Important!
Prior to beginning the search process please make sure to read the following:
3. Understanding Search Results
To do a regular search: type one term to a window [except Place Name, which will take multiple words, such as New York]. Click 'Submit Query'. This will take you to a confirmation window. Click 'Submit Search', or return to Query Page. After a pause your results will appear.
OR
To do a wildcard search: type one string/term in one window below and click adjacent 'Run Wildcard Search on this Field' radio button. After a pause a new window will appear listing the terms in the database containing that string. Select one term by clicking adjacent radio button. After a pause your results will appear.
Note: Doing a wildcard search will retrieve ALL strings in the relevant table containing the string. So, for example, typing the name "Ahern" in the Last Name window will retrieve all of the personal names that contain the string "Ahern" whether the string is located at the beginning, middle, or end of the name. Warning: Executing wildcard searches using only a short string, such as "Wa" can result in very large numbers of retrieved records
Please note, too, that there may be a discrepency in the number of documents retrieved for the same term in regular and wildcard searches. For example, the last name "Ahern" retrieves 10 hits in a regular search and 12 in a wildcard search. This is usually due to the fact that different first names or titles for these individuals appear in the same item in the database.