Acerca de
31+ BILLION records and 20+ million DNA connections
Free trial. Super easy to use. Definitely start here.
Click HERE (or the photo above) to watch
one of Crista Cowan's, monthly updates
Ancestry.com is a multi-billion dollar company, with
over 1,400 employees worldwide, yet it feels very personal
ABOUT ANCESTRY.COM
Ancestry.com is the largest research site in the world and is the force that really shifted genealogy into high-gear!
They have 33,000 "collections" of data that total over 31-BILLION records, over 100-million Family Trees, 330-million photos, over 3-million Subscribers and over 20-million people in their DNA database. Ancestry.com added over 800-million more records last year!
Ancestry.com is worldwide, with specially tailored versions for many different countries.
33,000 COLLECTIONS OF DATA
Collections come from a wide variety of sources, including the US Census, military records, newspaper archives, and immigration records. Birth, death and marriage records. Wills and Probate records. Church records. Emancipation records. Holocaust records. School and Military Yearbooks. The collections come from over 80 different countries.
Ancestry.com also owns AncestryDNA, ProGenealogists.com (access to over 150 Professional Genealogists around the world), Newspapers.com (over 140-million newspaper articles) and Fold3 (537-million Military records).
The AncestryDNA Database Has Over 20-Million People
Ancestry.com has the largest database in the world for making DNA discoveries and connections.
Here is what Ancestry says about their DNA Program
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From your origins in over 1,500 regions to the most connections to living relatives, no other DNA test delivers such a unique, interactive experience.
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AncestryDNA doesn't just tell you which countries you're from, but also can pinpoint the specific regions within them, giving you insightful geographic detail about your history.
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Ancestry.com magnifies your results by combining what you learn from your DNA with over 100 million family trees and billions of records for more insight into your genealogy and origins.
The AncestryDNA program can connect you to other family members that can help you piece together your family's history - discovering just one family member can open doors that could take years, or be impossible, to find otherwise.
Finding Birth Parents and relatives is way beyond exciting for many people! This is life-changing news that can happen with this technology!
Probate Attorneys also use the service to track down missing heirs.
Their DNA tests run $59 to $99.
Click HERE for the link to the Ancestry DNA information page.
PRICES
FREE to START – Your family tree stays on the site for free and you can continue to build on it over the years. When you have time for research, you can sign up for a month of search access, or longer. They offer a free trial as well.
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The BASIC Plan is a bargain at $16.50 per month for USA records
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The INTERNATIONAL Plan is $24.83 per month - includes USA + international records
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The ALL ACCESS Plan is $33.16 per month - includes the Military database on Fold3.com, along with the basic subscription to newspapers.com database
These are based on the 6-month program, which I would suggest so that you are more relaxed with your research and don't feel rushed to get something done in 30-days.
Having the monthly option is terrific, in case you are using one of the other Big-3 research websites and are just trying to get past a brick wall.
MILITARY RECORDS ... Fold3.com
You can get a'la carte access to Fold3.com for $7.95 per month.
If you have Direct Ancestors that were in the Military, the Fold3.com option will be worth looking into - this is the world's largest database of over 530-million Military Records.
Records are searchable by name, dates, war, Military Branch, and more.
Fold3.com is included in the All Access Plan from above.
In comparison, specific requests for Military Records can cost $30 per request from government resources (like the National Archives), which makes the Fold3 plan a bargain - with instant access and the ability to research as much as you like
NEWSPAPERS.com
You can get a'la carte access to Newspapers.com in two different sizes.
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BASIC access is 209-million pages from 21,400 newspapers for $7.95 per month
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EXTRA access gives you 209-million + add'l 498-million pages for $19.90 per month
Basic access is included in the All Access Plan from above.
PROFESSIONAL GENEALOGISTS AVAILABLE
There are thousands of Professional Genealogists around the world that can help you.
Many of these specialize in certain countries or time periods - for example, the 1800's Ireland.
Ancestry has its own Team of Experts with extensive experience and access to the resources needed to quickly find what you are looking for. You can click on the photo above to review the backgrounds of each of their Professionals.
Every project is different and most Professional Genealogists charge per hour.
Here are some of the areas that the Ancestry ProGenealogists can help you research :
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Complete Family Trees or Surname Lineage as far back as you'd like to go
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Brick Walls - finding relatives that are very difficult to dig up any information on
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Biological Family Tracing - finding biological family members
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Lost Heirs - people finding and production of Affidavits of Due Diligence and Family Tree Charts that are suitable for filing in court
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Heritage Travel - let a Genealogist make arrangements for a highly-personalised experience
TRAINING
One of their Spokespeople is Crista Cowan. Crista’s warmth and authenticity is immediate when you watch one of her dozens of videos – she will give you free training via youtube on all of the ins and outs of doing research on Ancestry.com.
Crista makes learning easy and fun! In her videos she uses her own experience with her family research as an example for you. Crista has a monthly update that talks about all the latest features and collections on the Ancestry.com website. She also shares some of the latest news and events that may help you.
MORE TRAINING ...
Family Tree Magazine has a fantastic Team of Writers and Genealogy Experts who also provide training - in articles, books and online courses. See the link below for their tips on researching on Ancestry.com.
You might also click on the link below for a super informative video from Constance Knox at Genealogy TV, which you can see for free on youtube.
PRIVACY
With Ancestry.com you have the choice of making your Family Tree private or public. Private Family Trees are not shown to anyone without a password. Public Family Trees are open to everyone to view, but viewers cannot make any changes – you control the content.
Communication is easy on Ancestry.com … if you see a person on someone else’s Family Tree that might also be a part of your family, you can reach out to the owner of the Tree via a private message – and vice-versa.
GEDCOM FILES
You can download your Family Tree at any time. You’ll see this name a lot … GEDCOM stands for “GEnealogy Data COMmunication” and is the file format used to transfer the information in your Family Tree. Each of the major genealogy services will have a different way of handling data – the GEDCOM format takes the data and puts it into a standardized format that can then be read by other genealogy services.
You can take your GEDCOM file from Ancestry.com and export it to FamilySearch.org, MyHeritage.com, Family Tree Maker or other research sites or software programs.
You can also send it to other family members who are working on their own Family Tree. Having a GEDCOM file saves a lot of retyping.
GEDCOM files are limited, however, to text data only – photos or PDF’s need to be transferred separately.
You can, and should, download your GEDCOM files anytime you put a few hours into updating the content. It takes a few minutes and you can save it on a mac or pc. The files are usually small enough to email to yourself, giving you another backup.
See the GenealogyTV video about GEDCOM files - link below - it's very informative and a quick watch. Be sure to notice at 4:20 when Constance Knox talks about the need to backup your data to a software program, like Family Tree Maker.
Click HERE to see the GenealogyTV episode on GEDCOM Files.
THE FASCINATING HISTORY OF ANCESTRY.COM
The roots of this company were originally started in 1990 by Paul Brent Allen and Dan Taggart, two BYU Graduates.
The company gradually evolved until it officially became Ancestry.com in 1999.
Ancestry.com went public in 2009. In 2012 investors took it private for about $1.6-billion.
By August of 2020, Ancestry.com had tripled in value again and the new and current owners, The Blackstone Group, purchased the company.
The new owners have brought in an incredible
Team of Visionaries to take Ancestry.com
to the next level
The Star of the Team is the new CEO, Deb Liu, who was a Top Executive at Facebook and was one of the innovators of Facebook Marketplace.
This connection and strategic alliance with Facebook can possibly bring in tens of millions of additional Ancestry Members, which can make Ancestry.com even more helpful in discovering our family histories.
Click HERE for more information on the history of Ancestry.com