ancestry

Parent Cafe
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<p>I finally gave in to the TV commercials and checked out that website for making a family tree and/or researching family history. (Can I say it here? ancestry.com)</p>

<p>It’s really neat. I’m amazed at how complete the public records are. (Mainly census, military, and some other sources) Plus, whenever one of my relatives appears to overlap with someone else’s tree, I’m informed and can compare my data to the other. </p>

<p>The technology that runs the site seems to be pretty sophisticated, too. I manage a website for a living and find myself wowed by some of the features and functionality on ancestry.</p>

<p>Dare I say it, but this new discovery might divert some of my attention from CC. (Well, at least until I’ve filled my trees with as much as I can find.) </p>

<p>Has anyone else tried this out? What do you think?</p>

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<p>This is on my to do list. How much did it cost? I have all this family history stuff shoved in a box and I am afraid of how long it will take me to get organize and yet… I am so curious about the past. I am even tempted to do the DNA testing. Maybe some day…</p>

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<p>Cost depends on whether you want your membership to be for US records or worldwide records. I’m currently in the beginning of the 3 month free trial. When that ends, I’ll probably start with the cheapest subscription: US-only for $155/yr. (or $19.99 per month)</p>

<p>Don’t let the time commitment scare you off. I’ve probably invested no more than 6 hours total. My tree now has 112 people and one branch goes back 8 generations. It was surprisingly easy to find people. </p>

<p>Good luck. :)</p>

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<p>I finally checked out their site too, about a week ago! I ended up subscribing with the thought that I could cancel before their free trial period ends but I think I am addicted and want to expand my knowledge so would love to hear suggestions on other resources, free websites, etc.</p>

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<p>I’ve been working on our family tree (my side and DH’s) for a couple of years. I have periods where I work at it fast and furiously and periods that lapse for months at a time. I built my tree at the site you listed above using the free version. One of my BFFs is Mormon and she suggested I go to their Family History Center here in town to get assistance. They have access to all sorts of genealogy sites. I went over there and they were extremely helpful. Check out Family Search dot org to see where a center is near you. I’ve gotten LOTS of information without paying for any of it, though I have considered joining an ancestry site just because it would make it much easier. The search can become addictive!</p>

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<p>Congratulations, DougBetsy, on taking the first step. I love doing genealogy, and have had a membership on that website you mentioned for many years. I’ve also done research at various archives, libraries, and on location. There’s nothing like doing the work that suddenly brings a new ancestor to light. It’s like mining for diamonds, and finding one.</p>

<p>I would caution you, however, of some of the basic rules of genealogy. First, don’t just accept someone else’s posted tree as gospel. Start with your own birth certificate, then work backwards. Never assume! I always ask newbies if they started work on President Gerald Ford’s ancestry or on President Bill Clinton’s ancestry, would they look for Fords and Clintons, and they invariably answer yes. And the answer is no! Ford was born a King, and Clinton was born a Blythe. You can be shocked by what you find, so never do genealogy unless you’re wiling to be surprised. My BIL discovered that his grandfather had a totally different birth name, and he’d never heard a hint of that in the family. So start with your actual birth certificate, and then get the birth, marriage and death certificates of as many of your ancestors as you can. It’s amazing what you learn. I found out that the side of the family I’d always assumed came from an educated background, actually were farmers who started to value education. The side of the family I thought came from poverty and no particular distinction ended making me eligible for both the Colonial Dames and the DAR. I love and value researching both lines equally. You just never know.</p>

<p>If you want to pm me on anything, I’d be happy to help in any way that I can. That’s another of the rules in genealogy - help EVERYONE. They may turn out to be your cousins!!</p>

<p>Good luck to both you and onward.</p>

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<p><a href=“https://familysearch.org/[/url]”>https://familysearch.org/&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;

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<p>I echo the suggestion about the Mormon family history centers. We are not Mormon, but have been able to use their resources for free (mostly census). Found a distant relative who is Mormon and who traced one line of our family all the way back to Jamestown. But other lines of our family petered out because of unofficial “adoptions” and lack of written record. My grandfather was Native American, and, apparently, they used to adopt out kids to white families and erase all traces of their NA history. We are working with tribal authorities to try to track some names down - but it is tough. </p>

<p>Good luck to everyone! I find genealogy fascinating.</p>

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<p>Hayden is absolutely correct in that all information you find online or from others may not be accurate. My grandmother’s birth month and year are incorrect at the FamilySearch.org site. Family Bibles can be helpful, too.</p>

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<p>My sister is the historian in our family. She went back as far as she could, up until there was a fire in the late 1800s and all Census information was destroyed. Of course, it helps that my mom is can verify the findings and even give further details about some family members. She was born in 1917 and we just celebrated her 94th birthday. I think my sister uses the ancestry website too.</p>

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<p>I have been doing this for a few years and it becomes quite addicting. I think I have permanent wrinkles on my forehead from all the hours of looking over the top of my glasses trying to read old census data. There have been times when I hit the “mother load” (finding someone who has already done the background work on a common ancestor). You will find that some people are not careful about transferring/entering data, so be careful about what you believe to be true.</p>

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<p>I was very involved with doing this as a little hobby several years ago and had to put it all on hold while I finished my phd project (done!!), so I am starting up again. Once I get up to speed I’ll probably subscribe at ancestry. There are also a lot of other sites. I have the Legacy software to help keep track of things. </p>

<p>Echo the sentiments about taking care in what you accept. Found many discrepancies between data from different trees/sites, including one place that listed my grandmother (Indiana) as male. </p>

<p>Several things present chronic difficulties: 1) females were not recorded as well as males, and it can be more difficult to track where they came from; 2) everyone had the same first names, so it can be difficult to determine whether Patrick is the son of Patrick, the grandson of Patrick, or not even related to Patrick. And you can probably find 3 different locations with 3 different answers. 3) If Patrick and Jane are shown having a baby when Jane was 60 and all the other kids were grown, there is probably something wrong, so it’s wise to check out the dates.</p>

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<p>sylvan congratulations on finishing your dissertation. Bravo.</p>

<p>My husband is obsessed with this geneology thing, but I’m convinced it is because he is from a bunch of royal lineages and can trace himself back to forever.</p>

<p>Mine stops dead in its tracks (I have been told by H) on the Rhine river in the Alsace region when there was some humongous issue between the Catholics and the Episcopols which lead to a massive migration to the US. Are you german or are you french if your relatives are from the Rhine before there was a Germany? Hard to tell. Peasants every last one of my ancestors. ;)</p>

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<p>I am a genealogy nut, and I think ancestry a really valuable tool. It is expensive, but I’ve found it worth it. I would echo what hayden and others note above: there is a lot of inaccurate info online, including ancestry. Someone copied info I had posted for my family tree, and then pasted on two additional previous generations that are simply not correct.</p>

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<p>I want to do this. Any insights about African American geneology? My father was said to have been born in Alabama in about 1917, but he put the some thing on all of our birth certificates, and we are seven years apart.</p>

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<p>I too am “into” genealogy. I don’t belong to Ancestry. I don’t think it’s worth the money FOR ME. </p>

<p>First, the library edition of Ancestry has 98% of the info and you can use it for free at the library. If any of you live in NYC, that includes your branch library. Some communities allow you to access it for free from home with a library card. I found the wife of a second cousin who is also “into” genealogy. She lives in the rural South and she gets Ancestry library edition for free at home with her library card. So, before investing, find out if you can get access for free. </p>

<p>I’ve used Ancestry a lot. It’s helpful. However, I’ve found that after a few months, I’ve done everything I can with Ancestry until I break through some wall. So, months can go by during which Ancestry doesn’t add any additional records that are useful to me. So, if I were to pay for a year’s use, I suspect there would be at least 4-6 months during any year during which I wouldn’t use it at all. I suspect that this is true for most people. </p>

<p>Whether it’s “worth it” depends in part on how scattered your family is. Most of my family in the US was in New England, especially Massachusetts and wwwDOTamericanancestors.org. is a cheaper, far, far better source for me than Ancestry. </p>

<p>I am allowed to look at the “private tree” of a distant relative on Ancestry. She has a site and invited me. (Of course, I can only see the tree. Every time I try to click on something it links, I get an “invitation” to join ancestry. )</p>

<p>I have my own tree on a different site. Up to 50 photos, the site is free. There is another company that is completely free. Frankly, I think my own tree is a LOT more impressive than my relative’s on ancestry and so is the one a distant relative maintains on the totally free site. I note that Ancestry has now decided that those of us who refuse to join can now have a free “tree” on ancestry. I’ll pass. </p>

<p>A LOT of the stuff on ancestry is available for free or for very low cost on the internet. Basically, Ancestry just makes it easier for you to get it. Indeed access to Mass vital records is now FREE on the americanancestors.org. site and the Mass records are FAR superior to what is available on Ancestry. Things like the SSDI are also available for free. </p>

<p>My email has now been banned by Ancestry :). From the library, I could email images to myself. After I did that a lot, Ancestry blocked my account. No prior notice. It’s sort of silly, because I could just make up another email address, but I don’t. I just print or save at the library. Even at 15 cents a page, it’s a LOT cheaper than joining Ancestry. </p>

<p>Unfortunately, Ancestry now has bought footnote, which is a cheaper site–especially during one of it’s periodic sales. While the search engine on footnote is abysmal, it has a lot of really neat stuff ancestry didn’t have. </p>

<p>Anyway, I’d just suggest that anyone check with their local library first to see if you can get access. I’ll also suggest that you check out some of the free or cheap sites for bulding your tree before posting it on Ancestry.</p>

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<p>Limabeans–</p>

<p>Was that fire in the late 1880s you mention the one that burned the 1890 Census? You can get past that, you know, on Ancestry.com</p>

<p>If you know peoples’ names & dates from the 1900 Census, and they were born earlier than 1880, you can probably pick the thread up again – it is especially helpful if you have families in your background that had a bunch of kids — then you can look for the given names appearing in the same order, again & again, through the years. It is also helpful if anyone had an unusual name. We have a lot of Winifreds in our family — actually Winifred was very popular in the 19th century-- but paired with our last name it is pretty much always from “our gang.” </p>

<p>A couple of my cousins & I have been using Ancestry.com for nearly 2 yeras now & we have learned enormous amount of things about our family, and also found quite a few cousins we did not know we had. I have even been able to get in touch with their descendants (4th & 5th cousins) and re-form the family connection! The best part. </p>

<p>Don’t forget to use the old newspapers that are in the ancestry.com database.</p>

<p>And watch out for other people’s family trees — a lot of people are sloppy about what they stick on their trees and click on people with the same name who are not really their connections, when ancestry finds a “match.” It is only a name that matches, not nec the person. There is a family out in Minnesota that has my granduncle going out there and marrying their great grandmother, when we know very well he never went west of the Delaware (and probably the Hudson) in his life and died an alcoholic in NY.</p>

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<p>We did not mind the pricetag at Ancestry.com because of the heavy use we have been giving it, that is both my husband & I for our two clans. We figured, what do we spend a month on pizza? </p>

<p>We will not nec. always feel this way — if we decide to let it lapse in the future we will save the data. But for this year, we feel we have gotten our money’s worth. </p>

<p>My cousin set up a large tree on Geni.com. What we find annoying about them is they have recently announced they will merge profiles from our tree with other peoples’ trees. Their stated goal is to have a “One World Tree.” We find this an invasion of privacy, and we also do not like their apparent disregard of some peoples’ carelessness posting names on their trees. I don’t want my tree linked up to someone else’s mistakes. </p>

<p>I like the interactive aspects of the geni site, but you can only set up one tree. If you are working on different branches of the family and you do not yet know their connections, you can’t make “side” trees at geni. You can do this at Ancestry.com.</p>

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<p>JRZ - how are you going to save the data? The only way I found to do this was to buy the Family Connection software and upload a file to it. The issue is that pix cannot be transferred. (maybe they have corrected this). </p>

<p>As for people copying my stuff…well I left it ‘out there’ for others to benefit, but am considering making it private. It is becoming a headache to get all those green leaves only to find out that it is my data that someone else copied - and managed to mess up with careless errors.</p>

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Poetgirl, we may be cousins. </p>

<p>I got lots of help from posters on Genforum (Genealogy.com) when I was obsessively researching my ancestry back in the early 90’s.</p>