Any information on Ancestry.com?

Question

ok well i'm trying to trace my family tree can anyone tell me if they've been successful??? i don't have much information on my mom's dad he took off when she was a baby all i have is his name the whole side of my mom's family is pretty sketchy!!! also can anyone tell me how much they charge for the full membership!!!

Answer 1

Jory,

Some people get lucky and find family members with sketchy information but its best when you have a bit more to go on than what you have stated that you have. However, from your mother’s birth certificate you can find where your father was born and that will help you with a location to start searching for him. Are there any relatives on your mom’s side of the family that could possibly give you any information, like grandparent, aunts, uncles or cousins?



If your father is deceased, you can order his birth certificate, which will give you the names of his parents and therefore another generation to research. The point is you need to get enough information from personal documents that are not available to the general public for 50 to 75 years depending on the jurisdiction in which they are held so that you can find them in the census, possibly as children living with their parents. Once you have done this it opens up new avenues to investigate for records that could lead you to information about them and other relatives. Until you have this you might consider trying the Rootsweb message boards and/or mailing lists. You can post a query to see if anyone on the message board has any knowledge of this family…this service is free with a Rootsweb/Ancestry login: http://www.rootsweb.ancestry.com/



There is an excellent tutorial for those who are new to family research at http://rwguide.rootsweb.ancestry.com/ ; everyone starting out in genealogy should understand the basics and this tutorial covers them.



Also build your tree on your own PC so that you have control of your data. You can down Legacy for free and it only costs $29.99 to upgrade to the full version: http://www.legacyfamilytree.com/download.asp and if you have any question about how to use the program there is a users group where you can search the archives or post a new query at: http://boards.rootsweb.com/topics.software.legacy/mb.ashx RootsMagic is also a great software which you can purchase for $29.99 but the free version will not allow you to print reports so, in my opinion, the free version is not very useful.



The cost of Ancestry.com depends on the membership type that you purchase it ranges from $155.40 for US Deluxe membership if you pay by the year to $19.50/month if you pay monthly, however, many libraries have the Library Edition of Ancestry.com that you can use while at the library for no charge.



So, bottom line, start out with the free and inexpensive methods until you see how things go, it’s an addictive, tedious hobby that can be great fun but not everyone feels the same way about it…get your toes wet before you spend a lot of money.

Answer 2

I would start by using free sites. Ancestry total package costs about $250 a year and can easily lead you astray. Unfortunately they combine too many garbage personal family trees with billions of documents that can be difficult to search. When you get as far as you can with free, then consider Ancestry to hopefully fill in the blanks. Many public Libraries also have free access to Ancestry..



Also invest in a database genealogy program to store your data. There are several free programs with upgrades to the full service version for about $30. (PC) I like RootsMagic but others prefer Family Tree Maker, Legacy or Family Tree Legends.



If you look through the YA Genealogy archives you will find at least one question every day pertaining to free software. Ted Pack has a fine answer I suggest you use.



Some good getting started guides can be found on Family Search, Family Tree Magazine, Family History: Genealogy Made Easy and RootsTV.



And yes after several years I have traced some of my family back to the 1500s and beyond. And all the lines back to 1850.

Answer 3

I've had good success. You just have to be careful weeding out the records that are really your ancestor and those that are not. Also don't rely on the trees other people create as your source especially if they are undocumented. There are lots of people that are more interested in having lots of people on their tree or being able to say they got back 1000+ year than they are with actually being accurate.



Full membership for US and international records is $29.95 a month. You save a bit per month if you pay quarterly or yearly and US only membership is a bit cheaper also

Answer 4

Ancestry.Com is a great site for the amount of records they have online but be wary very wary of Information in family trees on ANY website, free or fee. The trees are submitted by folks like you and me, the subscribers. Yes, yes, yes there are errors. Even when you see the absolute same information on the same people from many different subscribers that doesn't mean for one moment the information is correct. Too many people copy without verifying. Actually if you find any of your family in one of the online trees and it is wrong, those that run the websites will tell you that is between you and the other subscriber.

Ancestry.Com has 4 family tree programs.

1. Their old Ancestry World Tree program which can no longer be updated

2. One World Tree which is trash. When they set it up they took information people had submitted to their old Ancestry World Tree program and combined all the different information people had on the same person but I have found at least twice where they have combined 2 people into one.

3.PUblic Member Trees

4. Private Member Trees.

With both public member and private member they make it easy for you to bring forth records and documents they have on their website. They actually give you hints of records but it takes some discretion on the subscriber to look at the record closely and make sure if it on the same person.



Now Ancestry.Com has lots of records. That is why I like it. When I go into their website I click on Search at the top and on the next screen I click on "Old Search" which I feel is for more functional but not as pretty and neat as their New Search. Many public libraries have a subscription to it their patrons can use for free.



They have

All the U. S. censuses through 1930. The 1940 and later are not available to the public yet.

Vital Records from many U. S. states. You can actually view and print off copies of original North Carolina death certificates through 1975. I don't know if they have any other states.

Immigration Records. I have a friend who has made numerous trips to the National Archives in Washington, D. C. Her mother came from Calabria and her father came from Sicily. She says Ancestry.Com now has all the records on her family that the National Archives has.

They have many old U.S. newspapers online. I have found numerous obituaries on my paternal grandfather's family by perusing the San Antonio Express



Now no way are all records online but the ones you find will save you time and money.



Now a good free website which I also use is



https://www.familysearch.org/



This is the genealogy website of the Latter Day Saints(Mormon) Church. The Mormons have records on people all over the world, not just Mormons. Actually it would be wise to visit one of their Family History Centers. I have never had them to try and convert me nor have I heard of them doing that to anyone else that has used their resources. On the above website they are putting the records they have online and I believe once they are through they will blow all the other websites out of the water.

I fell in love with it when I found out I could view and print off original copies of Texas death certificates through 1976. I kept my printer busy for a long time.



Just understand good family history means good documentation. Someone else's family tree online or in a published book without good documentation is in itself poor documentation.



Edit: I might add that Ancestry.Com has transcribed the records but you can view the original images.

There are errors in their transcription, particularly censuses but when you view the originals you will pity the transcribers. Also you can make a correction and for instance if it is on a name they will correct their index to show the name as they had it originally and the name as the correction you made. Genealogy websites are not good to find Information on the living as that can be an invasion of privacy and can lead to identity theft.

Answer 5

sure actual , it applies in user-friendly terms for delhi ..... New Delhi: Cable television operators in New Delhi on Friday pronounced they could notice a 40 8-hour blackout to protest the March 31 digitisation final date and an "unfair" gross sales-sharing type decrease than the digital addressable gadget (DAS). The blackout will initiate on Friday and could final for 40 8 hours till finally March 31. The operators are stressful extension of the final date, an greater gross sales share and decrease cost lists for purchasers.

Answer 6

yes they are succesful i traced my genes 200 yrs back