I'm usually just a lurker....don't talk much. But, I must say that my first Genealogy experience was actually through Ancestry. For some reason I was surfing and decided to see if anything was on the internet about my family. So, I typed in my father's name. Needless to say I got lots of hits 'cause it's a common name... ( John Lewis). So, I then tried my gfather 'cause his wasn't as common. The one that got my attention was at Ancestry. I went straight to it......and lo and behold someone had uploaded a gedcom. I then had to get a program in order to read it. As it turns out....they had my Lewis history clear back to 1774!!! Now, I still have a lot of searching in order to locate some of the spouses and siblings of some of them but a lot of the names were in the file...about 1500 of them...and of course, I'm having to document ~but still...what a great find!!!! Just my 2 cents..... pj

Uncle! My two cents: I can understand why one would get disappointed with Ancestry and its commercial kin, because they might not have _enough_ data in the area one needs. That will change with time. The types of databases they are creating and maintaining only get better with age, barring gross mismanagement. Also, it does cost to use their data. The fee may or may not be nominal in one's opinion. On the other hand, there are some areas they have enormously useful data, and lots of it! It depends on what one already has, what one already needs, and how easy it is for one to get that information. I don't know how much it costs the commercial concerns to maintain the internet accesses and databases and message boards that they allow anyone to use for free, but it does cost some. Don't the people who buy pay subscriptions subsidize those who do not? Isn't it like public television? Good hunting, Alison Stevens _________________________________________________________ Do You Yahoo!? Get your free @yahoo.com address at http://mail.yahoo.com