TXMomof4 Posted January 11, 2013 Share Posted January 11, 2013 My FIL started researching his family tree and added me on as editor for my family. I've gotten sucked in in a major way and am wondering about anyone else's experience using this website. It's pretty darn exciting - the family history I know I've been able to confirm. If you use the record available - birth, death, marriage, census - it should be pretty reliable, right? The line seems to be confirmed definitely, not just through other trees I'm building off of, but by all the records mentioned before. Am I deluding myself? Seriously - really exciting lines to follow (for a geek like me). {FOR SOME REASON I CANNOT USE THE ENTER KEY TO START NEW PARAGRAPHS - SO SPACING IS ALL MESSED UP WHEN I TYPE ON MY COMPUTER} I'm just doing a quick follow directly line, not looking at aunts and uncles - just child to parents as straight through as I can. {Now the font is messed up too, I wonder if it's a windows8 thing?} :cursing: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kathryn Posted January 11, 2013 Share Posted January 11, 2013 I used it years and years ago when it was brand new and not much more than census records and message boards. I was with it as it grew and stopped subscribing somewhere around five years ago. They've grown a lot since then. It is amazing how much is available there now. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Callie Posted January 11, 2013 Share Posted January 11, 2013 Do your own research and don't rely on others keeping the 'line' straight. I have seen many mistakes because once the wrong "John Smith" is linked to your family everything else is wrong. Dh's aunt relied on someone else tree and it was wrong. Glaringly wrong. When doing dh's tree I used the correct info. His aunt and mom are put out with me. They wanted to claim a family crest that wasn't theirs to claim. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Giraffe Posted January 11, 2013 Share Posted January 11, 2013 Do your own research and don't rely on others keeping the 'line' straight. I have seen many mistakes because once the wrong "John Smith" is linked to your family everything else is wrong. Dh's aunt relied on someone else tree and it was wrong. Glaringly wrong. When doing dh's tree I used the correct info. His aunt and mom are put out with me. They wanted to claim a family crest that wasn't theirs to claim. Definitely confirm what you find there. I have a similar problem as Callie's family and it confuses everyone when I try to correct to the right line (we have multiple ancestors - cousins, uncles, etc. - with the same name. One slip and you're off on a wild goose chase.) ETA: sometimes I hate typing on an iPad. Sorry if you saw all the typos! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MomtoCandJ Posted January 11, 2013 Share Posted January 11, 2013 I have also and in my family and dh's last names changed at one point or another. Dh's went from two ts to just one (there was big family fight so one part changed the other didn't). In my family I think it was changed during immigration (Burkenbiel (sp?) to Burkey) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TXMomof4 Posted January 11, 2013 Author Share Posted January 11, 2013 There is a lot of this line that is solid. From my grandmother back to colonial times is confirmed and well known in the family. Solid documentation. The only place I have any reservations is between England and here. It seems solid - immigration records, good marriage, birth, death information. And if that's solid then back in England it is super-well documented. I'm just having a hard time believing it - how could I not know this???? My poor husband is sick of me calling him with every new find - this is so fun!!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
indigomama Posted January 11, 2013 Share Posted January 11, 2013 Yes, I've added other distant family member's trees and then gotten nasty emails via ancestry.com from someone saying the tree a I copied from was wrong and I am most certainly not related to her husband! I told her that I would check it out and to take a chill pill and never contact me again. She was scarey. So, all that to say, I find it very exciting as well, just make sure you check things out yourself. ETA: Also, read the actual document, don't trust what Ancestry lists the document as saying. For example, Ancestry had a relative listed, that when I looked at the actual document the name and age was wrong, because of poor handwriting on the census takers part. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mommaduck Posted January 11, 2013 Share Posted January 11, 2013 Yes, I've added other distant family member's trees and then gotten nasty emails via ancestry.com from someone saying the tree a I copied from was wrong and I am most certainly not related to her husband! I told her that I would check it out and to take a chill pill and never contact me again. She was scarey. So, all that to say, I find it very exciting as well, just make sure you check things out yourself. ETA: Also, read the actual document, don't trust what Ancestry lists the document as saying. For example, Ancestry had a relative listed, that when I looked at the actual document the name and age was wrong, because of poor handwriting on the census takers part. Wow, just wow! Why on earth would she have a problem with you being related to her husband? The idea is to FIND cousins! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DianeW88 Posted January 11, 2013 Share Posted January 11, 2013 I use Ancestry and love it, but yes, double check everything. They give you a lot of possible matches for the name you're looking for. It's up to you to figure out which one is correct. Oh, and MY COMPUTER WON'T LET ME PARAGRAPH EITHER!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
indigomama Posted January 11, 2013 Share Posted January 11, 2013 Wow, just wow! Why on earth would she have a problem with you being related to her husband? The idea is to FIND cousins! I have no idea what her problem was. Apparently, the relative in question had the same name and was born in the same area but they were two different people. What I found funny was that it wasn't her relative but her husbands, Oh well, I have enough crazy family members, I don't need more :tongue_smilie: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DianeW88 Posted January 11, 2013 Share Posted January 11, 2013 {FOR SOME REASON I CANNOT USE THE ENTER KEY TO START NEW PARAGRAPHS - SO SPACING IS ALL MESSED UP WHEN I TYPE ON MY COMPUTER} I'm just doing a quick follow directly line, not looking at aunts and uncles - just child to parents as straight through as I can. {Now the font is messed up too, I wonder if it's a windows8 thing?} :cursing: Yes, it IS a Windows 8 thing!! I can do it just fine on my Ipad. If you figure it out, let me know. For awhile, my reply box had a different font and I COULD paragraph. Now it's switched back for some reason....and I can't. I HATE Windows 8!!!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lailasmum Posted January 11, 2013 Share Posted January 11, 2013 I really like ancestry. It's so useful but definitely look at the original records because I have seen names incorrectly transcribed. It is quite hard for the transcribers though, I have done a little bit for ancestry and some handwriting is so hard to read. I have also had that experience of coming across a family tree with a bit of mine tacked in and obviously wrong. I just ignored it, in practise if they make that mistake that easily I doubt they are that bothered in doing it properly. The one I found had my dad tacked into another family.. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gardenmom5 Posted January 11, 2013 Share Posted January 11, 2013 My FIL started researching his family tree and added me on as editor for my family. I've gotten sucked in in a major way and am wondering about anyone else's experience using this website. It's pretty darn exciting - the family history I know I've been able to confirm. If you use the record available - birth, death, marriage, census - it should be pretty reliable, right? The line seems to be confirmed definitely, not just through other trees I'm building off of, but by all the records mentioned before. Am I deluding myself? Seriously - really exciting lines to follow (for a geek like me). I use ancestry. the links to offical records documentation are great, and I love that I can link it to my "person". DO check them out - some need to be very thoroughly verified, as there are people with the same name in the same area that can lead to confusion. (I have one I've come across where the parents name and location are the same, the dd has the same name - but she's ten years younger than the dd I'm looking for.) most "family trees" done by other's I take with a grain of salt and only as a place to start, I don't consider them documentation. my experience with census records . . . . census takers that *only* use initials with a last name. a couple who lied to the census taker about their age. census takers with "unique" handwriting that is misinterpreted by whomever is digitizing the record. census takers with "unique" spelling. mistakes by whomever gave the information. etc. I've gotten pretty creative in finding records. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gardenmom5 Posted January 11, 2013 Share Posted January 11, 2013 Yes, I've added other distant family member's trees and then gotten nasty emails via ancestry.com from someone saying the tree a I copied from was wrong and I am most certainly not related to her husband! I told her that I would check it out and to take a chill pill and never contact me again. She was scarey. So, all that to say, I find it very exciting as well, just make sure you check things out yourself. ETA: Also, read the actual document, don't trust what Ancestry lists the document as saying. For example, Ancestry had a relative listed, that when I looked at the actual document the name and age was wrong, because of poor handwriting on the census takers part. I had someone put my dad as the son of his step-father. *&(^)(*& NO WAY! I sent off an e-mail informing my grandmother's cousin of that fact and please change it. I had another connecting my 2nd great-grandmother to her relative. I dropped her a note letting her know that even in that VERY rural area there were two women with the same name born the same year. and btw - the year her ancester married, mine had already died. (she was about 21 when she died.) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gardenmom5 Posted January 11, 2013 Share Posted January 11, 2013 They wanted to claim a family crest that wasn't theirs to claim. just like all the people who like to claim they descend from royalty. (or obsessed with how far back they can go, and do shoddy work.) they make me nuts. put down the genalogy charts, you're not mature enough to do it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Alessandra Posted January 11, 2013 Share Posted January 11, 2013 I wanted to second what so many have said, or rephrase it: if it sounds too good to be true.... You need to be super diligent about checking. You want to find not just the person you are looking for, but also the family group. Relying on other people's research can be a pitfall. Sometimes the mistakes are obvious -- in my 'family,' there is at least one son who was born before his father. Links to Plantagenet ancestors should be regarded with some suspicion, obviously. One genealogist has coined a nice term for the people who should be kicked off a family tree: 'former ancestors.' But, to answer your main question, Ancestry had a wealth of information, especially for the United States. Well worth subscribing to. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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