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Archiver > APG > 2004-10 > 1098368077


From: Rebecca Rector <>
Subject: O'Neil indexed as Cheal
Date: Thu, 21 Oct 2004 07:14:37 -0700 (PDT)


I was going crazy looking for an O'Neil/O'Neal family
in Rensselaer Co., NY in the 1870 census. I finally
got creative and searched on Ancestry for the least
common first name (Johanna) with no surname and born
in MA. I got a short list that included a Johanna
Cheal about the correct age. And low and behold, when
I looked at the record I had found the family (James &
Margaret O'Neal)! And to top it off, there was a
mother-in-law present!
I can see how the indexer might have seen "Cheal" in
the fancy "O" of O'Neal. It's wonderful being able to
search the records in this way -- that would rarely
been found using paper indexes. Now, if only I could
find James' brother Michael in Boston in 1860...! I
have never found the correct person, and the above
strategy will never work in a large city. (James and
Michael both ended up in Troy, NY in the late 1860's)

Rebecca Rector, MLS
RbInfo Research
Troy, NY

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