Ancestry.com

[fieldmouse3]

Does anyone know how reliable the information in Ancestry.com's One World Tree is? I hesitate to automatically add the matches they give me, because I've DEFINITELY found some links that ended up not being correct. When I first joined the site, in fact, I just accepted every match that looked somewhat right, and ended up related to Adam, Eve, one of the Titans of Greek mythology, a bunch of kings and queens, and Lady Godiva. Needless to say, I'm skeptical about the accuracy of their information and I ended up deleting everyone I hadn't confirmed through other sources.

What have been other people's experiences with the information on Ancestry?

 

[Ms.Garnet]

I've only used the free introductory offer, but I must say nearly everything I found matched what information I had. For example, I knew my grandfather's information and the information on his WWI registration card matched what I already knew so I copied his card. Most of what I have found is a "sure" match....some I save a copy of so I can go back and double check & try to verify information. We have had wonderful results with my husband looking for information on one particular ancestor...she is documented in history so we know we had the right person...I have found the site to be a great help.

 

[pegatha]

You have to be careful, no matter what the source. I've found plenty of mistakes in other people's family trees. I've even found mistakes in the primary sources (i.e., misspelled names in census lists, wrong name on a birth record, even a census that lists a GG-grandfather as "F" for "Female" (!). As for the family trees on Ancestry, sometimes I've tried emailing people who were posting obvious mistakes (misspelling my grandparents' last name, for example). Some are grateful for the correction, others ignore me and leave the bad info online. All I can say is, whatever you find, verify, verify, verify! No source, not even Ancestry or the LDS Family History center, is immune from errors.

 

[Ms.Garnet]

Pegatha you are so right....that is why I get copies of every official document I can.

 

[pegatha]

One other thought... if you're thinking about getting a paid subscription to Ancestry, check your local library first. My library has a subscription, so I can get full access to everything Ancestry has to offer free, as long as I do it from the library's computers.

 

[Ms.Garnet]

Thanks Pegatha for that information...I did not know that about the library...the only library near us is not open on the weekend & I will have to try to see if they are open at night (I work days).