Ancestry.com anyone use it?

[dis2cruise]

Thinking of trying it for my family tree, what are your thoughts? I heard it's pretty pricey.

 

[wdwiala]

If you just want to start with the software, go to the local library and check out their most recent Family Tree Maker. Load it up for free. You don't need the software to bring up the program after the first initial loading.

I would start with the shortest intro option for Ancestry.com. There is quite a lot of info on the site. I've found entire branches of my tree online. Beware: once something incorrect gets added to one person's online information, it tends to multiply. Still, its a great starting point.

 

[sue1013]

I've used Ancestry for years. But you have to be careful there is lots of misinformation not in the records but what people have put into their trees. I never use info from trees unless it has a source. As far as price there are a few different plans you can purchase some have monthly payments instead of all at once.

 

[Deon.Newmankgyxc]

no i have not used it

 

[Geoff_M]

You can get a lot of the same info for free from FamilySearch.org (Mormon church's site) and Ancestry's free RootsWeb site.

 

[Bilberry]

I've found Ancestry.com to be a wonderful sight, full of information. It probably is the number one internet sight for genealogy information. It is expensive, and to dig up obscure information can take lots of patience. But the data is well organized - which is more than i can say for other sights. (If you find your self working on Swedish genealogy through Swedish sights, you'll be pulling your hair out at the mess that information is in.) And as others mention, the personal family trees and files can often be full of errors. I always found it best to go with quality instead of quantity when constructing my tree, but everyone is different.

As for collecting best family data, I've found contacting local genealogy clubs in the area my relatives lived resulted in the best information gathered. And even better, visiting the area my self and going to the libraries, and government document centers.

 

[PrincessBelle39]

I love Ancestry.com but only pay for access to the uk and australian records. Its just too expensive for me to access the US records from here. Its something like an extra $40 per month on top of the $25 i already pay. Its disappointing as we had family travel to Rhode Island in the early 1900's and I haven't been able to follow up on that side of the family. i know that my great grandmother died there and her obituary states that she was survived by a husband, son and a daughter. The husband and daughter(my grandmother) went back to the UK. But I have no information on the son who, if he existed, would have been born there and must have stayed with other family.
maybe one day i will pay for a months membership to the us records to follow it up.

 

[Bilberry]

A little off topic from the main question, but concerning genealogy saw that the American Interest magazine online is going to be running a series of articles about the Civil War. It looks interesting. Since the great conflict often shows up in genealogy information gathered thought to post.

http://blogs.the-american-interest.com/wrm/2010/11/06/a-sesquicentennial-blog/

 

[NYUBwayBaby]

I use it. I tried it free for a month and worked on it quite a bit. I didn't want to pay for it, though, so I canceled the payments. So I have a free accound with a tree. I'm using other sites right now and adding what I find to the ancestry.com tree I created. I'd love to pay for the international stuff, but as I'm a broke college kid that isn't going to happen any time soon.
Familysearch.org is really useful, too.

 

[Luv2Roam]

Thanks for asking. I have always wondered about the best way to track or log ancestry.
I have my mother's family history, that was done by an ancestor through research done 1930 - 1935, and presented to my grandfather in 1961.
If what I have is correct, the ancestry links back to 1027.
Needless to say, it is extensive on what I do have. And the person even included what family basic knowledge they had, on some.
I would like to type all this into a database sometime.

 

[lisajl]

I had it for years, but just cancelled it. I just can justify the cost right now.
I loved it! Found so much info. I also would recommend your library.
They have it for free...so much nicer on my checkbook.
I have found relatives that I have not seen in years and have contacted me through Ancestry.
Nice site.

 

[trip]

Thanks for asking. I have always wondered about the best way to track or log ancestry.
I have my mother's family history, that was done by an ancestor through research done 1930 - 1935, and presented to my grandfather in 1961.
If what I have is correct, the ancestry links back to 1027.
Needless to say, it is extensive on what I do have. And the person even included what family basic knowledge they had, on some.
I would like to type all this into a database sometime.

If you are looking for a software recommendation, I use Family Tree Maker to record our family info. It's easy to use.

 

[C.Ann]

Back when I got my very first desk top computer, they had a free 30-day trial - with no CC required to try it out.. It was pretty interesting - and I did get some general info I didn't have before - but to go any deeper into it, I needed to sign up and pay a monthly fee.. Around the same time was when my late DH was getting sicker and his medical expenses were rising, so of course I didn't lock myself into anything..

I might try it again sometime in the future - but if I do it will be to find some info on my late DH's family that I'm really interested in..

 

[maslex]

My sister just joined ancestry .com yesterday. She was able to trace my maternal grandmother's family all the back to the 1600's. From the looks of things, my grandmother was the first generation to be born in the states. The rest of the family was from Quebec. I do remember my mom saying that when she was a young girl she only spoke French and had to learn English once she got to school. I really wish she would have kept up with it and taught it to us!!! My sister was also able to trace my maternal grandfather's family back to 1425. I guess the last two people she could go back to were from England, then from there the majority came from France, then Canada, then CT.

I would like to join too, that way I can continue looking through our family and my husband would like to trace his also.

 

[msmollyshaw]

I was just inspired to join after watching that tv show "Who Do You Think You Are." It has been amazing to pull up the census reports and draft cards for my great-great grandparents and read about their jobs, ages etc. I was just contacted by a very distant relative who has offered to email me pictures of my grandmother as a child. Since this grandmother died when I was in fourth grade I'm really thrilled.

 

[WDWBarb]

I've been a member for years. It is expensive but I just can't seem to part with it! I've traced my family so far back and I'd hate to have to try and pull all of that information (and images) off the site. I've conversed with family I didn't even know I had. My grandmother always told me that she was decended from royalty but she didn't have any of the info. Turns out she was right! I actually can trace that side of the family back to Charlemagne (turns out that about 10% of Europeans are decendants of Charlamagne - lol).

My other side (my dad), on the other hand, I can't get past my great-great grandparents.

I think it's beautiful, finding out the people you came from. If you're really lucky and someone else in your family has contributed documentation, you might even be able to see pictures of your 4x great-grandparents

 

[themilesfamily]

I use it. I've found it to be very user-friendly. I would definitely recommend it.

I've connected with a lot of family -- distant cousins. And I've traced my mother's side back to Plymouth, Mass. -- we are descended from a pilgrim -- and then back to Kent, England. On my dad's side I've traced the family back to an innkeeper in Frankfurt, Germany in the 1600's.

Genealogy is a fun and fascinating hobby, particularly if you're into history.

 

[Feralpeg]

I've been a member for a couple of years. I pay $29.95 a month. That gives me access to US and European records. I've manged to trace some legs of my family back to the 900s.

The information is great, but you really need to check it out to make sure it makes sense.

 

[Mrs. Darcy]

My BIL has a monthly membership with Ancestry.com and he found out my husband's family was originally from France and the spelling of our name was D'Arcy. They changed it to Darcy when the great-great-great grandfather moved to England in 1876. He was a blacksmith who became a French teacher and married one of his students whose name was *****, I kid you not! He was 26 and she was 17. There are lots of interesting bits of info about them and their descendants but no one famous lol. That's as far back as he has gotten so far.


oops i said a bad word, but lol it was her name. It's a common word used before the word cat.

 

[Geoff_M]

I finally broke down and bought a monthly subscription when I had a couple of "dead ends" that I wanted to bust and other sources didn't help. It paid off. I found out that I have a Mayflower connection on both my Mom and Dad's side of the family. In fact, I found out that my parents are Mayflower "cousins" and they have the same 11th g-grandfather (Robert Fuller). My Dad is a direct descendant of Edward Fuller (Robert's son) and my Mom is a direct descendant of Susanna (Fuller) White (Robert's daughter).

Susanna White also gave birth to Peregrine White, my 10th g-grandfather, while the Mayflower was anchored off the coast of Massachusetts. This made him the first Pilgrim born in America. It had been family lore in my maternal grandmother's family (not named "White") that they were related to Peregrine, but my initial research turned up no evidence... until I noticed that I didn't have the maiden name of my one my g-g-great grandmothers. I did some searching on Ancestry.com and found that it was "White". My ears quickly perked up, and after a bit more searching I was staring at a connection with Peregrine!