Personal Life Media

Transcript

Show Notes
This week we’re going to go over what our options are for locating online records through paid subscription websites.

First of all it’s important to point out that the online records landscape is constantly changing.  And there is no one authority of where you should be searching.  In the end, what you are looking for is going to dictate where the best place to look online is.  And that might change next week.  So I’ll be concentrating as much on how to decide which sites are best for your particular challenge as I will be what the so-called top online records sites are.

Having said that, there are some very large websites out there that time and again prove out to be solid and reliable.  In this episode I’m going to focus on the major subscription based websites, the ones where more than likely you’re going to have to pay to gain full access to the records online.  Once we have a good handle on those, then in our next episode we can talk about the free alternatives.

In the world of genealogy, as with pretty much another other hobby or endeavor you get in to, you are eventually going to have to spend some money to really be successful.  You may already be familiar with the Family History Library which is run by the LDS church, and that library typically falls under the Free category.  But in reality you’re still going to have to spend some money to take full advantage of it – whether it’s a quarter here and there to print copies, to a couple of dollars to order a roll of microfilm, to several hundred to pay travel expenses to go to the free library in person.  So I guess the bottom line is: nothing is free.  So our goal is really to get the very best value and results for the money we spend.

Paid Subscription Websites
Ancestry is owned by The Generations Network and is one of a number of genealogy websites they operate.  Ancestry boasts having more than 7 billion names and 26,000 searchable databases, and it is currently the web's largest collection of historical records.  And because Ancestry has expanded into web site features that allow users to manage their family information on the website, you can also tap into the research, records and photos of other family historians. 

In our last episode (number 06) I went over all the majority of records that you will be looking for in your research.  Well, Ancestry has pretty much all of the records mentioned and quite a bit more. 

The really compelling collection they have is the entire U.S. Federal census, from searchable indexes of names to every single page in a digital format that you can view and print covering all of the available enumerations from 1790 all the way through to 1930.  And the census is really going to be a cornerstone of your research. They also have an amazing collection of passenger list records available, again not just the indexes but scanned images as well. 

Bottom Line:  While it would be impossible for them to have every single record available, or every single issue of a newspaper digitized, today Ancestry is going to be your best bet for finding it if it exists online. 

There are definitely free alternatives but as I said you’ll probably still end up spending a few dollars here and there.  And you will probably have to visit a variety of websites, although the Family Search website again operated by the LDS church is certainly getting as close as possible to providing the most comprehensive collection of free digitized records and indexes available, and we’ll talk in depth about Family Search next episode. 

Costs
You can sign up for a free 14 day trial to kick the tires and test drive Ancestry’s U.S. records collection.

If you decide to join Ancestry, you have a couple of different options.  You can choose between a U.S. Deluxe Membership and a World Deluxe Membership.  From there you can choose whether you want to go with a monthly, quarterly or yearly membership.  The longer the time period the lower the cost per month. 

The best way to decide how much use you really think you’ll get out of a subscription is to take advantage of the 14 day free trial offer.  If you’re still not sure how much of an investment you want to make, then go for a one month subscription for around $20 and drive it some more. 

Once you have a handle on how long a subscription you want, then you need to decide between the U.S. and the World Deluxe memberships. 

If you have English, Irish or Canadian ancestors in particular, then the World Deluxe Membership is probably a good choice.   The British census records are fantastic and can take you back several generations very quickly.  However, chances are you will be working in U.S. records for quite a while before you’re ready to search overseas, so consider going with the U.S. at the lower cost, and then upgrading when you feel you’re ready. 

It will boil down to your initiative in using the site as to whether you really get your money’s worth.  I’ve been a member for several years now and find new things every day, not only because they have a ton of records, but because they are constantly adding new ones, as are their users.  And remember, you can start with a short subscription and you can always increase it later. 

And finally, if you’re still unsure, then hold off and wait for my episode dedicated to Census records and consider joining then.  In my opinion Ancestry has more than paid for itself simply through its census records collection.  Not too many years ago I used to have to drive 45 minutes to a large Family History Center to slog through name index books and then pull 1 roll of microfilm at a time and scroll through it trying to find just one family.  On Ancestry I can literally find dozens of records in that same amount of time, and yes I can do it in my jammies and with my favorite hot drink if I want.  The savings in time, gas, money and aggravation is indisputable. 

The other major records website is World Vital Records.  The collection there is more eclectic in my opinion.  You won’t find as complete coverage for the various record types.  However what you will find are some very unique, not available anywhere else type records. 

Because their collections and tools are not as vast as Ancestry you’ll find the pricing more affordable.   While Ancestry has around 7 billion names, World Vital Records says they have  about 1.2 billion names, and 800 million US names. 

I want to mention that I closely track the new records being added to these sights along with many others, so if you would like updates as to the newest records available, sign up for my free email newsletter called Genealogy Gems and for the latest updates.  I’ll have a link to that in the show notes at the Personal Life Media Website for this Episode 7, or just go to my website at genealogygems.tv and you’ll find a signup button on the upper left side of the homepage. 

International Records Subscription Websites
FindMyPast.com for British
RootsIreland.ie for Irish
Scotlands People.gov.uk for Scottish
GenLine.com for Swedish

Subscription Website Tips

Tip #1 - I recommend that as you find records you save them to your computer hard drive in an organized manner.  Records can pile up very quickly which of course is a very good thing, but it’s not a good thing if you don’t save them and then have a hard time locating them again, or worse save them but in a way that makes them difficult to quickly access on your computer.  I’ll be devoting an entire future episode to hard drive record organization to help you with this. 

Tip #2 - Another important tip is to properly cite the source for each document you locate, on the saved file itself, on the paper copy if you print it out and in your genealogy database where you add the info that you just discovered on that document.

Tip #3 - If you do decide to subscribe to Ancestry, by all means take advantage of the opportunity to post your family tree on the website, and add to it occasionally as you go.  This is a fantastic way for other researchers and long lost distance cousins to find you and share what they know and vica versa.   

Your genealogical job this week: 
Check out the websites that I talked about and perhaps try out a free trial with Ancestry or World Vital Records to test drive it your self.  In our next episode I’ll be covering some of the great free online databases available to help supplement what you find on the paid databases.

Subscribe to the Show
If you haven’t subscribed for free to the show you can do so by simply clicking the iTunes button.  ITunes is free and you don’t have to have an iPod to use it, best of all you can use it to receive each new show as it’s published so you won’t miss a thing.

Listen to the Genealogy Gems Podcast
For more genealogy listening I invite you to tune in to my other family history podcast called The Genealogy Gems Podcast which you can find at http://www.GenealogyGems.TV