Genealogy Chat

Does anyone use this site and would you recommend it? On the face of it, it looks good.

I'm not looking to stop using GR but with the dark nights of winter on their way when I tend to do more of my family tree I thought I might expand my horizons.

Many thanks.

Jill

Hi Jillian

Personally I have never had a lot of success with this site, having more success with Ancestry and FMP. ie my Paternal G-G-parents are on the 1851 English census on both Ancestry and FMP but not on The Genealogist. This is repeated often through my searches. I use the 3 sites in this order - Ancestry, FMP, The Genealogist. I'm lucky to be able to do this as the Family History Society that I belong to has subscriptions to all 3.

Now, with my lack of success reported, other people at the Society sing the praises of The Genealogist. I think it all depends as to where you are searching in England.

I would give it a try (a free and limited one if it is offered) and see what happens, or do as I have and join a Family History Society that has Library subscriptions to all 3.

David
Adelaide
South Australia

Hello Jill,

Like David I have trouble locating relatives on this site, one's I can find quite readily on GR, Ancestry, etc. Also they get a bit hassley if you leave it a few days without logging in, particularly as I indicated interest in several of the discussion boards. I found that these are poorly used although the site staff are very good at problem solving.
The tree view page is very good as is the facility to store search information that needs to be kept for later reference. I find it very easy to read their census printouts but they are very slow at transcribing data & putting it on site which is resulting in numerous complaints on the discussion threads. I think they are trying to do too much at one time because they know they are running behind other sites.
Try a free offer if you can. Like any site, each of us have to be able to use it easily & the search results need to be available readily & in a form that is usable.
See what your local library has for free or very cheap although libraries restrict the available periods of usage time. Perhaps your Family History Society is worth a try.

Good luck with your searching.

Their T's and C's are also rather draconian when it comes to doing look-ups for third parties. Apparently they monitor your usage and if you are deemed to be doing so then you can be liable to a surchage of £5 for each look-up you have made. Not necessarily a problem but you do need to be aware if you are planning to use the site to help others.

When asking which site is best it is like asking how long a piece of string is - there is no simple answer. It depends a lot on what your interests are.

My personal preference is for Ancestry which I find gives the best value for money and coverage for the research I am interested in. But, as suggested make use of the trial offers to see which suits you best.

Hi Friends,

Thank you very much indeed for your replies.

I don't like the sound of what InspectorGreenPen says as I often get taken up with some random enquiry for a friend's family tree. It's one of the things I like about GR and the reason I could not stop being on here - the community always willing to help each other. So as Ancestry seems to be thought well of, I will give Ancestry a try first towards November time.

Again, many thanks.

Jill

Jill,
I find Ancestry much the best (though I do have a lot of London ancestors which is well covered). Best bet is to sign up for a month (only £12.95), then if you get on well take out an annual sub.

regards

Chris

Jillian I also find Ancestry great,particularly for records.The site is easy to use,and quite addictive.You can contact the people on Ancestry but they're not as friendly as the folk on here.GR people are the best!!

I have never tried the Genealogist site,but I can recommend Ancestry.

Good luck!!

Best wishes,

Margot.

Hi Jill - Sorry to come in so late, only just read this.
I was a member of The Genealogist up to a few months ago & found it invaluable for its census information - you could look up by address only if you wanted - & as I had lots of country villages in Derbys & Staffs to search - I could get all the Parish boundary information, then 'forward' and 'backward' over whole village and country areas just by using arrow keys.
I found the quality of their copies both for Census and BMD info were excellent and made better prints than elsewhere. However, they never got around to putting pre 1837 Staffs Parish Records on the site, so am no longer a member.
Like others, I find that GR is absolutely the best for help, advice, encouragement, quick responses - and GR was the 1st step I ever took into family history stuff so I feel loyalty towards it.

Best wishes,

Vicki