It Was Wild In Nebraska In 1885---That's Why We Search With Wildcards

We've mentioned using wildcards at FamilySearch, but the release of the 1885 Nebraska State Census reminded me of their importance.

A search for ann* goldenstein (exact unchecked) did not provide any hits as shown below:

But a search for ann g*ld*st*n did:

 Readers familiar with Soundex will know that Goldenstein and Goldensten are Soundex equivalent. They will also remember (hopefully) from earlier blog posts that unexact searches are FamilySearch do not necessarily pull all hits that are Soundex equivalent.

The desired entry was located in Dawson County, Nebraska's Willow Island precinct.

The young homesteaders had been married around four years at the time of this enumeration and their household had been joined by two children, including Tjode (listed as Tyoda above), the author's great-grandmother. 

Renhert is actually Bernard--named for Annie's father, Bernard Dirks who stayed behind in Adams County, Illinois, where the couple had been married in 1881. 

The more I search on FamilySearch, the more I use wildcards as they are more effective. At least most of the time. I'll have to do a little more searching, Frank's uncle and several cousins should also be in Dawson County in 1885.