I do not believe that Ancestry.com is an affiliate of the LDS Church...Agnes Cloninger Thank you, Agnes...you have put my mind at rest. And many others have offered very good reasoning for having paid genealogy on the internet as well. Thanks all. This may not be what this list is for, but my concerns were genealogy related, and now, I believe, I can proceed without any further worry. Thanks. In keeping with our rules...does anyone have a clue as to where Absalom Bonham is buried? There's not a record anywhere. Thanks. Brownie MacKie In a message dated 3/11/2008 9:55:08 P.M. Central Daylight Time, agnesec@cableone.net writes: On Mar 11, 2008, at 6:20 PM, nclincol-request@rootsweb.com wrote: > Message: 6 > Date: Tue, 11 Mar 2008 19:19:24 -0500 > From: "Brownie MacKie" <lumackie@gmail.com> > Subject: Re: [NCLINCOL] Find-a-Grave and Ethics in genealogy > To: nclincol@rootsweb.com > Message-ID: > <8b434e920803111719h21ffbafn5c106e517e87f505@mail.gmail.com> > Content-Type: text/plain; charset=ISO-8859-1 > > Knowing the LDS church, they will NEVER charge for this service. > > Val...don't you think that the LDS *owns *Ancestry.com and all its > subsidiaries? If not, please tell me! Thanks. > > Brownie I live not far from Salt Lake City and used to spend a week there in the library twice a year. I also have made use of the services of Ancestry. com - a membership is a lot less expensive than a trip to SLC, but not nearly so comprehensive. I find that Ancestry.com is very convenient to have here in my house now that I can no longer travel. What is expensive and what is not is a relative thing, it does cost a good deal of money to provide the service that Ancestry does, and like myself or any one else, the choice of how we want to use our money is a very private matter. It cost me a whole lot more to spend a week in SLC than have an Ancestry membership - one need not have the entire package. Yes the Family History Library is gradually getting their collection on line - and I am one of the extractors. This chore can be undertaken by anyone - they did not ask me what my religious preferences were when I signed up any more than they do at the door of the library or any of the FH Centers. I do not believe that Ancestry.com is an affiliate of the LDS Church. They do not advertise the same scope of records as one will find in the Library nor do they have the same software for sale. In fact the LDS Genealogy software can be downloaded free and Family Tree Maker offered by Ancestry.com is a bit pricy. I have always owned a MAC and so use different software. When I began I entered all info by hand on paper, software is a Godsend. We all should share our efforts with whomever needs the information, no matter how hard we worked to find it or how precious it is to us. Let us never lose sight of the fact that because someone in the past saw to it that information was preserved we are able to enrich our understanding of our ancestors. The information does not belong exclusively to us. The LDS Church, no matter if we hold with their teachings or not, has been hugely responsible for the preservation of many millions of records which they share with us freely and with great grace. Please let us not look a gift horse in the mouth, everyone works for a profit one way or another, otherwise we could not indulge ourselves by embracing this expensive little hobby. I have seldom purchased anything that has given me more entertainment or personal pleasure than this fascinating way to waste time. Sorry to be so wordy - I will shut up now and go quietly back to my corner. Agnes Cloninger ------------------------------- To unsubscribe from the list, please send an email to NCLINCOL-request@rootsweb.com with the word 'unsubscribe' without the quotes in the subject and the body of the message **************It's Tax Time! Get tips, forms, and advice on AOL Money & Finance. (http://money.aol.com/tax?NCID=aolprf00030000000001)