Hi Caroline Thanks - Most of my ancestors on the JAY side come from East London/Essex so far, so the London Metropolitan Archives would be good (another source not investigated so far!) S-A -----Original Message----- From: Caroline Bradford [mailto:caroline.bradford@btinternet.com] Sent: 30 December 2008 11:44 To: 'Sally-Ann Jay'; Essex-UK@rootsweb.com Subject: [!! SPAM] RE: [Ess] Which subscription? Hi Sally-Ann You are absolutely right that, unless you are absolutely determined to do your family history the "old fashioned way" - i.e. purely through using original sources in archives around the country (or even the world), you will need to use at least one of the commercial sites. And unless your requirements are very small indeed (and this is unlikely as family history is such an addictive pastime!), subscriptions are very much more cost-effective than pay-per-view units. So far, so uncontroversial (I hope!). But the choice of supplier is trickier, and does rather depend on the nature and scope of your particular research. It would probably be fair to say that Ancestry is the "market leader" in the field, and with some justification. They certainly have the largest collection of data (though it is probable that you may not need a good percentage of it). The quality of their indexing and transcription is, in my view, no better or worse than any other. But the flexibility of their search facilities is extremely good, and this is an important consideration - but you will get the best results by applying your brain to the exercise rather than relying on their dubious claims to find your ancestors for you based on typing in "as much as you know". If you have interests in the London area, you should be aware that Ancestry will be rolling out digitised data from parish registers at the London Metropolitan Archives starting at some point in 2009. FindMyPast has some good stuff too - as well as alternative census transcriptions which can sometimes be helpful, the facility to search by address in certain years, and the ability to use wildcards at the start of names. They will be the first site to provide access to the 1911 census, though to begin with at least this will only be on a pay per view basis on its dedicated site - a FMP subscription with not, I repeat, not, give unlimited access to the 1911 transcriptions and images when it is released early next year. The Genealogist is less comprehensive, but has a wide range of different subscription rates, which can be useful if you don't want to commit yourself for too long. They are also the only site which has the non-conformist registers available to subscribers - a very valuable resources if you have dissenters in your family. There are other useful sites (notably British Origins) where you may need to spend some time and money from time to time. So, if I had to stick my neck out, I would say subscribe to Ancestry, but accept that it does not have everything you may need and be prepared to spend elsewhere when necessary. Hope this helps Caroline -----Original Message----- From: essex-uk-bounces@rootsweb.com [mailto:essex-uk-bounces@rootsweb.com] On Behalf Of Sally-Ann Jay Sent: 30 December 2008 11:06 To: Essex-UK@rootsweb.com Subject: [Ess] Which subscription? Hello list Have decided I really do need a subscription to one of the family history sites and would like your recommendations. Which do you think represents the best value for money, which has the widest range of info and which has the best search facilities? Suspect I will get a lot of differing answers but I would appreciate your input/experience. Regards Sally-Ann Jay ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Any problems, please contact the List Admin: Essex-UK-admin@rootsweb.com ------------------------------- To unsubscribe from the list, please send an email to ESSEX-UK-request@rootsweb.com with the word 'unsubscribe' without the quotes in the subject and the body of the message