ancestry subscription

[Ayrshire tattie]

I'd appreciate any advice re. the pros and cons of using ancestry.co.uk and / or ancestry.com for research. So far, I've been doing most of my research on ScotlandsPeople or at Park Circus in Glasgow. I see lots of stuff on the internet about the above websites, but although they offer a free trial, they don't seem to give much info. about what you get with membership. My queries are:

Is it better to join the U.K. site or the U.S. one? (most of my ancestors are from Scotland or Northern Ireland with some emigrants to U.S.A. and Canada).
Can you get access to recent records like you can at Park Circus?
Do you see actual images of the records or is everything transcribed?
What's the best type of membership to take out?
Can I get access to some types of records that are unavailable or otherwise hard to get elsewhere?

Any thoughts or opinions from seasoned family historians would be appreciated.
Donna.

[Currie]

Hello Donna,

I think on price ancestry.co.uk and ancestry.com are probably much of a muchness when it comes to the Worldwide deluxe version. Comparing their non Worldwide versions is probably comparing apples to oranges. All this of course depends on exchange rates and there’s a currency converter here http://pages.ebay.co.uk/services/buyand ... erter.html

The last time I looked I think there may have a difference in what’s available in the 14 days free trial but I’m not sure about that. I don’t particularly want to sound unpatriotic but if you look at the pricing on ancestry.com.au you probably wont go there.

UK http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lJNCFK4MMCg
USA http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Is2wh1mwaAk
CAN http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7xRdN16p-hM
AUS http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=m3hJ3mQnR20

Someone who knows what they’re talking about will be along shortly.

Alan

[trish1]

I use ancestry because I have both UK and Australian ancestors. If you have ancestors from both Canada and the US then I would think you would really want the worldwide option. Exchange rates can vary what you pay for a subscription, as can when and where you join. They all access the same data base.

I initially joined the UK version (because there was no Australian option) and UK gave access to all Australian & UK data. When the oz version started the rules changed and to access the data I needed I had to join the oz version - which turned out to be fortunate as they had a half price special.

Last year I decided I needed access to the LMA data set (ancestors from London) - an upgrade to to this pricewise was not alot different from the Worldwide version so I went there - and managed to get a 20% discount - which was a nice bonus. I am still a member through .au - one advantage of joining in the country where you live is the support freecall. I have found calling is a much better support option than email. Perhaps I have been lucky, but I have rarely had to wait long when making a support call.

Whether or not images are available on Ancestry depends on what they have negotiated with the owners of same and what they have scanned. You really have to browse the site to find out - hence a trial is a good idea for doing this BUT you have to remember to cancel before the trial is complete - or you will be a subscriber - at least in the short term. A couple of examples
Census images - available 1841-1901 for England and Wales - transcriptions only for Scotland
LMA - images of baptisms marriages and burials are available - check the dates - they vary for each type
BVRI - transcripts of early records as transcribed by the LDS - no images

Many of the records on ancestory are available elsewhere (e.g.most Australian ones come from various state archives or other repositories), however they are often not available online from those other sources (some are). I think most of the UK records are also available elsewhere - but often not online - and for researching from a different country - the advantage of the records online is fairly obvious.

Trish (not entirely sure that I know what I am talking about - but I live in hope of same)

(Those links don't work for me Alan - think I have to "log off" to see all the prices, but last time I looked the Oz price was good - perhaps it has been increased with the exchange rate?)

[emanday]

Hi Donna,

I've been using Ancestry.co.uk for a while now and find it very useful. However, if you are only researching Scottish rellies who stayed in Scotland, I'd say you'd be paying for access to all their databases (in the Worldwide subscription) but only benefit from the Scottish censuses. That said, they are only transcripts, rather than the images available on Scotlands People, and a lot has been said on here about some of the hilarious "guesstimates" they come up with.

If I remember correctly, the trial only allows access to the UK stuff, but it would give you an idea if it might help.

Be warned though! You will be asked for your credit card details to start the trial so, if you decide it isn't for you, make sure you cancel your subscription in time to stop them from taking the sub fee.

[Bookman]

I have just tried the Ancestry 14-day trial. Until I signed on I didn't realise that I would be charged for a full 12 months at the end of it rather than a monthly recurring charge. But I had no trouble cancelling my subscription before the 14 days ended. It was easy and the directions were clear and I got an e-mail acknowledgement.
Bookman

[emanday]

I had no trouble cancelling my subscription before the 14 days ended. It was easy and the directions were clear and I got an e-mail acknowledgement.
Bookman

Please do check your credit card statement to make sure. That email acknowledgement is is an automated response. When a friend upgraded from UK to Worldwide they were supposed to refund the remaining UK sub, then charge for the Worldwide. The email did acknowledge that, but it took her a couple of months to get that one sorted out.

I didn't have the same problem, but well worth checking.

[Ann In the UK]

Hi Donna,

Just thought I'd add my tuppenceworth.

I've had a full (i.e. "worldwide"/ "global')subscription for quite a while now, purely because it suits my needs. But you are the only one who can decide what subscription is best for you - if any - as you know best what areas of the site you're are most likely to . The free trial is an excellent way to help you figure that out.

What I would say is, it's pretty useless for NZ, Scottish and Irish research (meaning the 'global' ."worldwide" package description is somewhat inaccurate) . But it's excellent for England, Wales, the US and Canada as well as for immigrant lists and military research (the British Army in WW1 particularly). I haven't done much research into other parts of Europe, but I do notice them adding lots of German documents from time to time, so I'd imagine it's pretty good in some parts, not so good in others, also.

What they're great for is connecting people. If you add a basic tree (I'd never recommend you add all of your research to an online tree unless you make it totally private), you often find people whose lines intersect with yours with whom you may be able to swap research and information. (I've recently reconnected with a long lost cousin of my father's on there and we are doing just that).

It's also great for storing endless 'possibles' (via an online 'shoebox') which you can go back to later, and for exploring as many hunches as you like, (including Scottish census ones, which are pretty much fully transcribed, albeit with a few indexing errors), without incurring further expense.

Hope that helps a bit.

Regards
Ann

[Currie]

Trish,

I still couldn’t get those links to work so I replaced them with something a bit more entertaining.

Alan

[trish1]

Trish,

I still couldn’t get those links to work so I replaced them with something a bit more entertaining.

Alan

If there ever is a competition for searching the internet - you would have to be close to the prize

love that pilot

Trish

[Ayrshire tattie]

Thanks everyone for your replies.
I had been wondering how useful ancestry would be for Scottish records as I'd noticed that a lot of people using it were also using ScotlandsPeople, implying that ancestry's records aren't so comprehensive as to cut out the need for ScotlandsPeople.
Does ancestry not have Scottish BMD's, just the transcribed censuses?
Does it have Scottish OPR's?
Does it have Scottish Kirk session records or burial records?
It sounds as if it's of most use to people researching ancestors in England, Wales, North America and Australia rather than Scotland and Northern Ireland where most of my research is concentrated.
I might try the free trial once the chaos of the school hols. is over when I'll have time to explore what they have on offer.
I've also noticed another internet site - findmypast.co.uk. Do any of you use it? If so, how does it compare with ancestry"s records?
Thanks again,
Donna.