Template:Shared research page

Shared research pages

Just FYI, if you title all your shared research pages with one surname and one place (without abbreviation), they will be indexed into categories properly. It will be easier for your cousins to find your pages. For instance, if you create a page for Smith in Kentucky, it will be indexed in the Smith category, the Kentucky category and the Smith in Kentucky category. The next time someone creates a page for Smith in Kentucky they will come to your page instead of creating a second page for "Smith in Kentucky". It's all about making it easier networking with other genealogists. It is best to use larger jurisdictions such as states or countries instead of towns because our ancestors moved around and generally had connections in the surrounding areas. The information you are looking for may well be in a nearby town. If you want to be more specific, autocomplete will give you a list of towns, counties, districts, etc., if you type in the name, add a comma, then wait a moment. You can then select the standardized jurisdictional name.

When abbreviations are used, the system thinks that the abbreviation is a different place. So, it won't put "Kentucky" articles in the same category with "KY". If you title your page with an abbreviation, for example "Smith in KY", and your cousin titles a page with "Smith in Kentucky", your articles will not be in the same category. Thus, it is less likely that you will connect with that cousin. The same is true if you title your page with multiple locations. For instance, if you title your page with "KY, OH and MT", it will be placed in the "KY, OH, and MT" category. A cousin searching for "Smith in Kentucky" won't see your page in the right category index.

Likewise, if you title your page with multiple spellings, such as Smith, Smythe or Smothe or with added letters such as Smither/s or Smyth(er)(s), your page will not be put in the categories for each spelling; instead, a new category will be created for your particular list. Your cousins may not have the same list and probably won't enter that exact list in their search, making it more difficult for you to connect.

Click on a surname category link at the bottom of any person page to see the category index list. :-D