Has anyone had experiencew ith this site is it as amazing as it says?

If you are willing to pay and know what you are looking for.

Sometimes you don't always have to know what your looking for. I have been working on my family history for 20 years, all I knew about my grandfather was his birthdate and death date and I eventually found him on there, he had a very extensive family tree that goes back about 35 generations and has some notable people in history in it!!!! It's a lot of work and you will have days where you could feel like throwing everything out. But ancestry is a lil costly every month but if you use it it's definiy worth it and it contains a lot of information.

Love the site, i have found many many relatives, hundreds of new ancestors and their families, old photographs i didn't know existed, and all the major documents Ares gathered in one place. I don't know how i would have gotten so far without it.  
 
It depends whar country your families are from.I'm concentrating on the Canadian sides of my family, so pay for the Canadian membership.its my hobby, which is basically free otherwise, so i think its a good value...cheaper than ordering each document like before!  
 
Basically the documents are put on by ancestry and there are also user trees, which can include pictures and stories and family documents. The quality of these depends on the user and i have found some awesome people willing to share.  
 
The nice thing its grabbing info from other trees rather than having to typeit all in yourself.  
 
Also, you get the app on your Android or iPhone and carry it around to show family members.

As a person who has been on and off with Ancestry.com over the years, I would highly suggest taking advantage of their 14 day free trial, which does require a credit card.  
 
From there, I'd concentrate and anticipate a lot of time on the site when you have lots of spare time to dedicate yourself to searches in that 2 week trial. If it's not for you, you've found what you wish, or you don't want your credit card to be dinged about $30 a month, it's one of those sites where you have to let them know you are cancelling before the trial expires.  
 
It is a huge site, so it's good to learn the ropes. There are some transcription errors, not unlike many other sites, so you may have to take the time for wildcard searches.  
 
They have affiliate sites for various countries that you will have access to with one subscription.  
 
There are many good free websites out there as well, if you wish to do some preliminary searching.  
 
There is a Genealogy board here on ebrandon and you might wish to check out my last post for some other good links.  
 
http://www.ebrandon.ca/group.aspx?cat_id=42  
 
It's a frustrating hobby, yet comes with so many rewards when you strike gold!

I consider myself of Native heritage. But for me to trace my roots would be very hard. I have black hair...but...blue eyes and fair skin. I do know that my great-great-grandfather was Scottish and on my dad's side somewhere theres French. Its not like they kept record of where we came from back in the day.  
 
Did you ever see that episode on Oprah where they do a blood test to see what genes you have, something about genetical markers?? I would love to have this done on me!!  

Guess I'm saying....where do I get my blue eyes!!

Another place to try is http://www.findagrave.com/. I googled my father's name and came across this site. I found pictures and lists of family names. Parents, kids, grandparents. It's worth a try, good luck.  
 

The family trees posted on ancestry are good, but I would suggest not to take them as being accurate until you've done some more research.  
 
One branch of my family tree has been posted on ancestry many times, and every version has the same mistake, and goes off in the wrong direction. Someone got to a a point, found someone with the right name who fit the right time frame, but didn't research thoroughly enough to find that there were two people who fit the criteria, and that they picked the wrong one. This set up a long chain of people who really aren't our family. Now there are people out there who think they are from a part of Scotland that they are not from.  
 
If you find a tree, use it as a guide only until you've confirmed the accuracy. I like to have at least three different records for each lead that I get before I accept it as true.

Kato said "The family trees posted on ancestry are good, but I would suggest not to take them as being accurate until you've done some more research.     One branch of my family tree has been posted on ancestry many times, and every version has the same mistake, and goes off in the wrong direction. Someone got to a a point, found someone with the right name who fit the right time frame, but didn't research thoroughly enough to find that there were two people who fit the criteria, and that they picked the wrong one. This set up a long chain of people who really aren't our family. Now there are people out there who think they are from a part of Scotland that they are not from.     If you find a tree, use it as a guide only until you've confirmed the accuracy. I like to have at least three different records for each lead that I get before I accept it as true. "

Indeed, I agree with taking take other 'common' family ancestors on ancestry.com with a grain of salt.  
 
Some will innocently take your ancestors, who you've invested a lot of time in substantiating as your family, and plunk them without thought or thorough research into their own family trees with timelines or data that just sometimes don't make sense.  
 
It's somewhat of a catch 22 on ancestry, as if you make your family tree public, you'll see a bit of this kind of 'borrowing relatives' activity, whereas keeping it private may prevent other credible family members that may have something to offer from contributing. It comes down to a personal choice as to how to handle public or private.  
 
All in all, Ancestry.com (or .ca or .uk, etc.) has been a good fit for me, although I usually suspend my subscription throught the busy summer months and take it up more in the winter.  
 
https://familysearch.org/ is also one of the most comprehensive FREE websites to begin with if a subscription is out of the question for ancestry.com.  
 
There again, the tutorials in how to maximize your search results, are highly advised.  
 
The site, run by The Church of the Latter Day Saints (LDS), based in Utah, holds some of the most comprehensive family history collections in the world. Microfilms can then be ordered through the local LDS church here and viewed on their machines for a super reasonable cost. You don't have to be a member of the church at all, and they are more than willing to assist any member of the public, focusing only on helping in your quest.  
 
As I mentioned before in another post,  
 
http://www.cyndislist.com/categories/  
 
is huge for resource links in genealogy in knowing where to go to start your search as it's narrowed down by countries and categories.  
 
And another good resource is:  
 
http://www.rootschat.com/forum/index.php  
 
It's a message board with links to all countries, how to begin, and so many helpful people.  
 
And this one:  
 
http://www.genealogyintime.com/  
 
is a fantastic site in getting started anywhere in the world (the site was built in Canada), but has very good and credible advice and links for anyone and everyone wishing to start searching.  
 
 
 
Edited by michelle, 2012-08-09 11:15:15

Try https://familysearch.org/, it has all the information without the cost. Most of the records of Ancestry.com come from there also. The drawback is that there are not many pictures.

I agree as well. I have been doing genealogy research for myself and many others for about 14 years now and find the information on Ancestry to be good, yet it has to be proven by ordering the certificates, etc. to prove that you are actually connecting to the proper person...not off on a wild goose chase! The program does not have 'all' records available, by any means.  
 
You must remember that some records do not exist, sometimes you have to go to alternate records for information, but every name and date must be verified with the original documents or certified copies.  
 
If I can help anyone, please PM me.

Needs a bit of humour in searching for dead relatives.  
 
I have added some of my own spin to this list....  
 
How true are some of these when you are delving into the deep closets of genealogy?  
 
MURPHY'S LAW OF GENEALOGY  
 
1. The public ceremony in which your distinguished ancestor participated and at which the platform collapsed under him turned out to be a hanging.  
 
2. When at last after much hard work you have evolved the mystery that you have been working on for two years, your aunt says, "I could have told you that."  
 
3. You search ten years for your grandmother's maiden name to eventually find it on a letter in a box in the attic.  
 
4. You never asked your relatives about the family when they were alive because you weren't interested in genealogy then.  
 
5. The important Will that you need to source is in the safe on board the Titanic.  
 
6. Copies of old newspapers have holes occurring only on the surnames.  
 
7. John, son of Thomas, the immigrant whom your relatives claim as the family progenitor, died on board ship at the age of 10.  
 
8. Your great grandfather's newspaper obituary states that he died leaving no issue of record.  
 
9. Another genealogist has just insulted the keeper of the vital records you need.  
 
10. The relative who had all the family photographs gave them all to their kids who have no interest in genealogy and no inclination to share.  
 
11. The only record you find for your great grandfather is that his property was sold at a sheriff's sale of insolvency.  
 
12. The one document that would supply the missing link in your dead end line has been lost due to fire, flood, war or bombing.  
 
13. The town clerk to whom you wrote for the information sends you a long handwritten letter which is totally illegible.  
 
14. The spelling of your European ancestor's name bears no relationship to its current spelling or pronunciation and it has 15 or more variations.  
 
15. None of the pictures in your recently deceased grandmother's photo album have names or dates written on them.  
 
16. No one in your family tree ever did anything noteworthy, owned property, was sued, made the newspaper or was named in a will.  
 
17. You learn that your great aunt's executor just sold her life's collection of family genealogical materials to a flea market dealer "Somewhere in New York City."  
 
18. Ink fades and paper deteriorates at a rate inversely proportional to the value of the data recorded.  
 
19. The 37 volume, 16,000 page history of your county of origin isn't indexed.  
 
20. You finally find your great grandparents' wedding record and discover that the bride's father was named John Smith.  
 
21. Your grandparents lied about their age and or names for various reasons that were quite passable at that time which leads you to tear your hair out.  
 
22. The 'Family Bible' recording some of the most important information was lost in a move.  
 
23. The well kept church and school records where you have proof your ancestor attended cannot find your family member for some reason.  
 
24. The written word of "We are sorry to report the search was negative" becomes commonplace.  
 
25. The only relative overseas you finally track down after 20 years of searching that may provide information JUST passed away.