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Ancestry.com?
Posted: February 23rd, 2011, 4:15 pm
by Ima Facultiwyfe
Does anybody here have experience with Ancestry.com?
My latest project as I study calligraphy is a design of a family tree. One side is definitely much longer than the other so I want to try and fill in a few of the blanks. I'm hesitant to try the website's "free" 14 day offer. Once one of those things gets your email address you can't get rid of them. They don't tell you on the site what they're gonna wanna charge you once they get their hooks in.
I wouldn't mind a subscription for a while if they really can give useful info. But, I don't want to make this my life's work, either. I'm not trying to get back to the Mayflower or anything.
Anybody?
Love, Ima
Re: Ancestry.com?
Posted: February 23rd, 2011, 10:21 pm
by CathyCA
I've never subscribed to Ancestry.com, but I've been able to find a lot of information just by Googling family names. I downloaded a template from the LDS church to organize my personal ancestry information on my computer.
One time I Googled a family name and I found some information, or so I thought. Turns out, my uncle had posted an inquiry on one of the genealogy message boards about the same relative.
Aha! I just Googled his name, and I found out more information on him! Who would ever give their child the first name "Trimigan?" My great-great-great-great grandmother Alsey, that's who!
(I'm very excited to have learned about her tonight!)
Re: Ancestry.com?
Posted: February 23rd, 2011, 10:32 pm
by lawgrad91
Ima, call your local LDS church and see if they have a family library. If they do, you can get a lot of information from that, and they are extremely helpful.
I did a lot of work on my family when I was in law school, at (ugh) the library in chapel hill, and also at the State Archives in Raleigh, if your family was in NC.
Good luck.
Re: Ancestry.com?
Posted: February 23rd, 2011, 10:53 pm
by wilson
State archives are great resources. They generally have copies of US Censuses going back rather far, plus things like Confederate and whatever other military resources. I remember getting back to about the 1850s in my family in just a couple of hours in the Georgia archives a few years back. If you know your family goes back pretty far in a given state and have a few hours to invest, I highly recommend this approach.
Re: Ancestry.com?
Posted: February 24th, 2011, 9:40 am
by robertduke32
I signed up for their free trial many years ago and still receive spam from them to this day. So yes, your fears are warranted in that respect. I ended up finding good information from them using their *free* resources though, which was very valuable to me at the time. Good Luck in whatever you choose your path to be moving forward.
Re: Ancestry.com?
Posted: February 24th, 2011, 9:43 am
by OZZIE4DUKE
My sister-in-law is into family trees in a big way. I'll ask her what she uses.
Re: Ancestry.com?
Posted: February 24th, 2011, 10:05 am
by colchar
Personally, I would avoid websites like this. I've seen their ads and, to be honest, find them rather funny. As Wilson suggested, a little time in some real archives and you'll be well on your way.
Re: Ancestry.com?
Posted: February 24th, 2011, 10:26 am
by Devil in the Blue Dress
The archives maintained by the Moravian church here in WS are a stellar source for such information.
Re: Ancestry.com?
Posted: February 24th, 2011, 2:06 pm
by OZZIE4DUKE
Ima Facultiwyfe wrote:Does anybody here have experience with Ancestry.com?
My latest project as I study calligraphy is a design of a family tree. One side is definitely much longer than the other so I want to try and fill in a few of the blanks. I'm hesitant to try the website's "free" 14 day offer. Once one of those things gets your email address you can't get rid of them. They don't tell you on the site what they're gonna wanna charge you once they get their hooks in.
I wouldn't mind a subscription for a while if they really can give useful info. But, I don't want to make this my life's work, either. I'm not trying to get back to the Mayflower or anything.
Anybody?
Love, Ima
What my sister-in-law said
I have had a subscription to Ancestry.com for about 3 years. I have found it very useful. To begin with, I took all the information that had been given to me by others (various relatives) and then Ancestry.com helps you fill in the blanks. Once you enter your information, it offers you two types of information - Historical Documents (census reports, death certificates, etc) and Family Trees (what other people have uploaded into the system). I don't give much credence to the Family Trees, because you have no idea if the information is legit. Since what I entered into the system came from people who did the actual research, I know it is correct. I use the Historical Documents to reinforce what I already have. The Family Trees of others can be of some use, in that you can contact the person who entered the information (by anonomous Ancestry.com messaging) to find out what sources they used.
If your friend has the time to fully utilize the14-day trial, it might be of value. She will just have to have the free time to devote to it over those 14 days. I will warn her though, it will be addicting. Once you find info on one ancester, it will lead you to another, and then another......
Let me know if she has any other questions.
Re: Ancestry.com?
Posted: February 24th, 2011, 3:57 pm
by Lavabe
wilson wrote:State archives are great resources. They generally have copies of US Censuses going back rather far, plus things like Confederate and whatever other military resources. I remember getting back to about the 1850s in my family in just a couple of hours in the Georgia archives a few years back. If you know your family goes back pretty far in a given state and have a few hours to invest, I highly recommend this approach.
We're pretty sure about what happened when the family came to the US. It's that BEFORE part that is so difficult to determine. I just don't think that state archives will help us on that part. Will ancestry.com help me track down information in Minsk and Lithuania?
Re: Ancestry.com?
Posted: February 24th, 2011, 8:04 pm
by wilson
Lavabe wrote:Will ancestry.com help me track down information in Minsk and Lithuania?
I think that you have at least as much chance of tracking down a legitimate familial link to the royal family as you do of unearthing pre-Soviet Eastern European records like that.
Re: Ancestry.com?
Posted: February 27th, 2011, 7:53 am
by Miles
wilson wrote:Lavabe wrote:Will ancestry.com help me track down information in Minsk and Lithuania?
I think that you have at least as much chance of tracking down a legitimate familial link to the royal family as you do of unearthing pre-Soviet Eastern European records like that.
Actually, I think Ancestry.com could help in this area, though the chances are slim. It all comes down to how much information is shared and how it's shared. If Lavabe and some other relative from Minsk or Lithuania both posted a common ancestor, then they might discover each other and could then share information they might have. The real power of Ancestry.com is it's social-networking design, not it's search engine.
Re: Ancestry.com?
Posted: February 27th, 2011, 7:56 am
by Miles
Ima Facultiwyfe wrote:Does anybody here have experience with Ancestry.com?
My latest project as I study calligraphy is a design of a family tree. One side is definitely much longer than the other so I want to try and fill in a few of the blanks. I'm hesitant to try the website's "free" 14 day offer. Once one of those things gets your email address you can't get rid of them. They don't tell you on the site what they're gonna wanna charge you once they get their hooks in.
I wouldn't mind a subscription for a while if they really can give useful info. But, I don't want to make this my life's work, either. I'm not trying to get back to the Mayflower or anything.
Anybody?
Love, Ima
Ima, try setting up a gmail account or yahoo account that you use to register for websites. I take this approach and never register using my real e-mail address.
As I said in an earlier post, there's a cool social networking aspect of Ancestry.com that allows you to connect with people sharing a common ancestor/relative. Aside from that, in 14 days I wasn't mesmerized with their tools or search capabilities, and I actually found their user interface to be poorly designed and implemented.
Re: Ancestry.com?
Posted: February 27th, 2011, 12:00 pm
by Ima Facultiwyfe
You're right about having a primary search account. We're too soon old and too late smart. I started doing that some time ago but, I'm already "out there" in soooo many places.
I'm a sitting duck.
Love, Ima