Genealogy Chat

'cos I think they're bent on world domination, but there are 71 entries for Skillings in 1861!

I know I will have most of these and I do want to find them for myself, but it's like looking at a large bar of chocolate when you're on a diet! Brenda Fighting the urge to subscribe!

I do subscribe to Ancestry because they are invaluable to family history research.

I only pay as you go its about £7 and you get 20 credits I think which is usually enough for what I want and 1 week to use them up in. I find this suits me I have some credits at the moment if you would like me to look up something. Sue

Brenda, I am intrigued. ''cos I think they're bent on world domination' What makes you think that? To me, they are transcribing census and other information in a reasonable easy to find form, which makes family history a lot easier.

Sorry for not responding sooner, Carol. I should not post during my lunch hour. Ancestry weren’t first in the field so far as indexing UK censuses are concerned and their methodology leaves a little to be desired. They have a huge advantage over earlier indexers in that the information is available over the internet and, crucially, that it links to digital images. When I first heard of the project – when colour images were mooted, so you could distinguish between the original handwriting and subsequent additions – it sounded like science fiction. Well, now it’s fact. And I know it makes family history possible for lots of people who couldn’t contemplate starting this hobby only a few years ago. I would be at ease with the situation if I was confident that A there would still be multiple providers of census information on the internet in five years time and B users were exploring more than just a single image, but getting a feel of the whole locality in which their ancestors lived. (Don't bite my nose off for this - I know some people will make full use of the service, but there is the temptation to cherry pick in just the way I did when I started out) Thank you to everyone who offered lookups and to the kind lady who personal messaged me. I am trying to stick to my principles and I think in any case that I will already have references to most of the entries, but your kindness is appreciated.

Brenda, I have always lived by the maxim that everybody is entitled to their opinions, and I do respect yours, even though I dont fully follow your reasons. One problem comes to mind. When you ask for look ups, how can you be sure that the answer to your query has not been obtained from Ancestry

Carol I spent all day yesterday at the Family History Fair. Now that it is run on purely commercial lines, the event is squeezed into a single day and the tables are much more expensive. It was noticeable that there were fewer stalls than in previous years and that the proportion of commercial stalls was higher than before. There is much more knowledge and experience than can be readily placed on a website and that is steadily being dissipated as amateur organisations are crowded out. As for look ups, I do try not to ask.

Ancestry also provide a lot of free services. ROOTSWEB is part of the same organisation and, though there has been criticism of the way they manage the message boards and mailing lists, it does provide a very valuable service. FreeBMD is hosted by Ancestry and as well as quite a number of other free sites. I have always found them very responsive to any comments, certainly more so than GenesReunited! MB

Much better to have everything in one place, for a single (reasonable) annual subscription than having to subscribe to numerous sites each having just part of the required info. And pay-per-view sites are a pain as you end up either paying for info that isn't relevant, or else you keep the number of pages that you view to a minimum, and therefore run the risk of missing that vital clue. Even worse in my view would be to have to purchase each census, county by county, year by year, on CD. The cost of just one of these CD sets is almost as much as an annual Ancestry sub, and once you've found what you wanted, the CD's are just going to sit around gathering dust. My ancestors are spread out over at least 10 counties, so to cover what is available now on Ancestry I'd need to buy around 50 CD sets! For those of us researching from abroad, the internet is our only realistic option, so I say good on yer Ancestry, and please hurry up with the 1851 & 41!! Richard

The fact that bits of the 1841, 1851 and 1861 are now available on other commercial sites, plus the 1901 govt site, is testament to the fact that genealogy is a growing business and I don't think Ancestry will take over the world - though it is offering more and more on its site. I am disturbed by the really glaring errors on all commercially-transcribed censuses though - it is quite obvious that someone called James isn't a wife or that there is no such place as Limperhal in the UK. nell

Maybe so, Helen - but I'd rather have a badly-transcribed index than no index at all, which is what you get with some CD sets as far as I can see! Richard

I go to my Local Studies Library every saturday for the 1851 census and parish records and there are a number of people there that are in ther 70s+ who have been searching there family tree for 30 years and they tell me of the days spent on trains going all over the country looking at censuses, when i show them Ancestry, they all say, what would we have given fo this in our day, can you imagine the cost alone of traveling all over the country today, no i think most of the oldies i have met would think your Bonkers Brenda

For years I resisted Ancestry. I then decided OK I will give it a try. It is the BEST thing I have done for a long time well worth every penny I am only sorry I did not try it earlier. Now they have 1861. I am really pleased I joined.

Well I hope they do end up with world domination....or at least the Scotland census! Compared to Ancestry, Scotlandspeople is a nightmare for the census (BMD - great I have to admit). Why can't SP get a search engine like Ancestry? It'd practically impossible to find anyone with a common name like James Robertson. How I wish you could enter the place of birth, a +/- birth figure, or part of an address. And at £70 a year - it would be a dream come true. SP obviously can't cope with census data properly - they should give to Ancestry ..... and hurry up about it! (wasn't intending to be quite so whingeful!) Julie

Julie - I couldn't agree more about Scotland's People's census search facility. It's fine if your ancestors never moved from one county to another or if they had a very rare name, but if they had a common name and moved counties it's almost impossible. I did go and look on the LDS CD set of the Scotland 1881 census at the library and you can search on county of birth on there, but of course there is nothing like that for the other years. If you're lucky they may turn up on FreeCEN, otherwise I can only hope that Scotland's People introduces a search on birthplace or lets Ancestry have access. Kate.

Since being on the internet 6 years ago we have subscribed to various county mailing lists for rootsweb and still are - brilliant help and exchange of information. We tried Ancestry free last year and decided we would need to use it so much that we subscribed - worth every penny! We also belong to family history societies, and have certain census and marriage CDs, and my better half is an online parish clerk for Trewen, Cornwall. :) Joy

I subscribe to Ancestory.. dont know where Id be without it sometimes, looking for the Harrisons in Durham has caused me no end of pain, but when I joined Ancestory it was like another world opening up to me. I also bought Family Tree Maker another wonderful investment, thanks to everyone on GR with their wonderful advice. Im now well and truly obsessed. Regards Yvonne x

PS We have spent many a happy hour searching census on film at various places but it's trickier and takes longer when searching towns as opposed to villages! :) Joy

Brenda You are entitled to your opinion, but the phrase 'cutting off your nose to spite your face' springs to mind. There may be glaring transcription errors but the comfort of searching in your own home far outways that. I have subscribed to Ancestry UK for 2 years now and will continue to do so. The 1861 census on Ancestry has enabled me to sent for 5 certs that have been a problem for ages. I was able to narrow down the time frame. 1861 on 1837online is a nightmare and costs a fortune compared with Ancestry. As for Global Domination: who cares, I would rather have the info. Margaret