Thursday, February 2, 2012

Mocavo vs. Google: Round #1

Gate of Heaven Cemetery and Mausoleum
Welcome to Round #1 of the free genealogy search engine challenge, pitting newcomer Francisco Mocavo against the crowd favorite Elmer Google. In this round, each contender will be asked to locate the burial record for Silvio Archilei, b. 1915, d. 1995. I randomly picked this name from a transcription of the Gate of Heaven Cemetery, East Hanover, New Jersey located at Interment.net -- probably the largest online collection of cemetery records.

Throwing the first punch, Francisco Mocavo misses, with 1 result found for "Silvio Archilei," at Find A Grave. Elmer Google attempts to counter, and scores with a link to the Interment listing in position number four on the first page.

After dancing around the ring for a few moments, Francisco Movaco throws a left jab, and misses again in the search for "Archilei 1915 1995." Elmer ducks to avoid the jab, tries to counter and lands another punch, with the Interment listing at position number three.

Francisco looks a little shaken, but gathers himself and takes one last shot at Elmer, but misses in the search for "Silvio Archilei burial 1995," with no results. Elmer, barely breaking a sweat, returns the Interment link in the number one position for this query.

The bell rings, and that's the end of Round #1. As the fighters return to their corners, Ricky Ancestry steps down from the bleachers, beats his chest and offers the SSDI record and a 1930 U.S. Census record on a search for "Silvio Archilei." The 1930 Census shows Silvio (age 14) living with his widowed mother, Erminia, in Orange, New Jersey.(1)

The referee returns to the center of the ring with the judges' scorecards and declares Elmer Google as the winner of Round #1. Looks like the fighters need a rest, check back tomorrow for Round #2 of the free genealogy search engine challenge.

(1) United States of America, Bureau of the Census. Fifteenth Census of the United States, 1930. Washington, D.C.: National Archives and Records Administration, 1930. (Courtesy of Ancestry.com)

No comments:

Post a Comment

Note: Only a member of this blog may post a comment.