Montrose, I used it for about 12 years. Way back when it was just barely anything there and have watched it grow. Yes there is loads of information and care must be used when citing from posted information. Always look for references, follow-up and check yourself if you can. Ancestry is great for census information since most libraries usually just have census for their own state. There are gaps in certain areas, ie for me in NC some of the counties do not allow access to their records and I have to go to the main Archives in Raleigh or to the county itself to see those records. It is a great place to start accumulating information and getting contacts. After which you should spend time confirming facts.

It is well worth it to get started.

You can find a lot of information online, but please proceed with caution. Many of the family trees which are published are loaded with errors and sloppy research.

Use it as a guide, and try to find at least one, preferably two reliable resources to back up the data.

Remember, even sources like the census contain errors. I have found many in my tree.

I can trace my ancestry to the year 720 in what is today known as Norway and Sweden. I researched far back enough to connect my tree with well established trees of illustrious people.

I have over 10,000 persons in my data base. I have been using FTW software for over 13 years and I’m about to publish a book for our family.

Also, the Mormons have an extensive library, but this too is unchecked. Anyone can donate their research, but it is not verified.

I did a lot of research at the American French Canadian society libraries in CT and RI. I verify all my information with at least one other source.

It is fun and VERY addictive.

I used the trial 2 week version at ancestry.com. I can’t even believe all of the information I got. I saw my great grandfather’s signature on the passenger list of the boat he came from Ireland on, my other great grandfather’s enlistment to the civil war, and so so much more. I wish I could afford the “pay for it” version so I could find even more. It only let me go back as far as when ancestors left for America. You have to pay to go back further than that.

A lot of fun but understand what you read isn’t always correct so relax and get ready to read a lot of books and spend time at family forums on the internet and yes ancestry is a great place to start to gather additional information but expensive also the library Will have genealogy groups sometime but it’s been helpful for me to have found others in my family doing the same thing and we share information

I had a problem with ancestry.com because most of my ancesters are from Cuba. Hard to get info. from there.

Montrose… Heres a source that may give you a whole lot of answers to your questions.

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My husband’s mother was really into genealogy long before the heyday. He spent his childhood vacations travelling around the country going to different towns, cemeteries, etc looking for birth/marriage/death records. She compiled a little black book that goes back to the 1600s. It’s truly fascinating.

I’ve tried to do something similar using Ancestors.com or Familysearch.com but my family hasn’t been in the US long enough. My mother parents emigrated to the US in the 20s and my father came here after WWII. I can find that info on line but I already knew that. I truly wish there were similar great sources for Europe, but most of those records were destroyed by one crazy dictator or another.

Yes! My mother in law has been working on their family tree for quite sometime, and she’s found tons of info on that ancestry.com site, she also uses another site, and dont recall off hand which it was.

My sister used Ancestry.com and found loads of information. Of course you must take all with a grain of salt until you prove it. The census records were invaluable. Of course she and my parents also went to the courthouses where they thought they would find things like marriage, birth and death certs, cemeteries and even found some of the ancestral homes still standing. One of the nice things that happened when my sister was doing the research is that she was contacted by an older relative of a mutual relative. She sent my sister scans of old photos of the relative and the little bit of information she had found. Since she was from a different part of the country she had access to different records! May be expensive but so is having the legwork done for you by the professionals!

Addictive? After reading all your comments, I would definitely understand why…I am glad I asked because its something, I too, wanted to look into. Thank you

My family uses Ancestory.com and has fairly good luck!!