topic Re: Ancestry.com in Community Chat

Ancestry.com

bargainsgirl — Fri, 08 Dec 2017 14:49:03 GMT

ANyone use this site? I have heard good things but don't want to get locked in to a long expensive service.

Re: Ancestry.com

ValuSkr — Fri, 08 Dec 2017 15:10:25 GMT

You can get a free 14-day trial, and monthly memberships are $19.99. My brother has used Ancestry and got a lot out of it. I would probably get a trial and/or monthly membership first.

Re: Ancestry.com

janz — Fri, 08 Dec 2017 15:37:19 GMT

@bargainsgirl

YES! Absolutely love it. I also just purchased the newest version of Family Tree Maker. Have used both for years. FTM is a program you buy and own forever that you enter your family "tree" (names) into ... the format walks you through it. When you subscribe to Ancestry little leaves pop up on the names indicating information online that may belong to that person. It also helps connect you to "cousins" searching the same ancestor. There is a lot of information online and Ancestry helps you find it, much of which is only available to members. Plus you can search other "trees" that have been loaded onto Ancestry. With the help of my searches on Ancestry and very distant "cousins" and other helpful people I've "met" on Ancestry I have records, documents, pictures, and other information dating back to the 1400s on the 5,000+ names in my family trees.

FYI... you can sign up for a free 14-day membership to try it but I would suggest having a lot of family information so you can do searches during the free trial (parents/grandparents/children, birth/death/marriage dates and places, maiden names) as the more you enter, the more you can find out...the farther back you go, the more you learn. Subscriptions can be paid monthly or yearly (which saves money). If you subscribe, you do not have to renew. Make sure you document what you find. Once you find regions, counties, states where your ancestors lived you can sign up on Rootsweb to county genealogy sites and search those records too.

I also did the Ancestry DNA test that provides regions and heritage and connects with possible ancestors with others sharing DNA.

Re: Ancestry.com

Yardlie — Fri, 08 Dec 2017 15:23:50 GMT

@bargainsgirl ... Yes, I use it. I have traced my father's father side of the family back to 1450. I have Ancestry World.

Re: Ancestry.com

ALRATIBA — Fri, 08 Dec 2017 20:13:49 GMT

I've been a member for years. It's expensive, but I think it's well worth it. Over the years, I've "met" several distant cousins whose families still live in Europe. Just recently (August) ... another cousin who lives in Florida.

Ancestry interfaces with the Family Tree Maker software so if you update one, it automatically updates the other.

You might want to look into Familysearch.Org. It's free.

Re: Ancestry.com

Shanus — Fri, 08 Dec 2017 16:37:51 GMT

My hubby is addicted. Whenever he has a free moment at the computer, he’s looking for distant relatives...My son, who is adopted, has copied his lead since he doesn’t know about his “birth family tree” & accepts this one as his own. A compliment to his love of our family.

Re: Ancestry.com

Laura14 — Fri, 08 Dec 2017 16:52:26 GMT

If you purchase the DNA kit, do you also have to have a membership or can you just do the kit and get the results?

Re: Ancestry.com

BirdieGal — Fri, 08 Dec 2017 17:12:10 GMT

We have the full subscription and have both done the DNA test. It is fascinating! Easy to get wrapped up in it and end up spending all day on the site.

Well worth it IMO.

Re: Ancestry.com

janz — Fri, 08 Dec 2017 18:59:10 GMT

@Laura14

@Laura14 wrote:
If you purchase the DNA kit, do you also have to have a membership or can you just do the kit and get the results?

You can do the DNA kit without subscription but get more results if you are a member of Ancestry. You can get Ancestry DNA Results with/without subscription

Might have to google it.

Re: Ancestry.com

janz — Fri, 08 Dec 2017 18:51:16 GMT

@Shanus

If interest, has your son tried the DNA kit to try to learn about his birth family? Sometimes it is important to them, sometimes not, but you may be able to learn medical history. I have a neice who cared and discovered brothers and a nephew who does not care and not interested in learning.

Your son sounds like a true gem in his family.

Re: Ancestry.com

151949 — Fri, 08 Dec 2017 18:56:43 GMT

You aren't "locked in " to ancestry.com. You can guit at any time and your family tree will sit exactly as you left it on their site. I have joined & worked on my tree in the summers while we are up north for several years then in the fall when we come back to Florida and I don't have the resources here to work on it I quit and it is sitting there for me to restart the next summer.

Re: Ancestry.com

Laura14 — Fri, 08 Dec 2017 18:57:30 GMT

@janz wrote:
@Laura14
@Laura14 wrote:
If you purchase the DNA kit, do you also have to have a membership or can you just do the kit and get the results?
You can do the DNA kit without subscription but get more results if you are a member of Ancestry.

For information:
Ancestry DNA Results with/without subscription

@janz Thank you! I coudn't find this when I looked before. Much appreciated!!

Re: Ancestry.com

janz — Fri, 08 Dec 2017 19:01:07 GMT

@Laura14

Welcome. Genealogy is meant to be shared.

Re: Ancestry.com

Jasmine19 — Fri, 08 Dec 2017 20:05:37 GMT

I just cancelled my 6 month subscription to Ancestry. I found I just wasn't using it enough to continue. I will say it was very easy to cancel. They send you an email a few weeks ahead of time reminding you that you need to cancel or they will continue to charge you. The email included a link to click on to cancel.

Re: Ancestry.com

151949 — Fri, 08 Dec 2017 20:11:09 GMT

@Jasmine19 wrote:
I just cancelled my 6 month subscription to Ancestry. I found I just wasn't using it enough to continue. I will say it was very easy to cancel. They send you an email a few weeks ahead of time reminding you that you need to cancel or they will continue to charge you. The email included a link to click on to cancel.

Very simple. And you can go back anytime you want , for as long as you want, as often as you want. Work on it a few months then cancel again until you are ready to start back up.

Re: Ancestry.com

SilleeMee — Fri, 08 Dec 2017 20:49:35 GMT

I used it only to get my DNA profile. I am not really interested in my family tree but every once in a while I'll get a message from someone who is a 'match' to my DNA. These people are usually looking to get their family trees in order. I give them what I know as far as names and d.o.b. but I don't get too excited about that. I should probably make my profile more private.

Re: Ancestry.com

Shanus — Sat, 09 Dec 2017 00:18:18 GMT

@janz wrote:
@Shanus
If interest, has your son tried the DNA kit to try to learn about his birth family? Sometimes it is important to them, sometimes not, but you may be able to learn medical history. I have a neice who cared and discovered brothers and a nephew who does not care and not interested in learning.

Your son sounds like a true gem in his family.

Re: Ancestry.com

lilypadfrog — Sat, 09 Dec 2017 01:42:02 GMT

I am a recent addict of this site. If I remember correctly, when you do a dna kit, they give you a short membership. I have now found my husband paternal line back to 1340. Its amazing how much information is on this site. I am now working on his maternal line then will do mine. One thing I noticed is that you have to decide how much you want to do. A hundred or so years ago, having 8+ children was normal. But you then have to follow each sibling who may in turn have many children and their wives. I am only following the main bloodline, but my distant cousin is doing it all. She has over 59,000 in her tree while I have about 500. I will of course have more once I complete husbands maternal line, then do both the paternal / maternal side of mine.

This can be very addictive. I often spend 3 or 4 hours a day doing this. My membership now includes other countries so that makes it more interesting.

Re: Ancestry.com

Moonchilde — Sat, 09 Dec 2017 02:23:38 GMT

It’s not cheap, but there’s no site with accessibility to more info and forums.

I had done my genealogy on site for years before I did the DNA test. I found three first cousins I didn’t know I had, a second cousin who put me in touch with them, and a second cousin on the other side. Because you can add other peoples’ research to your own, I have gone back to Elizabethan England in my tree.

Re: Ancestry.com

Moonchilde — Sat, 09 Dec 2017 02:27:25 GMT

@151949 wrote:
@Jasmine19 wrote:
I just cancelled my 6 month subscription to Ancestry. I found I just wasn't using it enough to continue. I will say it was very easy to cancel. They send you an email a few weeks ahead of time reminding you that you need to cancel or they will continue to charge you. The email included a link to click on to cancel.
Very simple. And you can go back anytime you want , for as long as you want, as often as you want. Work on it a few months then cancel again until you are ready to start back up.

This is what I’ve done. I paid in for several years, took a break of several years, and am now back.

They also have special weekend freebies. One example, over Memorial Day weekend they gave free access to UK records, which I made good use of.