How to Search
The records in this series are composed of numerous data points through which you can begin your research. The below guide is meant to help you as you navigate.
Basic Text Searches
The easiest way to begin your search is through the main search bar on the right side of your screen. This option allows you to search most of the data fields at once. (Data fields included in this search include: Name, lot and grave numbers, birthplace, place of death, late residence, marital status, cause of death, undertaker/funeral director, cause of death, date of death, date of interment and any notes or remarks. A description of each field is located here.) Please note that search terms are not case sensitive.
There are several ways in which you can modify your search term to refine your results. Click the terms below for more info on each.
Boolean Searches
The “Boolean search” method allows you to insert the words AND, OR, and NOT to limit, broaden, and define your results.
In the main search bar, if you enter multiple search terms, the system will provide results that include any of the entered terms, or all of them. (Essentially, it defaults to “OR,” meaning it assumes you are looking for records that contain either of the words.)
Ex: A search of ‘Ireland England’ will find all records that contain either of those terms.
If you want to see results that only contain all of the words you have entered, you can instead include the word AND between the terms. This will limit results to only records that include both.
Ex: Ireland AND England
If you want to see results that contain one term, but not another term, you can include the word NOT between the terms. This will limit results to only records that contain the first term but not the second term.
Ed: Ireland NOT Dublin
Phrase Searches
If you want to search for an exact multi-word phrase, enclose the phrase in quotation marks. This will provide only results that include that exact phrase.
Ex: A search of “287 Lexington Ave” will provide only appearances of that exact address, not other appearances of “287” or “Lexington.”
Wildcard Searches
If you want to receive results that also include variations on a root word, you can search by by adding an asterisk (*) after the entered term. Called a “wildcard search” this enables you to search for instances of your search term with one or more characters added on the end.
Ex: A search of ‘john*’ will provide results that contain John, but also variations like Johnson, Johnston, Johnsten, etc.
fuzzy Searches
If you want to receive results that also include terms similar to the one you have entered, you can add a tilde (~) after the term. Called a “fuzzy search” this enables you to search for results that match your term closely, but not exactly. This is useful to catch results for words that have variations in spelling, those that may have been misspelled by the original writer, or those that contain a typo.
Ex: A search of “hemorrhage~” will provide results that contain Hemorrhage, but also variations like Hemorrage and Hemorrhagia.
Fielded Searches
If you want to receive results only for the appearance of your search term in a specific field, you can narrow your search to one field by using the technical data field name (specified in the table below) followed by a colon and the term. A list of these technical field names, and the display names they correlate to, can be found in the table below.
Ex: Burial_location_lot_current:194
interment_date_display:”July 4, 1880”
You can incorporate Boolean, Wildcard, and Fuzzy searches here also.
Ex: cause_of_death_display: hemorrhage~
Name_first: john*
| Technical Data Field Name | Displayed DataField Title | Examples |
| name_last | NA | Currier |
| name_first | NA | John |
| name_transcribed | NA | John A Currier |
| name_display | Name | John A Currier |
| name_middle | NA | A |
| burial_location_lot_current | Lot number (of current burial site) | 736 &C |
| burial_location_lot_previous | Lot number (of previous burial site) | 8839 |
| burial_location_grave_current | Grave number (of current burial site) | 3 |
| burial_location_grave_previous | Grave number (of previous burial site) | 6 |
| birth_place_displayed | Birthplace | England |
| birth_place_transcribed | NA | U S |
| residence_place_city_display | Late residence | Brooklyn |
| residence_place_city_transcribed | NA | New York |
| residence_place_street_display | Late residence | 217 – 7th Ave |
| residence_place_street_transcribed | NA | 62 Hoyt St |
| death_place_display | Place of death | Brooklyn |
| death_place_transcribed | NA | St Vincents Hosp N Y |
| death_date_display | Date of death | February 21, 1897 |
| death_date_iso | NA | 1897-02-21 |
| interment_date_display | Date of interment | February 23, 1897 |
| interment_date_iso | NA | 1897-02-23 |
| cause_of_death_display | Cause of death | Phthisis |
| undertaker_display | Undertaker / Funeral Director | McLean & Dougherty |
| undertaker_transcribed | NA | John F Fagan |
| remarks_display | Notes & Remarks | Removal From New York |
| marital_status | Marital status | Not Recorded, Single, Married, Widow |
Weighted Searches
The first five name fields (name_last, name_first, name_transcribed, name_display, and name_middle) have been assigned a larger field weight than the other fields. We assigned these fields a weight value of 3 out of a range of 0 to 10, 10 being the most substantial weight. This means that they will appear higher in the results list. For example, a search of “ireland” will return results first where that term appears as the last name compared to where it appears as part of the birth place field.
| Technical Data Field Name | Displayed DataField Title | Examples |
| name_last | NA | Currier |
| name_first | NA | John |
| name_transcribed | NA | John A Currier |
| name_display | Name | John A Currier |
| name_middle | NA | A |
| burial_location_lot_current | Lot number (of current burial site) | 736 &C |
| burial_location_lot_previous | Lot number (of previous burial site) | 8839 |
| burial_location_grave_current | Grave number (of current burial site) | 3 |
| burial_location_grave_previous | Grave number (of previous burial site) | 6 |
| birth_place_displayed | Birthplace | England |
| birth_place_transcribed | NA | U S |
| residence_place_city_display | Late residence | Brooklyn |
| residence_place_city_transcribed | NA | New York |
| residence_place_street_display | Late residence | 217 – 7th Ave |
| residence_place_street_transcribed | NA | 62 Hoyt St |
| death_place_display | Place of death | Brooklyn |
| death_place_transcribed | NA | St Vincents Hosp N Y |
| death_date_display | Date of death | February 21, 1897 |
| death_date_iso | NA | 1897-02-21 |
| interment_date_display | Date of interment | February 23, 1897 |
| interment_date_iso | NA | 1897-02-23 |
| cause_of_death_display | Cause of death | Phthisis |
| undertaker_display | Undertaker / Funeral Director | McLean & Dougherty |
| undertaker_transcribed | NA | John F Fagan |
| remarks_display | Notes & Remarks | Removal From New York |
| marital_status | Marital status | Not Recorded, Single, Married, Widow |
Search Filters
You can refine your search using the filters located in the box at the left side of your screen. This enables you to add specifications to your search pertaining to different data fields. By searching and selecting data in one of those fields, or, for numerical fields, setting a range, you can apply a filter to your search so that you will only receive results that meet the specification(s) you have selected.
To use a filter, locate the name of the data field you are hoping to refine, and click to expand. For the Name field, you will want to simply type your search term into the bar. You will notice that your search term has now been applied as a filter to the results displayed at the right. (Note the box that has appeared under the main search bar.) For other non-numerical fields, as you type into the search bar, associated values will begin to populate beneath your text, each with a check box in front of them. Check off one of more of those boxes to add a filter to your results. (These will also appear in a box under the main search bar) For numerical fields (Date of interment, Age at death, and Date of death), use your mouse to move points along the line to specify a range within which you wish to search. When you have selected your range, this will also be added as a filter and appear under the main search bar.
With filters applied, you will now see only results that meet the specifications you have set. You can then review these results or refine them further by adding a term in the main search bar. When you are done, you can remove these filters by closing out each of the filter boxes beneath the search bar or clicking “clear all.”