13 October 2012

Does Ancestry.com Know Their Illinois Counties?

It's frustrating when Ancestry.com is challenged geographically. It's even more frustrating when it involves my own research. It's fortunate I already know the area and have already seen the materials or I would be confused. Those who are new to research or researching in a given area have reason to be confused.

I was a little mixed up when search for my ancestor John Habben.

This is the "result" for a search on Jonn Habben-indicating that he's in Jersey County's Prairie Township in their atlas. This was news to me--I did not there were any Habbens in Jersey County. It turns out that there weren't. 


The map below is the one that is pulled up. It  is clearly Prairie Township in Hancock County. Frustrating, but at least I don't have new people to figure out. Just something to complain about. 


Gee whiz.

But there's more.

The image below claims to be from a 1908 Hancock County, Illinois set of maps. Last time I checked there was no Annawan Township in Hancock County, Illinois, and it appears that these maps from Henry County (where Annawan is located) were put into a set from Hancock.




I love the fact that these materials are indexed, but the conversion from the microfilm appears to leave a little bit to be desired.

Let's hope Ancestry.com makes the changes.

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