RootsChat.Com
General => The Common Room => Topic started by: Rds on Tuesday 06 December 22 15:10 GMT (UK)
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Which is "the best"?
Which would you recommend?
Do they hold all the same records? or do they different from Country and county?
Does anyone hold more Church records than the other?
Which one would you say is better for Military records? or stick with Fold3 or Forces War Records?
My main country of research is England so far, have a few hits in the States as a great-aunt marries an American G.I. after WW2 but I cannot see them without paying even more!
I have been with Ancestry while now, and just wondered if I am missing out on anything, or if I should do alternative months with each... just don't want Ancestry to delete anything on my "off" months.
I know Find My Past now has the 1921 Census, but it is ridiculous priced (for my budget at least), so have brought the single pages I wanted/needed.
Are any of them more geared up for UK Records ?
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Having tried both I came to the conclusion that Ancestry was more user friendly. In the main the records are similar with the exception that FindMyPast has newspapers. For the few times I've wanted a 1921 census it's been cheaper to pay as you go. The main benefit of Ancestry is that I've managed to get a 50 percent for the last five or so years.
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FindMyPast appear to be offering 40% off atm. I find Ancestry easier to use but FindMyPast marginally better for UK parish records and of course the newspapers.
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I became a member of FindMyPast when it started up, many years ago, as 1837 online, I much prefer it to Ancestry which I wouldn't use if it were not for looking for USA and Canadian relatives and doing a DNA test. I also have a sub to My Heritage, in particular for their DNA analytical tools. I've been using Family Search since the early days of the IGI and the 1881 census. I also use Scotlands People and other specialist sites.
It really depends on where your main body of interest is. For me it's Wales, some English counties (North and Midlands) , Scotland and USA/Canada.
Gadget
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I have been with Ancestry while now, and just wondered if I am missing out on anything, or if I should do alternative months with each... just don't want Ancestry to delete anything on my "off" months.
Ancestry won't delete anything - but you won't be able to see the images from Ancestry.
I haven't paid a sub for years - and have about a dozen trees on there :D
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I find Ancestry and FindMyPast both have their pros and cons. All part of the DNA of the websites, no pun intended.
Ancestry can be a bit slow and sluggish and the site can throw up wild results at times but has more records for a certain county than FindMyPast and vice versa. Sussex and Oxfordshire are well covered on Ancestry as they have links to original images, but on FindMyPast Oxfordshire has mainly indexes except wills which are original scans.
FindMyPast is good for searching name variants. Bracegirdle, Beargudle etc.
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I became a member of FindMyPast when it started up, many years ago, as 1837 online, I much prefer it to Ancestry.
Gadget
Seconded, I too started with 1837 online (seems like centuries ago!) -- and like Gadget I have certain areas that I concentrate on, Northumberland; Durham and Lincolnshire and I find that FindMyPast has a greater coverage for these counties. Anything that I can't find I look at Family Search and then Ancestry but I get a little fed up with Ancestry bombarding my search results with USA so called links to me / my search. At the end of the day, it is down to personal choice and affordability.
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I agree with all the above, but bear in mind that it's not all set in stone. North Yorkshire parish registers have been at FindMyPast for some years, but they've recently appeared at Ancestry, with new colour images. That might have implications for what's at FindMyPast, but we're not likely to know about that unless/until it happens.
Remember too that in most public libraries you're able to access Ancestry or FindMyPast (or sometimes both), free of charge. So even if you opt for one, you might still be able to use the other from time to time. FamilySearch is always worth checking out too: some items can only be viewed in LDS Family History Centres, but many can be seen at home, totally free.
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Like most things it depends on what you are looking for. They all have their plus points.
Most commercial sites do a 'free trial' for, I think, a couple of weeks. Try that one at a time and see which is best suited to the time frame/ geographical area/ type of record etc that is relevant to what you are researching.
Caveat is that you need to review prior to renewal of either site as their offerings change, as do your requirements.
Boo
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You'll find different records on each and as others have said it will depend on which documents you are looking for and which countries. FindMyPast is good but doesn't have integrated DNA matching.
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If I were starting my online genealogy journey and could only pick one service - it would be Ancestry - for most of the reasons given above. Unlike a lot of people I have also found the dreaded "other person's tree" feature quite useful in the past!
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As above, it depends on your requirements. I find FMPs advanced search facilities far more powerful than Ancestry searches, and use it all the time. But I subscribe to Ancestry as well because some original documents, particularly parish registers, are only available for certain counties on Ancestry, and others only on FindMyPast.
You can check the Card Catalogue or collections searches on both to see who has what.
Essex registers for instance are referenced and transcribed on both, but the originals only viewable via Essex Archives, so for the last few years I have maintained a subscription with Essex Archives also.
Kent registers again referenced, but many original images are freely viewable on Kents' own Cityark archive.
It greatly depends on your particular requirements.
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I still await the day Ancestry's new collections says "Suffolk, England Baptisms, Marriages and Burials 1538-1812" and "Buckinghamshire, England Baptisms, Marriages and Burials 1538-1812" and "Berkshire, England Baptisms, Marriages and Burials 1538-1812"
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Easy answer stay with ANCESTRY.
Especially if at some stage you want to take a DNA test which I for one would suggest that you do now plus have siblings, cousins (maternal and paternal) and especially parents, aunts, uncles all tested.
Ancestry has 2x more DNA tested members than any other company.
There are many ifs and buts involved and at least download the Gedcom file for your tree which you can always upload it to FindMyPast, MyHeritage etc.
I have Roots Magic and sync all our various Ancestry Trees to their corresponding tree within the software, not all online trees can sync to software.
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You are approaching that simply from the POV of where to host a tree and DNA matching Biggles. In that sense I agree with you, but I am not reliant on any online site to host my research. From the outset I decided it was far preferable to keep all of my research and my tree on my computer. I regularly upload copies of the latest version to various websites for hint and DNA matching purposes. But you could say that my tree is for life, not just the length of an Ancestry subscription. It's also a lot easier to navigate, find and compare information, and run queries on :)
But which site is "the best" depends on my area of research at the time. FindMyPast is no good at all when I want to see original images of parish registers for Somerset. They are hosted on Ancestry. The opposite is true when I am researching Lincolnshire parish records, etc.
If you read the OP's original question, he was more concerned with record coverage (UK in particular) than tree hosting or DNA. The latter two didn't figure in his question at all.
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I know Find My Past now has the 1921 Census, but it is ridiculous priced (for my budget at least), so have brought the single pages I wanted/needed.
See if your local library has free access to FindMyPast including the UK 1921 Census on their computers. It works a treat for the occasional lookup and would give you an opportunity to compare.
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I was originally going to switch between find my past and ancestry but found that learning my way round several sites was a bit complicated so have stuck with ancestry .I find that every year they have more records
I do sometimes go to the library but it takes me longer to get onto find my past than to do my look ups .
Recommend looking out for offers and do a free trial monthly trial with each before deciding
In years gone by I used Genes Reunited but when subs ran out I could no longer access things I'd put in shoebox
Also I used to take UK subs on Ancestry but every now and again treat myself to a month of worldwide access . Recently I've been getting the half price yearly worldwide offer
I upgraded one month to get newspapers but found it highly biased to American papers
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You are approaching that simply from the POV of where to host a tree and DNA matching Biggles. In that sense I agree with you, but I am not reliant on any online site to host my research. From the outset I decided it was far preferable to keep all of my research and my tree on my computer. I regularly upload copies of the latest version to various websites for hint and DNA matching purposes. But you could say that my tree is for life, not just the length of an Ancestry subscription. It's also a lot easier to navigate, find and compare information, and run queries on :)
But which site is "the best" depends on my area of research at the time. FindMyPast is no good at all when I want to see original images of parish registers for Somerset. They are hosted on Ancestry. The opposite is true when I am researching Lincolnshire parish records, etc.
If you read the OP's original question, he was more concerned with record coverage (UK in particular) than tree hosting or DNA. The latter two didn't figure in his question at all.
The Op is already an Ancestry subscriber, and if they intend to go the DNA route then staying with Ancestry is imo the wisest course of action.
As it is, Ancestry and my Roots Magic family tree projects are Mirror images of each other.
Should we decide to cancel Ancestry then we have a fully working tree with all the media we shall wish for on our Computers, one copy on my PC and an identical copy on our Laptop.
Keeping a tree online gives belt and braces and should the Software become out of date and/or the company cease business then we will have an alternate.
I find it is always best to have a prime project and at least two Backup projects.
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Biggles ~
The OP was asking which was the best for records not DNA. It may be that Rds might want to use DNA in the future but nothing is mentioned in the original question.
Gadget
Which is "the best"?
Which would you recommend?
Do they hold all the same records? or do they different from Country and county?
Does anyone hold more Church records than the other?
Which one would you say is better for Military records? or stick with Fold3 or Forces War Records?
My main country of research is England so far, have a few hits in the States as a great-aunt marries an American G.I. after WW2 but I cannot see them without paying even more!
I have been with Ancestry while now, and just wondered if I am missing out on anything, or if I should do alternative months with each... just don't want Ancestry to delete anything on my "off" months.
I know Find My Past now has the 1921 Census, but it is ridiculous priced (for my budget at least), so have brought the single pages I wanted/needed.
Are any of them more geared up for UK Records ?
Add -as Phil says :
If you read the OP's original question, he was more concerned with record coverage (UK in particular) than tree hosting or DNA. The latter two didn't figure in his question at all.
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Keeping a tree online gives belt and braces and should the Software become out of date and/or the company cease business then we will have an alternate.
I find it is always best to have a prime project and at least two Backup projects.
I won't repeat what I've already said, Gadget has kindly done it for me.
But I also agree with what you said above. In the event of your first point, I would import the Gedcom into another program. But I find it difficult to envisage a software genealogy program becoming out of date. If it works now, it should continue to do so. I use financial software on my PC that I last purchased in 2016. I was using the 2004 version prior to that for 12 years. Buying a new version every year is a pointless and needless expense if what I am using does what I need.
My Tree projects and associated documents, images and files, along with much else, reside on my PC and laptop. They are backed up daily to a different disc on my PC, to network attached storage and an off-site backup.
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FindMyPast has better newspaper collections, well for me personally than Ancestry.
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I may be digressing from the Op’s thread but I have software that will not now run on my computers, and my old PC will not run some new software nor will it update to Windows 11.
My Wife’s iMac is ten years old and is not supported regards component failure. Software on it that is not updated will not function.
Being reliant on ones tree just being on a computer is a risk, short term risks may well not be a problem but how will all the data and software on a computer fair in twenty or thirty years time when the next generation will inherit your family archives? For some of us that transfer may well take place way earlier.
Thirty years ago Windows was very much in its infancy, in 1990 when I worked in London we used MSDOS and Ashton Tate’s Framework as our software for word processing and spreadsheets. Other software we used at the time became obsolete very quickly.
Do plan for the long term.
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I’m a big fan of - and subscribe to - both. Prefer the search facility on FindMyPast but much prefer ancestry trees. Parish records vary but if not on one they may well be on the other, and newspapers are great on FindMyPast. Military records to me are not very good on either, and have never found anything on Forces War Records (no dates or location of birth etc to narrow it down). I do use the GRO, freeBMD and freeREG too, as great cross references, but rarely bother with Family Search. Also use Family Historian software for my trees (start in ancestry and import gedcom into FH). A fantastic hobby.
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My last word on this topic, as you say Biggles, it has rather strayed from the original thread.
There is very little (Windows)software that can't be made to run on current computers, some with the right version of Windows, e.g. Pro. You can run programs in compatibility mode (right click on the executable, go to Properties/Compatibility) etc., you can, as I do, run programs in virtual machines hosting different operating systems. There are emulators available, etc.
My PC is the equivalent of Triggers broom. I have not bought a new PC since the early 1990s, when I replace my Amiga with a Windows PC. Periodically, it has received upgrades to its motherboard, RAM, processor, discs, case, keyboard and mouse, monitor, and it is now effectively no longer the same computer at all, but I have installed new components in stages rather than junking it and buying a brand new machine. It currently runs Win 10 on the primary partition, and Win 8.1 on a second partition. I have no wish to "upgrade" (which is not neccessarily an upgrade in the true sense of the word, at least at present) to Windows 11, but should I wish to do so in the future, I only need to add a TPM module to my existing motherboard to meet the installation requirements. It is also possible to install it on machines that don't meet the full requirements, as long as you are happy to support it yourself.
My intention, as set out in my Will, is for my research to be donated to the Society of Genealogists.
See https://www.sog.org.uk/support-us
Several family members already have printed and digital copies of my research. It is possible to produce books and complete websites from the genealogy software I use with relative ease. I have already produce booklets on a few of my lines, with copies in the hands of a few interested relatives. I intend to do so for others when my research reaches a point that I consider it sufficiently worthwhile.
But that aside, whilst I do have "recent" copies of my tree on various genealogical websites, by placing all your data on a single website, you are assuming that also will never be lost, damaged, corrupted etc. It may seem unlikely now, but Ancestry in its current form for example, didn't exist 30 years ago. Can you be sure it will still be around in 30, 50, 100 years?
But I find online trees impossibly clunky to navigate and use effectively. When a name crops up in your research, how easy is it for you to search your entire tree to see if it has cropped up in connection with any other family members or events; as a witness at a wedding, neighbour in a census, mentioned in a newspaper report alongside a relative, etc? It may be possible, I don't know as I don't wish to use an online tree to conduct my research, but such a query takes a matter of seconds using my software.
How do you record your DNA matches in an online tree? Yes, I know they are shown with an icon within the tree itself, but how do you easily compare match lengths, MRCAs, the companies they have tested with, their relationships to you etc, all in a list that can be manipulated for searching or retrieving information, or exporting to a spreadsheet for analysis? My guess is that you would have to do it outside of the tree. I can run another set of queries in seconds and find any of that information that I need.
If I want to know who might be missing from a particular census, you guessed it, I run a query.
If I want to see where all my relatives lived, or a timeline of where a single relative lived, or a family group, I can show that on a world map.
If I want to find out which relatives had a particular occupation, it takes seconds, etc. etc.
So I'm sorry, but an online tree is not for me ever going to be a suitable primary repository of my ongoing research. If it suits you, that is fine. It's not my intention to criticise, just to explain my position.
With my tree constantly updated onto several different media and offsite backups, I think I am at least as well and possibly better covered against disaster that a single on;line tree. Again, you might disagree. That's fine, and if you are happy with your arrangement, who am I to criticise. I am just explaining my methods, and my reasoning.