ancestry subscription

[LesleyB]

Hi Donna

Does ancestry not have Scottish BMD's, just the transcribed censuses?

Just the transcribed census data

Does it have Scottish OPR's?
Does it have Scottish Kirk session records or burial records?

None of the above.

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.

A reasonable summary!
Best bet is to make a trip to your local library and see if they offer Ancestry access for free, so that you can see what you are able to access on Ancestry and if the records there will be of use in your research and decide from there. If there is no library in Ayrshire which does, then a trip to the Mitchell in Glasgow will enable you to access Ancestry for free. If not able to go into Glasgow, you can alwyas take out a pay per view short term sub if there are just a few things you want which gives 12 record views for 14 days for £6.95 - I do this sometimes if unable to access the library. You can see all results of searches in full that way, but you are limited to 12 actual record views, so best to save it up until you have a few things you wish to "round up"!

Best wishes
Lesley

[SarahND]

Hi Donna,

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 just has some miscellaneous records from several areas, but is not comprehensive. These are also transcribed, not images. They can give you a direction to search on Scotland's People and narrow down the choices. The censuses are especially good for doing a wide search before you decide where to put your money on Scotland's People for the actual image. The search function on Ancestry is much more flexible, so helps find those hidden people. You can search just on first name, or leave the name out altogether and search on address or occupation, etc.
There are no Kirk Session records on Ancestry. Just the miscellaneous birth, marriage, burial, tax lists, will references, etc. Not at all comprehensive and is a bit of luck if you actually find someone you're interested in. But it can help point you in the right direction.

The actual images are mostly in the U.S. and Canada censuses, some Canada BMDs etc., England and Wales censuses, passenger lists and old books (lots of U.S. county histories, for example)

Go on the site and browse. When you get to a database there is usually an explanation below of what it covers. You will get an idea. Whether it is worth the price for you depends on how often you will use it.

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?

I'll let someone else comment on this one. I have found the occasional useful record on that site, but for the most part it is all too recent for my English ancestors, who left England in the 17th century I also found that the search function did not give me enough information to be sure the record was relevant-- until I had paid for it. If you are going to be looking for many, many English ancestors, then a subscription is probably the way to go to avoid frustration at turning up wrong records.

Good luck and be sure to report back to give others the benefit of your experience!
Sarah

[emanday]

Got to confess, I do also have a sub to FindMyPast.

As it turned out, it is quite useful as any searches that turn up nothing on Ancesrtry can sometimes be fruitful, mainly because the transcribers seem a little more accurate.

Also, the addition of the 1911 census has taken me well ahead in my son-in-law's family research.

As already said though, the search criteria is very limited. If you don't know when a birth, marriage or death happened to within 10 years it can be a long slog.

[Anne H]

Hi Donna,

I had a subscription to both Ancestry and FindMyPast at one point. My ancestors are from Scotland and Ireland with a couple of families who headed out to the USA and Canada. Of the two sites I found Ancestry to be the best value for the money, albeit you do have to put up with some strange transcriptions. Besides the Scottish census records, I also found the British Telephone Directories to be a fantastic aid in gathering extra bits and pieces of information to further pinpoint some of my Scottish lot.

FindMyPast wasn't much good to me and thought it a waste of money. I was aggravated with myself for not renewing Ancestry.

One thing to keep in mind if you do get a sub to Ancestry...make sure to download any documents you want to keep directly on to your computer because if your subscription runs out you can't get access to any documents you saved in the "Shoe Box".

I'd agree with others who suggested you use the library for free to see what's there, or try the free trial on Ancestry.

Regards,
Anne H

[Ayrshire tattie]

Thanks again everyone for your replies.
I didn't know about the access to ancestry at The Mitchell Library. I'll try that out after the school holiday. With ScotlandsPeople, my regular visits to Park Circus, and occasional trips to the Mitchell I probably won't need an ancestry subscription. That's the benefit of living near Glasgow, I suppose. The Burns Monument Centre in Kilmarnock is only a few miles away from where I live and as well as doing a good deal on ScotlandsPeople vouchers they have an archive department. Did you know that there are plans to move the Park Circus facilities to the Mitchell, making the Mitchell a sort of one stop shop? As far as I know it's happening soon.
All the best,
Donna.