Ancestry and Geneology Online Websites and Research?

Question

I am interested in your experience with geneology and ancestry websites like http://ancestry.com, etc. Most of my general web searches result in links to these sites and many of these sites require registration or a paid subscription. I don't mind registering with one site, but I don't want to be required to obtain a paid subscription to obtain info that is really free. I already use the main government resource site for ancestry and geneology, but I would like a site that I can trace everything at all at once. What site do you use and prefer?

Answer 1

My advice is that if you expect or want one site that "does it all", that you are defeating the whole purpose of genealogy/ research.  If you limit yourself..and want it pre packaged, then expect to pay.

Information is not free, either. Yes, if you are in the US, you can go to the National archives branch (there are 7, I believe).. you are going to pay for the expense of traveling.  Of course, that only includes those records which are part of the US govt. Any family trees online are put there, only by the efforts of other persons. And, they are not always accurate.

www.cyndislist.com is an excellent site.. because it shows you THOUSANDS of sources for genealogy.  And.. it is completely unrealistic to think that all of your ancestry information will be online.

You are, of course, free to make your own choices. I am only offering what I know, with over 25 yrs experience. Your research will only be as good as what you are willing to invest, whether it is effort or money.  

Answer 2

It is according to what you want.  If you just want to copy other people's family trees then you are not going to be certain that what you find is accurate.

Ancestry.Com has obtained a lot of records and has transcribed them.  That has cost them money.  You can still obtain those records by traveling to various courthouses and libraries all over the U.S., paying for hotel or motel expenses, eating out expenses, not to mention gasoline costs.  So if you can find a lot of information in the records Ancestry.Com has in your own home, in the long run it will save you.  Now, no way are all records online.  

However, I believe Ancestry.Com is the best for total records online. They have all the U.S. censuses through 1930. The 1940 and later are not available to the public yet.   They have immigration and military records. They have

indexes to vital records for many states.  

They have transcribed the censuses but you can also view the original images. They have indexed everyone in all the censuses.  Now, there are errors in their transcriptions but if you have ever seen the original images on microfilm or their website, you can have pity on the transcribers.  

Now family trees are something else.  They are not done by experts working for the website but by the subscrtibers who have done research.  There are errors and copying what other subscribers has submitted is absolutely no way to do family history.  You might see different info on the same people from different subscribers.  Then you will see repeatedly the same info from different subscribers on the same people but that is no guarantee at all it  is correct.  A lot of people copy without verifying.  

The above poster mention Ancestry.Com will research and populate your family tree. Still they are taking the information in those cases from other subscriber's family trees so you still should verify it, not take it for granted it is correct.  If you set up a Public Member Tree or Private Member Tree on their website, they will refer you to records you can bring forth but still you should be certain that those records pertain to the individuals in your family.  Their One World Tree is nothing but trash.  Don't rely on it at all.

Also, if a family member has already done your family tree, you have to understand they have incurred the time and cost to do so, and they have every right to not share it with you.  They might want to have a book published and feel you should buy their book if you want to see their research that they have spent so much time and money to find out.

So it is not just that we have a right to see free of charge what someone else has obtained.

Answer 3

Here are some great websites!

http://www.accessgenealogy.com/

http://www.familysearch.org/eng/default....

Used Ancestry.com free trial period and accessed as much as possible, copied the chart into MS word and then went to Ellis Island website to research further.  Copy and pasted information into MS word. Also, some cemetaries are online to see where the ancestors are buried.  Also, accessed for military records.  What I did like about Ancestry.com is that it searchs and populates the family tree chart.  I was able to go back as far as the 1600's.  I took those names and did further rearch using those names I did know.  Get this, I found out  I was related to Elizabeth Barrett Browning, my favorite poet.

I've used Ellis Island to trace my ancestry coming in from overseas.

http://www.ellisisland.org/default.asp

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Here is another good website:

http://usgenweb.org/research/index.shtml

Answer 4

I'd recommend http://www.v1g.org the site itself offers the exact same records, and actually a bit more then the ones you listed. Plus, its half the price and you have an unlimited subscription to everything where on the other sites they make you pay for more information.