Ancestry.com Reviewer's Comments
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A genealogist's paradise—more than 3 billion names, 10 million U.S. Federal Census images and over 23,000 genealogical and historical databases make Ancestry.com "TopTenREVIEWS Gold Award" genealogy search site.
This is the most used genealogy site on the web and for good reason. Ancestry.com updates their massive database every business day. This service provides user-friendly tools that makes genealogy work enjoyable, even for the person who is just starting to research their family tree. If you're a seasoned genealogist, a subscription to Ancestry.com is a must-have.
Ancestry.com is part of the MyFamily.com, Inc. Network that also includes Genealogy.com, Ancestry.co.uk, FamilyHistory.com, Genealogy.org, RootsWeb.com and MyFamily.com, also featured on this review site.
Ancestry.com Screenshots. Click to Enlarge
Name Database:
Ancestry.com provides access to more database information and resources in one place than any other genealogy search site on the web. As you refine your search, you can specify which of the many databases you want to search.
A drop-down menu includes the following categories: Census, Marriage & Death, Trees & Community, Immigration Records, Family Facts, Military, Directories & Member Lists, Family & Local Histories, Newspapers & Periodicals, Court, Land & Probate and Reference & Finding Aids.
Each of these categories has sub-categories so you can continue to narrow your search and find the information you're seeking.
Worldwide Focus:
Ancestry.com's database includes UK census records and international partner sites, so it provides useful genealogical information to people of all nationalities.
Other Resources:
Ancestry.com has a large list of other resources that you can search for information from census records, vital records, immigration records, military records, family trees and communities, newspaper records and more.
The one resource you won't find is information on Native Americans.
Ease of Use:
We found Ancestry.com's site to be easy to navigate even though they have such a huge amount of information available. Each search screen has a similar layout—learn to search information on one screen and you'll feel comfortable using any of the search options.
You can perform a more specific search by selecting the database of information you want to search from a drop-down menu.
Ancestry.com includes the OneTreeWorld section where you can store your family tree and conveniently access it in the future.
Help/Support:
Ancestry.com offers an extensive FAQs database with hundreds of questions clients have asked, this is great place to begin if you have a question.
The service offers an email address to contact customer service with queries. They don't offer phone support, which is why they didn't receive a perfect score in this category.
Ancestry.com provides tons of practical information to help you become an expert genealogist in no time.
Summary:
Ancestry.com sets the standard for online genealogy search websites with an enormous information base and resources for expert and beginner genealogists alike. As other reviews indicate, many of the other online genealogy search sites link to Ancestry.com for their powerful search engines and databases.
The service offers three plans ranging from $49.95 to $195.95 a year—each plan comes with a 14-day trial period. This is the more expensive genealogy services but definitely worth the investment.
©2008 TopTenREVIEWS, Inc.
