Tips for searching the Loyalist Database
Search terms can be combined using the operators AND (search result must include this word), OR (search result may include this word), and NOT (-) (search result must exclude this word); examples: Miller AND papers; railway -station. Note, if no operator is used, the default is AND.
Phrase searching uses double quotation marks: "refugee camp"; note when searching archival reference numbers, place in quotes, for example, "WO 12"
Truncation uses an asterisk (*): Palatin* will find Palatine or Palatinate
Proximity searching is based on the distance between two words in the text, and uses the tilde (~) and maximum number of words to separate search terms: "loyal British"~5
The following field labels are available for searching either keywords or codes in specific fields when using the Default Search screen for command searches.
| Label: | Description: | Example of use: |
|---|---|---|
| archival_ref_no | Reference number at original archive | archival_ref_no:PRO FO4 |
| background | Background information about document | background:"refugee camp" |
| call_number | Call number in Loyalist Collection | call_number:FC LFR .M5F3P3 |
| category | Categories of Loyalist Collection: church, family, military, public, or special | category:family |
| contents | Description of document contents | contents:"powers of attorney" |
| creator | Creator of document | creator:Miller |
| database_id | ID number in Loyalist Db | database_id:531 |
| originals | Location of original document | originals:"brome county historical society" |
| title | Words in title | title:papers |
Logical operators can be used to combine command searches:
| Operator | Example |
|---|---|
| AND | title:papers AND creator:Miller |
| OR | "Justus Sherwood" OR "Robert Leake" |
| NOT (-) | "Justus Sherwood" -"Loyal Rangers" |
