Is Ancestry worth the subscription ?

jos28

I have used up my free trial and am just wondering if it is worth signing up. Would love to know what others think. I was also wondering if I need to be a paid up member to view public trees ? Any advice/comments would be much appreciated.

Waitsian

jos28 wrote: »

I have used up my free trial and am just wondering if it is worth signing up. Would love to know what others think. I was also wondering if I need to be a paid up member to view public trees ? Any advice/comments would be much appreciated.

I've found it invaluable because I have Canadian and US ancestors. If the same applies to you, it's certainly got a lot of records for North America and imo would be worthwhile to keep digging.

As previous posters have stated, be wary of other family trees. Take nothing for granted, unless it can be backed up with evidence. In saying that, I've found many distant cousins using Ancestry, and we've collaborated together to the benefit of all.

Ponster

IMHO you should really know after the 14 days if it's worth it or not. Did you make any discoveries?

If the large majority of your ancestors are Irish then it's probably not worth it. It really becomes useful for UK, US and other records.

jos28

Thanks for the feedback, I have traced my line back to 1830s in Kerry. They were not originally from Kerry and my mission is to find out where they came from. Possibly the north of Ireland or the UK, I didn't find much during the free trial. I suppose I just find it frustrating everytime I click on an Ancestry link, I get the subscription offer page. I've also had problems viewing other trees so maybe it could be worth it.

Ponster

jos28 wrote: »

Thanks for the feedback, I have traced my line back to 1830s in Kerry. They were not originally from Kerry and my mission is to find out where they came from. Possibly the north of Ireland or the UK.

I'm not a professional but a lot of Irish get back to the famine period and no further. Well done for already tracing back to the 1830s.

I can't though think of any Ancestry resource which could help you with tracing your Irish ancestors back further.

jos28

I reckon you are right Ponster, Ancestry may not be the way to go but I WILL keep searching. I refuse to give up

Ipso

jos28 wrote: »

I reckon you are right Ponster, Ancestry may not be the way to go but I WILL keep searching. I refuse to give up

If you have a good paper record a DNA test may help depending on any possible relatives also having had a test done and any matches you get having a record going further back than you.

tyview

jos28 wrote: »

Thanks for the feedback, I have traced my line back to 1830s in Kerry.

Have you had a look at the Kerry graveyard records online?
http://www.kerrylaburials.ie/en/SearchBurial.aspx

They may not help with finding your origins but they can show some interesting details.

2rkehij30qtza5

Could you use someone else's credit card like a spouse/sibling/parent to get another free 14 day trial and decide then?

Ponster

Lilith Howling Yardstick wrote: »

Could you use someone else's credit card like a spouse/sibling/parent to get another free 14 day trial and decide then?

Of course. Even then, you can sign up for 1-month if you're not too sure after the 14 days.

jos28

Definitely going to give that a try, thanks everyone for all the help