out panel of the screenshot.  Three of them were for dates far outside the search parameters. 
As a matter of interest, which web browser were you using?  This should not make a difference, but I am using Firefox, and I will try it in IE6.
Geoff

[shanew147]

OK, I tried it exactly as in your screenshot - I got 21 hits, none of which was the 1914 death in the greyed-out panel of the screenshot.  Three of them were for dates far outside the search parameters. 
As a matter of interest, which web browser were you using?  This should not make a difference, but I am using Firefox, and I will try it in IE6.
Geoff

I used Firefox 3.6 when I did that screenshot. The results should be the same in other compatible browsers - e.g. IE, Chrome etc

I think that  greyed out record in the background is actually from 1934. Sometimes near-miss records a few years outside the years selected are returned.

It can be tricky finding details on the index and can sometimes take a couple of different searches to find possible matches. It's also worth trying alternate spellings of names, as sometimes these were recorded or indexed under a variation. E.g. try the spelling Matthews as an option...  this gives another three results, although none fit your registration district or timeframe.

Do you know approximately what year your Francis was born ?


Shane

[DoctorJef]

Hi Shane

1 - tried in IE, still got the 21 hits.

2 - "Our" Francis was born approx 1851 (based on the two available census returns).

3 - I have tried the Beta several times and found it a complete pain to use.  Testing it against known data (i.e. where I have a copy of the relevant cert to hand) will sometimes deliver a correct result.  Most times it does not.

Got the magnifying glass out and agree withyou that the grayed out date is 1934

Seriously, it can only just about be called a Beta version.  It may be the only free, online, game in town, but the interface is rubbish, most of the filters only work sometimes, and entering the same search criteria again can produce wildly differing results.

Done properly, it could be a most valuable resource - but right now it is not being done properly.

Geoff