Genealogy Chat

Hi everyone i have been asked what i would like for christmas and was wondering about getting ancestry.com for a year,is it worth the money?. If it is then not only would i gain but i could help other's out as well. What do you think Cheer' lita

It depends! Where do you live and where are your interests? If you can get to the relevant record offices easily, it's a lot easier to view a village or a street on microfilm. You can see Ancestry for free at Kew (and doubtless at the FRC as well). If you've done a lot already, it's not worth it - much of their stuff is just copied from standard sources. But if you are new to censuses and cannot access them easily from where you live, then go for it. Brenda

Hi Brenda i work night's so dont find it very easy to get to the record office. I am also reseaching my husband's tree and they are all over the country, also my father's family came from Ireland. Maybe i should have look at the trial they do but i have heard bad report's about canceling it. Thank you for replying happy hunting Lita

Hi Lita, I find it well worth the money! Like you, I can't get to records offices due to where we live and a health problem. Plus I'm doing both my adoptive and birth trees, so lots of lookups to do! One thing I particularly like is being able to save and print out the actual census page images. When you work out that an annual subscription works out less than £6 a month, I think it's worth it. Try the 14 day free trial first though to make sure the counties you want are on there. Mandy :)

Lita, In the end its obviously up to you but I find it great. I am on the site almost everyday, whether its for me or others. They are adding stuff all the time. I have the UK subscription it covers the Census and Registrations. I wouldn't be without it Pat x

You can now use 'Pay per View' which will allow you access to 20 pages for £6. This might be a safer way of trying the site if you are worried about problems associated with cancelling a subscription. Your £6. can be used over 7 days. So it is better than some sites which only allow you to use credits within 24 or 48 hours. Before your 7 days are up you can decide to change to a subscription and the full £6. is deducted from the price of the subscription you choose. Hope this helps you to decide. Kathy

I think it's worth it if you're busy in the day. I've no spare time in the day so it's great for me. I'm finding it an expensive hobby though, is anyone else? Jacquie

I think it would make a great christmas pressie. Its under £60 for a year. I had no problems cancelling my sub after 4 months - just wrote to them and they cancelled. If you have lots more people to look up it would be worthwhile plus, as you say, just looking up for other people would be a worthwhile hobby for you.

Hi Lita, why don't you try the free trial, I found loads of rellies on there, and I didn't have any trouble cancelling either, I just made sure I photocopied all the cancellation details, and followed them the day before my trial ended. Give it a go. Belle.

Hi Lita When I started doing family history about 15 months go I thought Ancestry was too expensive in fact I seemed to be paying out continously for all sorts. Then I realised what an absorbing hobby it had become so I joined the free trial which was good and had no problems in cancelling that. I had a few months break due to a move but I started searching again about 2 months ago and used the pay per view. I used that very quickly so I took the plunge and took out a subscription for the quarter and I wouldn't be without it at present. I am researching all lines of both mine & my partners family and although I go to the record offices whenever I can and have gone back to the 18thc several times I am still using Ancestry all the time for some of the lines. I think it depends on how much you are researching and how much you enjoy doing it. It is after all a hobby and we don't think twice about paying out for some equip for our hobbies. Anyway good luck with whatever you decide. Jan

No, I was paying by monthly instalments. I wrote and told them I didnt wish to continue - I was sure I had read when I signed up that if you were an overseas customer then you had that option. Anyway, thats what I told them! I had an email saying normally it was a year's contract but they had cancelled it for me. I have just got FamilyTree 2005 and I am seriously thinking of signing up again because lets be honest for less than £60 a year you can get an awful lot of info - just over a quid a week. I tried 1901 on line when I first started this and spent £20 in a flash with little good results. I also did 1837 and spent at least £20 on that too! Then I found familysearch and ancestry.com and I was on a roll because you dont just look up the bare minimum. I mean I sat there thinking, mm thats an unusual first name wonder if I can find anyone else with that who may be connected and yes, I often did. You can do so much fiddling around without worrying about the cost.

I started with a trial then bought the full year. Yes it is expensive, but I live in Holland so can't get to record offices, and I have found out a lot. It is worth it especially if you are at the begining of your research. It will make a great Christmas present as long as your family are prepared to spend Christmas alone as you will be at the PC the whole time LOL

Thank's everyone i think i am going to go for it.Hope to see me soon on line offering look up's. Happy hunting Lita

Just for the record I used Ancestry for three months and did loads on my history and I didn't have any problems cancelling - I followed the instructions to the letter and never heard another word from them and no more money was taken from my credit card. I would certainly use it again if I needed to.

I had a monthly subscritpion some time back and did have problem cancelling, but they did cancel. I have just resubscribed for the quarterly option. When compared with the cost of travelling from Somerset to London and hotel fees etc it is good value, and when you are at work time is money. Having the cenus images on line ( much better with te downloadable viewer is good ) - and hopefully better when they extend these - a complete 1871 would be good. However I have been told that I should be able to view Pallot's marriage index but can't. They said they'd ring me later. can anyone else get Pallot's? Pam

When I first subscribed I used to find loads of stuff on there, but as you go further back it becomes less useful. They have the whole 1891 census, part of the 1871 census and part of the 1901 census. Eventually they will have them all complete. The BMD records are exactly the same as Free BMD but less user-friendly. Other than that, there isn't a great deal.