Genealogy Chat

Have been logging in to Ancestry via ancestry*com and searching UK records there. Now realise I should maybe be going direct to ancestry*co.uk. Is there any reason to use one over the other? Also all the people I added to 'my ancestry' yesterday on the *com site have now disappeared and there is not an option to do this on the uk site. Any pointers and/or advice gratefully received

Karen, I've only recently realized there is Ancestry*com and Ancestry*co*uk as well as Ancestry*plus. I have also found a difference between the first two. What I would like to know is the difference between all three and was thinking about asking with a thread. Curious and curiouser. Sorry I can't help today. Rosemary.

Rosemary - glad its not just me! I subscribed to ancestry uk and 'one world tree' (not sure what that is!) had a free years subscription to US but haven't used it mainly because I have no idea how to go about it! Hope someone knows what to do ...

How did you get on with the census pages yesterday, did you manage getting to the other pages.

Rosemary - yes thank you. It all seemed quite obvious once it was pointed out to me! I'm really very computer literate but seem to be having a complete blonde moment over the Ancestry sites. Sorry if you responded to my census page query and I ignored you, your message isn't there. If you didn't post and were just wonderful enough to remember - thank you!

I was the one who mentioned the arrows and you did reply and mentioned my name. Just checked and found it.

think its time for bed, I had 'view my replies' on - duh! Have you worked out if there is any way to 'sort' the results on ancestry? if I search on a census with criteria for place of birth or age, I still have to trawl through the list, the criteria is just in bold througout?

I think we all do that at times (our replies). When I look for someone I sometimes find it's best to just ask for name then when the list comes up, ask for extras details, one at a time. Think it makes it easier for the sorting out of details.

Karen Make sure you have clicked the exact matches tab, not the best matches. Margaret

Margaret - thanks for the tip, of which I need many!

Hi Karen, I had a lot of problems with Ancestry last week. Though I live in the U.S now, all my research is Scotland and Ireland. I got so fed up at finding little info that I called to cancel my subscription. Spoke to a nice guy called Jason, who told me I should be logged on to (.) co (.) uk and NOT (.) com. He even went as far as e-mailing me a lesson on how to us the site. Try giving them a call. I didn't cancel in the end. Christine.

Hi, its a terrible shame that you arent making the most of ancestry as its a brilliant site. Do spend some time just playing around with it to find things. I would mention that ancestry plus is a site that is used for 'official' bodies and for anyone to access it who are not going through those channels it is illegal. What sort of probs do you have with ancestry - I use it hours a day!

Christine - thanks for the info, I may give that a try - could you email me the lesson if I sent you my email? Heather - its not so much that I'm having problems, just that I don't understand whether I should be using *com or (.) uk for search uk records - is there a reason to use one over the other? wondering what others do. on the *com site I was able to add people to 'my ancestry' which I can't do on the uk site however on returning they were all gone anyway! I'm practising searching by looking up things for people here, quite a good way I think as if someone else succeeds where I fail I know I need to try harder! Just finding my way around and trying to work out how to narrow the searches. For example if I search for a person in 1881 in a specific area I seem to still get loads of results to trawl through. Any advice/tips appreciated to get me better at it quicker!

Heather, have you been using Ancestry for some length of time. You say it is brilliant and up until 3 or 4 weeks ago, I would have agreed with you. Have Ancestry changed the way they offer information, do you know. I have Ancestry UK and Ireland records through my FTM2005 - at least I did do until 3 or 4 weeks ago. Ancestry have told me my subscription is valid but the only records I now have access to directly are SOME census records. All others BDM take me to yet another search page where I am told I need to upgrade my subscription. I'm more than confused. Has anyone had a similar problem - Ancestry are trying to blame me suggesting I've changed my computer, software, e-mail addie, anything to make it my fault. Any help would be appreciated. Jan

Jan I too am getting fed up as I thought I had subscribed to practically everything but keep getting messages to say there is another charge for this and that if I paid for them all would need a loan, maybe there is a problem then

Steve - the thing that confuses me is that I can search the uk records on ancestry*com, I presume that the records are the same on both sites but not sure what the benefits are or otherwise for using each one.

Valerie are you using FTM as well as me? I've just fired off two more e-mails today, another to Ancestry and also to Family Tree Maker, after all they sold me the package. FTM just don't respond and Ancestry keep asking stupid questions about what I might have done instead of sorting their own house out. Incidentally, they are all the same people aren't they, Ancestry uk, com, etc etc, as well as Genealogy and FTM and they have a parent company whose name escapes me for the moment. But one conglomerate. Jan

Hi, No I havent had a problem like that. I wonder if they have some sort of admin problem with people who initially subscribe thru FT? I would just bombard them with emails and why not send one to GR aswell as they have tied in with them now. I must admit it can be a pain sometimes when you give exact details but it still brings up thousands of entries, then you click on 'exact' and get zero results which is madness. I did mail them about that and they came out with some techno babble, and told me to go to my original search page and click on something and that would reset it. It seemed unlikely that would work and it didnt! I shall mail them again. Maybe they have also had a huge influx of new people due to our friends at the BBC Who do you think you are? programme?

Hi Karen I originally subscribed to the *com site as I didn't realise there was a UK one. I can use my user name and password on either site although I tend to use the UK one as all the US stuff gets in the way on the other one. I also subscribed to the 'historic newspapers' section and although they are english newspapers local to where I live, I can only access this part when I go onto the US site. I haven't noticed any difference in the otehr info I can get from either site though. Sam

ancestory*.co*.uk is FREE TRIAL site. You get a FREE TRIAL access to the UK information. If you are already a signed up ancestry*com member for those services you will get a message redirecting you to the main ancestory*.com site. As I am a signed up member for the UK data I can see what the basis of the FREE TRIAL is on, but I presume that Ancestory reserves the right to change access to the co*uk site over to paid access at their discertion. Ancestory really does need to do something about their sign up procedures..... I had a lot of trouble with the wrong things happening when moving from a FTM 2005 'almost everything' trial subscription to the ongoing one (UK only) that I was prepared to pay for. Cheers Bill Sydney, Australia