Genealogy Chat

These message boards are SO helpful! Has anyone experience of how useful the English records are? I see that they have Westminster records which I thought I needed to make a special trip to Westminster City Council for but of course I can't access them without subscribing. I have always been a bit concerned that the site is predominantly American. Any thoughts? Sylvie

Sylvie If you go to http://www(.)searchforancestors(.)com/freetrials(.)html you can get a 14 day free trial for Ancestry You need a credit card and if you don't want to subscribe remember to cancel before the 14 days are up. It tells you the correct way to cancel. I kept mine, I'm always dipping in and out of the 1891 census. margaret

Thank you, the free trial sounds a good idea. I will give it a go after the ironing! Sylvie

How much does it cost to subscribe please

I have to watch my pennies, but took out a quarter's subscription and have used it a great deal. I've found nearly everyone I wanted, but you do have to be very flexible in your searches, because people's names and place names have very often been transcribed incorrectly. Be prepared to try using the wild cards in your search, ie * instead of several letters, some of the ways they have interpreted the names makes ordinary searching impossible sometimes. If you are willing to persevere, its a very good site. Jan.

I use Ancestry(.)co(.)uk (not Ancestry(.)com) a lot, not just for myself but for helping others also and it's been a thoroughly worthwhile venture.

HI, another satisfied customer here. I too took out a three month session, it cost 30 pounds which is not cheap, but I have been able to trace all my London and Brighton family, solve a mystery and find a few. Even though I can go to the library for my local family, being able to do it from the comfort of my own home with my children running riot, is far more preferable! But do the .co.uk site as this is for the uk, unless you want to look at America as well?

I went for the free trial and spent a bit of time searching about but none of the records seem to cover the areas I need. Perhaps given time, they will come on line

Can anyone tell me what coverage of the 1891 is available. I'm tempted to do the free trial but have heard a lot of people having problems cancelling.

Sylvie, ironing? Wazzat?

All regions/areas are now available for searching on the 1891 census and have been for the last few months. The only problem they're still trying to sort out are missing images and indexes. If you're having trouble finding your ancestors, then you may need to think bigger (use the wildcard asterisk), as the index contains its fair share of transcription errors as you might expect.

Try your local LDS Family History Centre they may have a membership. Ours lets us use it for $1 per hour or part of. Diana.

I found the page for Ancestry .co.uk. I sent an e mail asking them to confirm 1891 census included in 14 day trial. They replied yes, but then said subscription would continue after that time,unless cancelled, and $189 would be taken for a one year subscription. On the page it said £29.99 for three months. When I queried this they came back answereing something totally different but still saying about the $189. I was tempted to go for three months but this has put me off a bit they will not take the correct amount

Hello Max Thanks for that. I have heard a lot of horror stories regarding Ancestry but I would like to be able to search the 1891. Is it pretty well complete yet. I have a birthday next month so it would be a great present!!

Carol I looked it up in the dictionary It comes after irksome and before irony! Sounds pretty apt to me! Sylvie

Hi Max Thanks. I suppose it's like every other site. Things are mistranscribed and sometimes it's pot luck if you ever find what you are looking for. I think I may well take the plunge. I can always cancel after three months and join again later on.