Genealogy Chat

Have tried Ancestry but haven't been able to get any information. Each time I go into something on it, it tells me I have to join and I give up!! Everyone talks about the free census being on Ancestry but I'm having trouble.... Maybe I'm just computer illiterate..lol...

The census is NOT free on Ancestry. The bmd records are free. The only free census is 1881, which is on www.familysearch.org So you're not doing anything wrong........ Reg

I think you have to sign up first to access it and get the 14 day trial but you need to make sure you cancel before the trial date is due to end. Otherwise you'll be charged £70 for a years subscription. Thats what happened to me but I figure that the info I've received would have cost more to have someone do the research for you or the costs of travelling to veiw certain records. But you might find someone who will do a look up for you. I'd offer to but I have to go out in a few mins. :(

Have you registered with ancestry?That is free,but to access the census images you have to pay the sub. The bmd index(beta) is free to view once registered. Glen

According to ancestry 1881 is free on there as well (But I wouldnt relly know as I have membership) but that is what they say? Suzanne

You can search the BMD´s for free -but if you want to search the census then you have to pay a subscription. If there is anything you want help with put the details on here - am sure someone will be able to help you. Having said that - its so much more fun if you can find them yourselves - if you are serious about researching your family history, and your ancestors are English, then I would highly recommend taking out a subscription to Ancestry.

1881 is now no longer free,i think it changed with the release of the 1841. Glen

Glen If you are responding to my posting........I gave the address for the 1881 Reg

Hi Reggie It was a very poor attempt to clarify what you said in your post. The 1881 is not free on Ancestry.(thats what i meant to say) Apologies to anyone i may have confused. Glen

So I can access the 1841 census without subscribing... or do I actually need to subscribe to get it??

Via Ancestry you would need to subscribe too view ANY census. 1841,51,61,71,81,91 and 1901. As Reggie says the 1881 is free via the site posted in the first thread. Glen

Thanks everyone... looks inevitable that you need to sign up to get any info for the Ancestry site.

Hi I'm really confused - my membership to ancestry ran out in February but I am still able to use the 1881 census on there - last time I used it the searches were not working properly on that census, so have been using the site mentioned by Reggie etc Jo

Katrina Copy this into your address bar http://www.ancestry.*co.uk/search/rectype/vital/freebmd/bmd.aspx( Remove the *) Enter a name and it will allow you to sign in as a guest,FOR FREE You can then view BMD images1837-1983 BMD(ex freebmd)1837-1910 approx. Ancestry world tree(as Rootsweb) 1881 census(Courtesy LDS) Latterday Saints insist that Ancestry do not charge for 1881

You can't get any better value really though. The bmd index is free but everything else is only via the sub,BUT there are more than just bmd and census. BMD from 1984 to 2002,Pallotts Mareriage Index,Probate Records etc. Glen

I think you will find that the 1881 search and transcription is free on Ancestry, but you do have to pay to look at the images of it. Kate.

Personally, I think the monthly subscription to Ancestry (£8.75, I believe) is the most cost-effective way to make use of their resources. I'm mainly interested in the census images (I can get BMD info from FreeBMD, since I'm not interested in post-1983 data), and in the course of one month I downloaded and saved nearly 200 pages, covering all of the relatives I knew about at the time (and a few 'possibles' with the right surnames in the right villages). If, after another 6 months or so, I discover more family branches that I was previously unaware of, or if they start providing access to another significant database (like the 1841 census), then I would certainly sign up for another month and download like mad again. The only catch is that they will automatically renew your membership at the end of the month unless you specifically tell them not to (you can send the cancellation message as soon as you wish, and still make use of the full month's membership). Tim in Canada

I just went on to Ancestry subsription and it has two sections I can subscribe to 1. World Deluxe 2. US Deluxe does anybody know if there is actually any difference.

I would like to point out that you can access all the census INDEXES for free. Use this link: http://www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/census/ click on the census you want to check. You will have to register, but you can then do some searching. The indexes don't show everything, but you can do sophisticated searches. You can look for everyone in a village, all the females called Amelia aged 20 etc etc. It is foolish to use the indexes by themselves, because you can easily make mistakes (my possible candidate for a mistranscribed Queen Victoria turned out to be a washerwoman in the East End!) but for anyone who can't afford to subscribe at present, you can extract a great deal of information for free.

Thanks Phoenix I will give it a go.