Step-by-Step: Filtering Family Tree Records on Ancestry

Ever wish you could filter your Ancestry hints by a specific record group, like WWII draft cards or pension files? Here’s the trick you’ve been waiting for, thanks to the genius tip from Christa Cowan from Ancestry.com, who shared it with Aimee Cross! Now I’m sharing it with you!

𝐇𝐞𝐫𝐞’𝐬 𝐡𝐨𝐰 𝐭𝐨 𝐝𝐨 𝐢𝐭: Go to your Ancestry account and view all your hints. Sort your hints by categories like records, photos, or stories. Want to focus on a specific record group? Use the URL hack!

𝐓𝐡𝐞 𝐒𝐞𝐜𝐫𝐞𝐭 𝐒𝐚𝐮𝐜𝐞:

~Grab the collection number for your desired record group.

~Replace the tree number in the URL with your tree number.

~Voilà! Filtered hints for just that record group.

Example: Searching for War of 1812 pension files?

Find the collection number in the Ancestry catalog, pop it into the URL, and get straight to those records. (eg. https://www.ancestry.com/hints/tree/𝟏𝟔𝟖𝟎𝟗𝟏𝟐𝟎𝟕/hints?hf=record&hs=last&hdbid=𝟏𝟎𝟎𝟐

(168091207 is the tree number. 1002 is the War of 1812 pension files record number. Change 168091207 to your tree number. Change 1002 to 1133 and Voilà!)

This is a game-changer for focused research. Save time, target your search, and discover those hidden items in your family tree!

Watch Aimee Cross’ video on her YouTube channel for a step-by-step visual.