Is Ancestry.com worth the money?

I'm really interested in my family genealogy and I have gotten a good amount of information from family members and online research. I have checked out books from my local library to aid me in my searches online. I have found a substantial amount of information from free sites but I still would like to know more. Ancestry seems to have millions of records of every kind and comes up on nearly every search I do, but I'm not sure whether or not it is right for me. What if I subscribe, but find nothing on my ancestors? Please answer if you are experienced. Thank you!

I LOVE my Ancestry.com membership. They add more to it often. You can find census information (US & UK), passenger lists, as well as tutorial information, forms, etc... I have had a membership for several years now. I have recently taken the last year and a half off from my genealogy research (new baby), but intend to renew my membership soon. I find the fee to be very reasonable. You may want to try one of their free memberships (if you purchase the Family Tree Maker 2008 you get 3 months free...but not to the whole site.) Anyway, in my opinion, it is very much worth it. I have trace many lines back to the 1850's. Ancestry is not my only resource, but it is one I use often.

Good Luck!

I love Ancestry. com I've had it for a while and have found family history information. I've also found live family or they have found me. It's great. Report It

I do know that they have a free 14-day trial. I used it myself and found some good info. But just like anything else all good things come to an end. Are you near a local library? The one in my town has ancestry "library edition" not everything is free but it seems like most of it is.

debbie

Ancestry has more than one kind of membership, US and foreign. The US is cheaper than the foreign (obvisously). If you sit at home and do a lot of reseach Ancestry can help you tremendously. I have been doing genealogy since 1995 and Ancestry has really stepped up their collections recently (though it has made it hard to find somethings). If you have ancestors in the US it's a better deal, their foreign holdings are hit and miss depending on the country.

If you are near a LDS Family History Center you can use Ancestry for free. There are also very knowledgeable people there who can help you with the search. I would suggest you go to one of the Centers and try out Ancestry. If you like it but still aren't sure try the 14 day trial.

I personally don't think I could live without it. But, if you're not sure, why not try the free trial membership? If you're still not sure, you can subscribe for a month at a time (warning...I think that if you do the monthly subscription, they automatically renew it unless you cancel.)

I feel it is the best for its records. It seems like they are getting more all the time. They have all the U. S. censuses through 1930. The 1940 and later are not available to the public yet. They have transcribed the censuses but you can still see the original images. Now there are errors in their transcriptions but once you look at the originals you can have pity on the transcribers. If for instance there is a name problem, you can notify them and they will add the corrected name in and a someone can find the person under both names. You can also do that if the census taker made a mistake on the name.

You have to understand that when censuses were taken they were to not only get a head count but to collect certain data wanted during that census. The census taker had no earthly idea that people 100 -150 years down the line would be pouring over those censuses trying to find their family history.

Now, just don't take as absolute fact everything you see in family trees on any website free or paid. The information is submitted by folks like you and me and is mostly not documented or poorly documented. It should only be used as clues as to where to get the documentation.
Even if you see the same info by many different submitters, that is no guarantee it is correct. A lot of people copy without verifying.

NO, go to your local public library. Seek out a local Family History Center(Mormon Church) or the Historical Society. Thsy might have subcriptions to Ancestry and Ancestry Plus that you may use free of charge.

I've got a UK subscription and I think it's well worth the money.

If you have a question about a specific record on Ancestry if you post the details on here you may be lucky enough to have someone with a subscription look up the information for you.