Considering researching at Ancestry.com? You might not like what you find.

Discussion in 'The Lounge Bar' started by A-58, Apr 8, 2018.

  1. A-58

    A-58 Not so senior Member

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    Last edited: Dec 20, 2018
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  2. Blutto

    Blutto Banned

    Even worse, if you shell out for those DNA tests that are so popular, you might find your uncle is really your auntie!
     
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  3. Chris C

    Chris C Canadian

    I'm reminded of that line "strange women lyin' in ponds distributin' swords is no basis for a system of government!"
     
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  4. BFBSM

    BFBSM Very Senior Member

    I signed up to Ancestry and found both my great grandfathers were bigamists, and in fact one probably wasn’t He eventually divorced my great-grandmother after she had an affair whilst he served in South Africa during The Boer War. When he returned from South Africa, he collected his daughter and didn’t see his my great-grandmother again until he was in court on charges of bigamy. All of this came to light thanks to Ancestry!
     
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  5. Tricky Dicky

    Tricky Dicky Don'tre member

    Recently with all their so called updates I am seriously considering stopping my subscription, its worse now than it has ever been

    TD
     
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  6. amberdog45

    amberdog45 Senior Member

    Did you read about the person that did their DNA test and found out it was the fertility doctor that used his sperm instead and he was their father!!

    TD, Ancestry have been slow with any new records. Maybe FMP have been more aggressive sourcing new material?
     
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  7. Tricky Dicky

    Tricky Dicky Don'tre member

    Well I was lied to, as when I asked them [Ancestry] why cant I have access to Fold3, they replied that it was a seperate company and was nothing at all to do with Ancestry and I would have to subscribe to this new company to have access. When I responded with the fact the Ancestry had bought the company Fold3 and was therefore a part of the 'Ancestry group' their response was .............................. i.e I asked why I had to pay Ancestry twice

    They have also changed the 'Military' pages and previously you could access Civilian War Deaths, Victoria Cross details etc at the click of the mouse - you can no longer do that, in fact for both the prviously mentioned databases I find I now have to go to the Card Catalogue page and type in the name of the file - its so time wasting, yet their super duper team of experts have updated the site to make it easier for all - yeah ok

    TD
     
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  8. vitellino

    vitellino Senior Member

    Give them the boot. It's what they deserve. I have done, and did the same for Fold 3 last year.
     
  9. Blutto

    Blutto Banned

    I was a Find My Past subscriber for a number of years. I couldn't really fault them and only quit because they had limited records prior to the late 1600s and I had found all I needed for later than that. Things like the 1939 list had nothing other than curiosity value for me, far too recent. I looked at Ancestry on and off over a number of years, but never took to it.
     
  10. TTH

    TTH Senior Member

    I had very good luck there. I confirmed what I had read before, namely that my great-grandmother was Jewish--something which had remained a family secret for many years. Not only that, I found out what village she came from in the Czech Republic and even the name of the ship which brought her from Hamburg to Baltimore in 1888.
     
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  11. A-58

    A-58 Not so senior Member

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    One thing I've been meaning to ask, but is smelling like elderberries a bad thing in England?
     
    Last edited: Dec 20, 2018
  12. Blutto

    Blutto Banned

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  13. Skoyen89

    Skoyen89 Senior Member

    I have to say I prefer Ancestry over FMP mainly because the search facility and the way it suggests related records is far superior. Ancestry now has the 1939 Register so there are only a couple of things FMP has uniquely. Not used Fold 3 but would like to know if US unit diaries from WWII are online somewhere?
     
  14. Tricky Dicky

    Tricky Dicky Don'tre member

    Well several times today the results told me that there were a number (from 1 - 78) results for the criteria I had searched for - however when I opened up that category they said there were no results.
    I have to say that this is happening more & more often and is infuriatingly annoying, and to be honest makes me more and more dislike Ancestry - and I have been a member since 2007.

    As for FOLD3 - thats another Ancestry money spinner - see post 7 above

    TD
     
  15. A-58

    A-58 Not so senior Member

    Ewwwwww
     
  16. Charley Fortnum

    Charley Fortnum Dreaming of Red Eagles

    These are very popular with YouTube 'celebrities' at the moment.
    The DNA-Testing companies give free tests to large channels for free publicity.

    Some of the details of susceptibility to disease/dementia/early death are facts that I'd rather not know. That said, some of the pointless statistical data is oddly interesting: percentage chance that you 'can roll your tongue', 'have a double crown', 'prefer certain tastes'. In a way it's pointless because I already know the actual case, but it's kind of fun to see how many times you beat the odds.

    I confess I am tempted to have a go.
     
  17. Tolbooth

    Tolbooth Patron Patron

    I bought one for Mrs Tolbooth as a Xmas present and we got the results last month. As expected over 90% Southern England, 4% Scandinavian, little bit of Iberian penninsula but the bizarre bit was 2% Pashtun ! Have been calling her my "Little Afghan Princess" but suspect its something rather more mundane - some sort of statistical/testing anomaly.

    John
     
  18. Tricky Dicky

    Tricky Dicky Don'tre member

    or perhaps something from the number of invaders of the British Isles or merchants from a southerly direction (Roman, Moors etc etc) over 1000's of years, similar to the Scandinavian percentage

    ? is there a Ghengis Tolbooth in your past?

    TD
     
  19. Tolbooth

    Tolbooth Patron Patron

    Reading the bumpf that came with the results it's supposed to be within 10 generations. Usually assume a generation at 30 years so the ancestor should be from around the 1700s.

    Genghis Tolbooth ? Yes, he was the one with the bucket and shovel that followed behind the Khan's horse
     
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  20. Tricky Dicky

    Tricky Dicky Don'tre member

    Here's a prime example

    From some details I have:

    172 results
    RecordsCategories
    Sort By: Count
    Record NameResults Count
    United Kingdom & Ireland Historical Postcards 1


    Firstly I see the 172 and think wow thats quite a high number, could be lucky here.

    Then I see the 1 - which comes under Results Count - so I think oh well at least there is 1 to look at

    So what do I do next - yes of course I open up the 1 result, and come face to face with a screnn that says

    Your Search for ****** returned zero good matches
    Why?
    We couldn't find any results that exactly matched the information you marked as 'Exact'. Learn more

    So I have gone from a possible 172 down to 1 and in fact there are zero - have useful is that

    TD
     

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