Our Ancestors · Practical genealogy
An unsuccessful search is useful when you know exactly what was checked. Before widening the search, establish whether the expected record could be in the material you reviewed.
For families researching Poland, Germany, Austria, Ukraine, Lithuania, Belarus, Italy and Spain.
01 · Research guide
Check what “not found” actually means
Separate four situations: no index match, no match in the register examined, a register absent from the online collection and a register confirmed missing from the relevant holdings. Each calls for a different next step.
Write down the repository, collection, register, years, page range and search method. Note unreadable pages, missing sections and gaps between volumes. If you searched only an index, do not describe the entire register as checked.
Before drawing a conclusion, review the place, event type, denomination where relevant and the estimated date range. A residence may differ from the place where an event was registered.
02 · Research guide
Look beyond the first database
Check the catalogue and finding aids of the holding institution. A register may survive without being indexed or digitised, or copies may exist elsewhere. Ask a precise holdings question: which years survive for this locality and event type, and are there duplicates or related series?
Where both an index and an image are available, inspect the relevant original pages. An omitted entry, a variant spelling or a page placed out of sequence can make a simple name search incomplete.
Do not assume that absence online means destruction. Equally, a catalogue entry does not guarantee that a usable record for your particular person survives.
03 · Research guide
Choose alternatives that answer the same question
- Parentage: investigate a marriage entry, siblings' records or a probate file that may identify family relationships.
- Residence: consider population registers, household lists, property records or address sources where they survive.
- Approximate age: compare marriage, death, census or military records, allowing for inconsistent ages.
- Migration: compare departure and destination records, correspondence and records of close relatives.
These are possible source types, not a promise that they exist for every place or period. Choose alternatives based on the locality's actual holdings.
A sibling's entry may reveal a lead, but it does not automatically prove the target person's parentage. Explain each connection and test conflicting details.
04 · Research guide
Decide whether to continue, pause or change the question
Rank the remaining searches by the question they could answer, the likelihood that the material survives and the work involved in accessing it. Agree a limited next stage instead of repeating the same broad search.
Sometimes the best result is a narrower conclusion: a family probably lived in a district, while the exact village remains unresolved. State the supporting evidence and the limits clearly.
“No matching marriage entry was found in the specified register for the years examined. The adjacent period and the neighbouring parish have not yet been checked.” This describes the work without claiming that the marriage never occurred.
See the sample report and search log for a fictional example of how to record an unanswered question.