Genealogy Chat

hi my subscription wih ancestory has stopped, i's changed a few bits and it's now really hard for me to search, i've looked at the genealogist.co.uk but don like that i have to pay for 6 months upfront. are there any other monhly sites you can recomend to me?
whats your fave?

I would stick with Ancestry if I was you. If you look at the top right hand side of the screen on Ancestry you can switch between "old search" and "new search" which may be of help to you.

Kath. x

it's the fact they have removed the box to tick exact search and the box to choose say +/- years of a date your searching for. really annoyed me! took forever to find stuff.

If I could only afford one site it would be Ancestry every time.

The only gripe I have with it, is building my tree, I just can't get the hang of it and can't find any instructions.

I would choose Ancestry every time.

I have a bit of my tree on there but I've made it private as it was copied by so many people.

I've got part of my tree on here but I use Family Tree Maker for every day use, plus huge binder files of papers and certs.

Birdi

The box for exact search is still there.
You need
"search" in top bar
"historical records" at top of search box
And it must say "new search" far right under top bar.

You can still search in the way you have always done on Ancestry - I do.

There's an option to choose 'old search' top right of the page

I have to agree with Joan re - Find My Past.

Ancestry has the edge re what records are held.

I am lucky enough to have both subs at the moment, but FMP is easier to navigate, is better (in my opinion) at finding variations of names - can't get on with A's search for those - and is quicker to load.

Alice

Hi Victoria

I sub monthly to Ancestry for access to AU and UK records and have a 6 month sub with The Gen also - the Gen will often find stuff that Ancestry doesn't locate and has good UK based records. The only downfall at times with The Gen is that the quality of images isn't as enhanced as Ancestry so then coz I have the actual record thru the Gen I can better locate thru Ancestry and obtain the better quality image.

My Gen sub has more than paid for its self with access to all the non-conformist/parish stuff that Ancestry don't often have going back to the 1500's and I see the original record not a transcription

If you are wanting the full blown access to Ancestry then this is probably not a good option but I find it great for just UK/AU based records - am in Australia.

Their help service is excellent - I always have an answer within 24 hrs, can't say the same for ancestry they take far longer. And if you can't locate the record the Gen staff will always point you to the correct reference to locate - i.e. they find the record and tell you how to retrieve it.

The house and street search on the Gen has been invaluable as well - its surprising what turns up in those.

Once you get the hang of the site it good going.

Carol

I am breaking all the rules by having two goes at the same problem, but I thought mine was a different problem. I promise I will delete/consolidate them. But Jim says:

The box for exact search is still there.
You need
"search" in top bar
"historical records" at top of search box
And it must say "new search" far right under top bar.

Jim, If I go to "search", I don't get anything that says "historical records". What do you mean it must say "new search" far right under top bar. Far right where? I found what I imagine is the top bar, cos it has "search" on it, but there us nothing underneath it.

Oh, there is a TAB that says Historical Records, but if I search on that, I get an enormous list of things like Census and Voter Lists, BMD,Military etc.

The main screen asks me for a year range. I have never seen that before. I've always just put in a year and say +/- x years. Where has that gone? And does it make any difference anyway?

Just tried it out, and this brings me to a VERY old screen layout, and certianly not the one I was using a couple of weeks ago.

Help gratefully received as I don't know what I am doing.

EDIT Now resolved I hope!

Margaret

I will also ask Carol, what is The Gen?

Margaret.

Carol, what does The Genealogist do? I am fed up with Ancestry right now, but have probably signed up for a long package.

Margaret

Sorry - deletion was mine - didn't see that the 'Gen' had been explained.

Alice

sorry guys - forgot to come back to this one

Yes the Gen is The Genealogist - they do free trial subs to parts of their info - worth trying. Keep in mind though they are ONLY UK records.

http://www.thegenealogist.co.uk

No they don't have access to Scotlands People - that is specific to Scotland.

Try their free trial - everything to gain and nothing to loose - goes for 30 days I think.

Carol