I’ve tried to use Ancestry but didn’t have much luck finding information.

I agree with the comments about Ancestry being hard to navigate. I had thought I was just not looking in the right places because it seems to be very limited in European/British based historical records. I had been interested in doing their DNA test and I keep thinking about it, but I’ve heard conflicting views and it is a lot of money that I can’t really justify when I’m making a concerted effort to save.

We use MyHeritage.com, it’s free as well.

The library had free access to ancestry and you can email the things home which is good. But it does mean lots of trips to the library!

I think it depends what you need to find. Ancestry is ok but often has a real American bias, and results that are swamped by irrelevant American records…..I prefer ‘findmypast’ because there is more focus on British ancestry, it was one of the first to have European immigration lists, records from British India, newspapers and other. Often Findmypast has trials for $1 or free and you can get Ancestry and others for free in libraries.. if you end up needing particular records (eg scottish records) etc. then you’ll need to go to even further down the path of specific collections that focus on your need (eg Scotland’s People). Good luck.

I purchased with Ancestry after watching the programme ‘Who do you think you are’. I was very disappointed with what I could access. I kept thinking it was me not being very computer savvy. But the site would constantly take me to the American archives even though that is not what I had requested when putting in the names. I would not recommend Ancestry to anyone. I later visited my family in Ireland and was told that they have had a lot of complaints in Europe and felt it was a bit misleading what you see on the telly. I found a lot more information on the church records and of course the census records, although they are 100 years old so that can be frustrating. Good Luck.

According to the ABC programme, THE CHECKOUT, it is cheaper to go to your local Historian which is either a voluntary position or part of your Local Council.

I have heard Ancestry is a really good place to start although I have not had any personal use of it.

I use both of these sites due to money constrains I use Ancestry as it is monthly but prefer what I can get out of My Heritage as they have so much more to offer. Just wish they had a monthly offer too.

Ancestry appears to be the most popular one, but I find it expensive and hard to navigate. I use Genes Reunited and have been a subscriber for many years. I find the tree layout easy to move around and search in, with plenty of spaces and places for additional notes and photos. The community noticeboards are extremely helpful as is the interaction with other users. It has certainly been worth the money for me – I have discovered many interesting facts and have made contact with distant relatives I never even knew about! Good luck for your research, it is amazingly addictive!