Where to spend my genealogy research money?

[baytree1970]

Hi, I'm wondering which would be the best database site(s) to subscribe to (findmypast, thegenealogist, etc.) , as I don't think I can afford to subscribe to them all. I already have paid access to Ancestry and MyHeritage, and in case it's relevant, I'm really only looking at English and Welsh ancestors.

Thanks

[aghadowey]

Since you already have Ancestry and My Heritage I would say hold off on anything else at the minute until you have exhausted all other resources.
Family Search, FreeBMD and other free sites will have all sorts of records you can use.
Google can be quite useful especially if you have a specific area and names. For example, if you are looking for family that came from a village in Wales use Google to search and you might find local histories & history groups, genealogies, etc. (search name + place but keep changing search terms to bring up different results).
Here on Rootschat go to the particular county board of your interest and check out the resources section for places to look. Then, still on that board, take a look at other queries as often replies can point you to other sources also,
Use maps to learn about an area- sometimes an area is known by more than one name and mislead you into thinking relatives moved house. Google Streetview, when available, can give you an idea where your family lived and what it looks like now.
Newspapers are a great resource but coverage isn't always for the area and period you want so check availability on sites.
Then, after you've done all the above... have a look at what other paid sites offer and think about the gaps you want to fill in. For example, if you family came from Bangor, North Wales and only FindMyPast has the church records online that would be something useful to consider.
I think most pay sites might offer a free trial which is a good way of seeing the layout- a good search engine that is easy to use is very helpful.

[melba_schmelba]

Hi, I'm wondering which would be the best database site(s) to subscribe to (findmypast, thegenealogist, etc.) , as I don't think I can afford to subscribe to them all. I already have paid access to Ancestry and MyHeritage, and in case it's relevant, I'm really only looking at English and Welsh ancestors.

Thanks

Findmypast has some important records that are not available elsewhere, mainly wills from various local courts around England, such as Lichfield, which covers Derbyshire/Staffordshire/parts of Warwickshire and Shropshire, Leicestershire, Oxfordshire, Dorset and others. They also have overseas births and deaths, army service records from Napoleonic War to 1st World War, Catholic parish registers and lots of original registers not on Ancestry, and many other things I can't think of ATM !

[rogerb]

I would stick with what you are already with until the well is dry.  I did something similar, and then I moved my money over to findmypast - although tbh I mostly use it for their newspaper archive on projects other than genealogy.

At the moment I am also taking advantage of a 3 month Ancestry offer so have both for the time being which I have found useful for reviewing stuff.

[baytree1970]

Thanks everyone for the advice.

My query is whether findmypast in particular (maybe also thegenealogist if their marketing is to be believed) might offer better / easier access to older parish records than FamilySearch and Ancestry.

Is that the case or should I not believe the hype?

[melba_schmelba]

Thanks everyone for the advice.

My query is whether findmypast in particular (maybe also thegenealogist if their marketing is to be believed) might offer better / easier access to older parish records than FamilySearch and Ancestry.

Is that the case or should I not believe the hype?

It all depends on what part of the country your ancestors came from. Findmypast has the original scans of parish registers for many counties that Ancestry do not have. Generally their scans for most things, including censuses are better quality. I have only subscribed to thegenealogist once, but what I do remember their scans, particularly the PCC wills are very high quality.

[Jebber]

You don’t have to subscribe to see what Records Findmypast hold, they have 998 record sets for GB, just click on All Record Sets  and see if they have  those relevant to your research that you  can’t see on other sites, the you can decide.

[pandacub]

I'm finding all the replies here really helpful as I'd been having similar thoughts about the best use of my money.  I currently have a subscription with TheGenealogist which does seem to have good parish record coverage for the areas I want.  However there have been times recently when I've had to rely on the kindness of a friend with Ancestry to find what I've needed. 

[TerriG]

Don't forget that some UK libraries have free access (for library members) to FindMyPast.