In a message dated 9/4/2006 12:38:48 AM Pacific Standard Time, [email protected] writes: Sue O'Donnell wrote: > Hello SF list, > > I'm thinking of subscribing to ancestry.com. I assume that others on > this list are subscribed to it as well. Does anyone have any thoughts > and interactions with ancestry.com to share ? > > Someone called me the other day from ancestry.com and I think they had > already looked at my file(s) I have stored on their site given what > the person said to me. I have also noted that there are a lot of > mistakes on the census records they have transcribed which makes them > rather useless unless you actually pull the full record up and read > the whole thing. > > Being a large portion of my tree is guess work, I don't care to make > it public, that is for certain. How safe is my information? > > I'd appreciate any feedback before I make a commitments. I've heard > in the past that getting rid of them one you have decided you've had > enough of their service can be difficult (?). Is this still the case? > > Many thanks in advance, > > Sue > > ___________________________________ Sue, I have had Ancestry for a number of years, and it had an incredible amount of good stuff on it. I currently have the local history part only,and the new format is very un user friendly for this grandmother. I will probably renew to full access if they change the format. Transcription errors on the census are a reality. Also original errors by the people taking the census, and our ancestors too... dates and birth places do 'wiggle' a lot in some searches. Do not despair! There are great amounts of data avail. in local history books about the people who built our country- I am finding a number of mine are there. The World tree project is not good. It is important to be able to get good sources. The Ancestry world tree can give you some hints in how, where, and when to search. You can also locate the people who may have spent years seeking what you are just starting to look for. Most of them are dears, and gladly share information, as they are pleased to find another person in their groups too. Sharing information and posting it to Ancestry is iffy. Once incorrect data is out there it is difficult to impossible to 'fix'. Never forget, there is a great deal avail. now in free searches. Some states and counties have also got census records. If you are just starting out, you will probably learn VAST amounts on Ancestry. If you are using the TFM2006 etc and want to do the internet searches from there, you should have Ancestry. Good Luck!! Susan S

I note that Susan's original query about ancestry.com, and several of the responses, refer to errors in ancestry.com's census "transcriptions." Just to be clear for those who don't have ancestry and who are thinking about subscribing: ancestry.com does NOT feature census transcriptions; portions of the data are INDEXED. And yes, the indexed data has a fair degree of error in terms of the spelling of people's names in particular. Yes, there are errors. Anyone who has looked at a lot of census pages will understand why. Far too often the enumerators did not have particularly good penmanship skills. ancestry.com's saving grace in regard to census indexing errors is that their search template allows the use of an asterisk as a "wild card." If you are searching for Berman, for example, you can enter BERM*N to catch all instances of Berman, Bermann, Bermman, Bermann, Bermen, Bermon, Bermun, etc. Three alpha characters do have to be provided before wild cards can indicated in the search term (e.g., BER* can be used, but B*RMAN can not be used). ========================== Mary Thiele Fobian Genealogical & Historical Research Pacific Grove, California

I just noticed this morning that the "new" Advanced Search template is available at ancestry. This is a modified version of the more comprehensive search template formerly available before recent "improvements." We are once again able to enter jursidictions (state, county, town) and KEYWORDS, which I have always found so useful. Remember to try those wildcards! The URL for the Advanced Search template is http://www.ancestry.com/search/rectype/advanced.aspx ========================== Mary Thiele Fobian Genealogical & Historical Research Pacific Grove, California