Ancestry Search Box issue

[NicolaP]

Then today I have been finding, when searching in the Wiltshire parish registers, that the list of results omits either the date or the parish or both. Hovering over "view record" shows me the date but the place only as Wiltshire, without the name of the parish. Very annoying, and it makes looking through the results a lengthy task.

I wonder if the update has something to do with the fact that Wiltshire & Swindon History Centre have advised on their website that the Wills and Bishops Transcripts are due to be released on Ancestry. A few weeks back it send middle of November then the other week early December, but I noticed the other day that they had pulled the date altogether and just said being released. If Ancestry are in the process of merging the Bishops Transcripts in with the Parish Registers and have made changes to the databases, this may explain why the parish is missing from the results. I agree its very annoying and I suspect or at least hope that it will get resolved soon.

 

[Bob Spiers]

You then have to move the slider to exact and click "update" to get just the results you want.

Yes some funny goings on without doubt and I can relate to having to move the slider to get, as you say, the results wanted even though there should have been no need if the search had taken notice of the input data in the first place.

Can't say I've noticed anything quite so strange as Peter's example, but probably only a matter of time and certainly Ancestry appear to ignore data input and react as though you had entered a wild card.

 

[Pauline]

Can't say I've noticed anything quite so strange as Peter's example,

I have, but it was a couple of weeks ago and I can’t now remember what search I was doing. I do remember that the results seemed completely random and nothing to do with what I was searching for. It kept happening so I had to abandon the search until later.

 

[Pauline]

I wonder if the update has something to do with the fact that Wiltshire & Swindon History Centre have advised on their website that the Wills and Bishops Transcripts are due to be released on Ancestry

Could be - in which case I might forgive them! I’m particularly looking forward to the wills being available.

 

[NicolaP]

The parish name is back in the Wiltshire results. Looks like it was to do with the Bishops Transcripts being uploaded as they are now on there, although not sure they are in the search results yet, only able to browse. Annoyingly, so far the only BTs are the Wiltshire parishes plus one now in Gloucestershire and no sign of the Berkshire parishes which came under the Archdeaconry of Sarum and are held at Chippenham. I had been hoping they would appear as have for other collections. I suppose it may depend on whether Berkshire RO have objected although if they are held at WSHC I don't see how they could. No sign of the Wills yet.

 

[Pauline]

Having randomly selected a number of Wiltshire parishes to check, it appears that so far only 17th century BTs are available. So maybe there will be more uploaded in due course, and maybe that will include those for Sarum parishes outside of Wiltshire.

I have a vague memory from looking at BTs in the archives many years ago - before they moved to Chippenham - that the Wiltshire BTs were on fiche, but that the Berkshire ones hadn’t been filmed. I seem to remember that the Berkshire ones came in very hard to open rolled up bundles, so they wouldn’t be as easy to digitise.

 

[Pauline]

it appears that so far only 17th century BTs are available

But they can be searched as well as browsed.

 

[NicolaP]

When I tested initially yesterday there didn't appear to be any BTs in the search results, but later there were so may have been updating at that time.