Genealogy Chat

I am considering taking a subscription to either Ancestry or The Genealogist so I am not constantly having to purchase credits to view census info, can anyone out there advise the best way to go, or are there other sites that can offer a good way of researching. Thanks in advance
Sandra

Hi Ozzy Sandra,
I have found Ancestry so invaluable that I have requested the yearly membership for Xmas from my family for the last two years and will again because I'm not finished yet!
It depends on your heritage, but having a subscription means you can look at all 8 or 24 pages of a village, and it's amazing how the links come to light. Just the other night I found that the family to which an ancestor was apprenticed before he emigrated to Australia, is thirty years later living very close to his descendents who stayed behind in UK (on the next census page) in the parents home town!
From Australia, Ancestry is fabulous! Plus the other day they added our Australian electoral rolls from 1905 to 1935(?) - haven't researched yet, but perhaps I can get addresses to many many more second cousins and perhaps find the third cousins of my generation
All the best in your research,
Hz

Hi Hz
Thanks for the comments, may I ask with the Ancestry census info is it like the free 1881 census where when you have a record on a household it is possible to move to the previous households in the street and also the following ones, as I have found more relatives of mine being able to do this.
Can you give any advise on finding ancestors who come before the 1841 census where is it best to look?
I am new to this so any help is greatly appreciated.
Cheers
Sandra

Ill nudge up tips for newbies for you.

Ancestry is without doubt the best sub you could take and yes it is possible to look backwards and forwards. You have 24/7 access to fiddle about as much as you want. There are also many more other resources on there including WW1 Pensions records, parish records, Pallots Marriages, Australian deportees etc. If you are just starting out then you should get yourself a decent family tree program aswell. GRs is not good and others have a lot more facilities - start recording info NOW not lose it or forget sources. Familytreemaker 2006 v16 can be bought for less than a tenner now on sites like twr computing and usually include a free trial on ancestry.

Ancestors before 1841 census - well if they are born, married or died after 1837 when registration started you can look for their certificate refs on freebmd and buy the certificate for £7 from GRO online which will give you further information.

If not then you need parish records - there are SOME on ancestry and SOME on familysearch.org -SOME being transcribed now on freereg or you can google to find any local transcripts or contact family history societies or online parish clerks OR you get out and go to the records offices local to the events and search through the microfiche or films there.

Ill nudge that thread :)

I agree with all comments so far. I only started researching my family in February and wouldn’t be as far as I’ve come without Ancestry.

Good luck and if you want some more useful websites, put “websites” into the “search this board” bar on the left hand side and people have put some very useful suggestions on here.

Vicky X

I´m on Ancestry just about every day, searching or checking something. It is easy to use and I could spend hours there. Definitely worth the money. I had The Genealogist too, but I got frustrated using the credits. I find it fussy and I like to feel I can look up whatever without worrying about using up my credits all the time. So definitely Ancestry.

I would definately recommend not spending any money until you have exhausted freeBMD and 1881 resources.
By that time you should have a good few names in your tree that need further research. Get your BMD certs for the ones that will advance your tree - see the advice on this site, get them one at a time so that if you have a wrong name you don't pay for a fistful.
After that ancestry is well worth looking at - make full use of the free trial don't do what I did and take it out a few days before going on holiday.
Good hunting
Dave

I have found the wildcard searches quite handy on ancestry too, two of my surnames have lots of variations on spelling; collins and seifriss, using the wildcards of col* and sei* in the places they lived has found me lots of records I wouldnt otherwise have found. Ancestry also have a 14day trial world membership which I took advantage of for relatives in canada, then cancelled and went back to my uk membership.

Thanks to you all for the advise, looks like Ancestry is the way to go for a subsciption.
Regards to all
Sandra