Limit your search for records to a specific region of the world, or choose a country and search through a specific database of records in that country.
Limiting search results to a certain location
Choosing a collection focus prioritizes records in one region over records in other regions. If you notice that you’re primarily getting results from the region you’re in, check which region your collection focus is set to.
- From any page on Ancestry®, click the Search tab and select Search All Records.
Search all collections - On the Search page, enter a location in the Place your ancestor might have lived field. Under that field, click Exact to country (if you entered only a country) or Exact to and select an option.
- Still on the Search page, click Show more options.
- Click the Collection Focus menu and select a region. If you don't see a Collection Focus menu, click Show more options.
- Enter your other search information and click Search.
Finding all records for a location
- From any page on Ancestry, click the Search tab and select Card Catalogue.
Search the card catalog - Scroll down the page until you see Filter by Location on the left and select a region.
- Continue filtering by location until you narrow your search to the size of region you want.
- When you're done narrowing by location, select a category under Filter by Category.
- On the search page, enter information and click Search.
