Tips for Searching the Jamestown 1624/5 Muster Records

Tips for Searching with the Wildcard Character (%)

The wildcard character, %, can be used in searches where you are unsure of the correct spelling of a name, occupation, or location. The % stands in for an unknown letter or group of letters in a name. The wildcard is available for use in all text fields.

Example of using the wildcard at the end of a word: If you were unsure whether a last name was spelled Sharp or Sharpe, you could enter the search sharp% into the Last Name field, and entries for both names would be returned.

Example of using the wildcard at the beginning of a word: If you were unsure of how the last name "Feild" appears in the muster, you could enter the search %feild, which would return individuals with the last name of feild or ffeild as well as other similar names such as Hatfeild and Butterfeild.

Example of using the wildcard in the middle of a word: If you were unsure whether a woman's first name was Alice or Allice, you could enter a%e into the search box for First Name. This search would return records for anyone with the first name Alice or Allice as well as Alce, Anne, or Arthure.

Tips for Searching Numeric Fields

When searching numeric fields such as age, 4 options are available. You can search using >, =, <, and <>. The <> option allows you to enter two values and search for values that fall between the two. For example, a search of age <> (from) 10 (to) 15 would return all persons between ages 10 and 15.

Tips for Searching Text Fields

All text fields are case-insensitive. Therefore, a search of Last Name: Smith would return the same results as Last Name: smith.

General Tips

If no results were returned, perhaps your search was too specific. Try searching on less fields, or using the wild card operator in text fields.
Also, you may have selected options in both the corporations and locations fields. This often returns no results. Try selecting options from one column or the other, not both.