{"id":8232,"date":"2014-09-15T15:24:18","date_gmt":"2014-09-15T15:24:18","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/blog.genealogybank.com\/?p=8232"},"modified":"2021-10-21T13:09:43","modified_gmt":"2021-10-21T17:09:43","slug":"how-to-use-a-thesaurus-as-a-genealogy-keyword-tool","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.genealogybank.com\/blog\/how-to-use-a-thesaurus-as-a-genealogy-keyword-tool.html","title":{"rendered":"How to Use a Thesaurus as a Genealogy Keyword Tool"},"content":{"rendered":"

Introduction<\/em><\/strong>: In this blog post, Mary Harrell-Sesniak talks about how important it is to try many variations when using keywords for your genealogy searches\u2014and explains how helpful a thesaurus is for finding those variations. Mary is a genealogist, author and editor with a strong technology background.
\n<\/em><\/p>\n

A thesaurus is a marvelous writing tool\u2014and an essential search tool for genealogists. Why?<\/p>\n

When writers, and particularly journalists, go out of their way to be creative, they don\u2019t use expected terms to describe ordinary events.<\/p>\n

\"graphic<\/a>
Source: Mary Harrell-Sesniak<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

These writers turn to a thesaurus, such as the renowned (celebrated, famous, notable) lexicon compiled by Dr. Peter Mark Roget of London in 1852. His Thesaurus of English Words and Phrases<\/em> revolutionized the modern construction of words\u2014although he was not the first or the last to do so.<\/p>\n

\"portrait<\/a>
Portrait: Peter Mark Roget by Thomas Pettigrew, 1843. Source: Wikimedia Commons.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

A search of GenealogyBank\u2019s archives<\/a> finds references to Stevens\u2019s Thesaurus<\/em> in 1724, Beveridge\u2019s Thesaurus<\/em> in 1733, a Thesaurus Medicus<\/em> in 1784, Tyronis\u2019s Thesaurus<\/em> in 1812, and a whole slew of others\u2014including clubs and organizations devoted to synonyms and antonyms.<\/p>\n

\"screenshot<\/a><\/p>\n

(Note: if you are a Wikipedia contributor please expand their Thesaurus article, as not one of these earlier thesauri is mentioned in the article: http:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Thesaurus<\/a>.)<\/p>\n

One Reason Why Search Queries Fail<\/strong><\/p>\n

Queries can fail if you don\u2019t employ search substitutions\u2014a variation of the word or name you are searching for might work when the original search word or name found no results.<\/p>\n

What if the writer, who wrote about your cherished ancestor, was bored with using the same terms repeatedly?<\/p>\n

He\/she might have concluded that the terms \u201cmarry\u201d and \u201cmarried\u201d are easily exchanged for \u201cmatrimony,\u201d \u201cnuptials,\u201d \u201cwedding\u201d and \u201cunion.\u201d<\/p>\n

Obituarists (or in some cases obscurantists) are also prone to employing \u201cpassed away\u201d or \u201cexpired\u201d for \u201cdeath\u201d or \u201cdied.\u201d<\/p>\n

In many search engines (and especially on the Web) you will miss desired results if you don\u2019t try variations.<\/p>\n

Searching for Revolutionary War Ancestors<\/strong><\/p>\n

If you follow me on Facebook<\/a>, you\u2019ll soon learn (ascertain, discover, find) that I am an active American Revolutionary War researcher. I scour archives for patriots and frequently post transcriptions online<\/a> (see Facebook\u2019s Revolutionary War Research page). There\u2019s even an online index, and later this year I hope to publish an updated reference of this work with the full transcriptions.<\/p>\n

Finding early obits and articles about specific patriots can be challenging, so I started cross-referencing searches.<\/p>\n

\u201cRevolutionary War,\u201d \u201cAmerican Revolution,\u201d \u201cpatriot\u201d and \u201cpensioner\u201d achieved great results, but then one day I found an article about a Revolutionary War ancestor that didn\u2019t include any of those terms. Then I started reading more from the target time period, and concluded that I needed to broaden my selection of keywords.<\/p>\n

Revolutionary War Search Keywords<\/strong><\/p>\n

Ever hear of the \u201cshot heard around the world\u201d?<\/p>\n

Many think the phrase has something to do with baseball (Bobby Thomson\u2019s home run to win the National League pennant in 1951), but its first known use was to describe the Battles of Lexington and Concord that began the Revolutionary War in 1775. This phrase, along with the \u201cSkirmish at the North Bridge,\u201d appear in numerous articles without incorporating the terms \u201cwar\u201d or \u201cAmerican Revolution.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"article<\/a>
Alexandria Gazette (Alexandria, Virginia), 9 October 1876, page 2<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Ancestor Name Variations<\/strong><\/p>\n

One day I became curious about people who served with famed Captain John Paul Jones during the Revolutionary War, and noticed that some wordsmiths of the past liked to call him Paul Jones and others referred to him as John Paul Jones. In these two obituaries from 1792, for example, one calls him \u201cPaul Jones\u201d and the other \u201cJohn Paul Jones.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"screenshot<\/a><\/p>\n

So when searching for this famous patriot, I now search on both variations of his name.<\/p>\n

And my keyword options don\u2019t stop there. I\u2019ve maintained a list of over 50 ways to search for Revolutionary War participants, including the words and phrases \u201centered the service of his country,\u201d \u201cspirit of \u201976\u201d and \u201cWhig.\u201d<\/p>\n

Genealogy Keyword Search Tips<\/strong><\/p>\n

To increase the prospects of keyword search success, data-mine search engines with obvious words and consider these tips:<\/p>\n