I second that "Amen" to you! I love using Ancestry. I live in Texas, yet all of my ancestors are in New England, MN, IL and CA. I also work full time. No way would I be able to follow my passion of genealogy without the online abilities we now have. Surnames in Oswego Co.: Brooks, Thorp, Winn Tracy Howard -----Original Message----- From: MScheffler [mailto:mscheffl@twcny.rr.com] Sent: Thursday, June 29, 2006 12:43 AM To: NYOSWEGO-L@rootsweb.com Subject: Value of library and Ancestry resources I continue to be amazed by the number of people who are so willing to bash Ancestry when it supplies so much excellent value for such a reasonable cost. Those of us who are seasoned researchers and who answer queries for others tend to find much information from Ancestry that we freely pass on to others. Those of us with limited opportunity to travel to research find it useful. I can understand people not having enough money to subscribe or have research needs Ancestry does not cover, but aside from financial constraints a few may have, I fail to see how good researchers could fail to see value in all the resources currently available online, with Ancestry being the best in my opinion.. Beginners might be advised to stick to research at one's local library and the free information available online until they learn a bit about how to research, but those having gone back a few generations and having New England ancestors, and wishing to progress will eventually need the resources offered by large libraries with genealogical collections or Ancestry as an adjunct and alternative. The every name indexing in the US census alone makes Ancestry well worth the cost in "my opinion". Only a few years ago, driving 4 hours each way to the Pittsfield, MA National Archives and having to deal without indexes for some census schedules had me yearning for the US census online. I feel so fortunate to have this readily accessible from my home online. Obviously I don't have to pay gas or lodging, reserve a microfilm reader and spend hours looking for things a search engine takes me to in a matter of seconds. I find so.... much of use in the census. So if one does not like Ancestry, feel free not to use it, but I would request that people pass on the truth. Half truths or absolute inaccuracies confuse the beginner. My guess is that those bashing it, have never really become acquainted with either basic library research or research using Ancestry. Nothing can entirely take the place of searching where your ancestors lived whether it be Oswego or Boston or wherever. Onsite and other avenues will always be needed, but Ancestry sure provides a good jumping off place for many families. As with any resource, one needs to learn what it offers and what it does not offer. One wonders why people would expect lookups for information on Ancestry, yet bash it....... One wonders why people pass on blatant inaccuracies.... Yes WorldConnect is FREE for everyone, and one can remove one's database should one choose. Rootsweb mailing lists and county Web pages are also free (provided by Ancestry). Margaret Scheffler ______________________________