Dear Vickie:
If you are looking at the subscriptions on
Ancestry.com and
Genealogy.com be
careful to determine exactly what data is available. I found that on
Genealogy.com they would list that a particular census year was online, but
in actuality it was far from complete. I have enjoyed my census subscription
at Ancestry. Not all of their census years are complete either, but my
opinion is that their census collection is the more complete of the two.
They also have scanned the original pages in grayscale, making the entries a
little more legible than straight black and white. There are errors in both
subscriptions. I couldn't find a "Boss" ancestor on Ancestry, but did a
search at
Genealogy.com and came up with the correct information. Looking
back at
Ancestry.com, I found that they had listed the entry as "Voss",
though when you looked at the page it seemed pretty clearly "Boss". I sure
these errors go both ways.
If you did a search on the internet for "review" and "genealogy
subscriptions" or perhaps "census subscriptions" you would probably come
up
with some magazine articles comparing the various offerings (I have seen
such articles in the past).
Genealogy.com has their library subscription. I don't know that
Ancestry.com
has anything comparable. If you have "Family Tree Maker" you can do a search
to determine how much information is waiting for you in these paid
subscriptions. Sometimes the information has no relevance. I will see a name
with a highly rated "hit" in a book dealing with a period of time or an area
that I KNOW has no relation to my ancestor. i.e. If I see my grandfather's
name (who spent his whole life around Iowa, served in W.W.I.) listed as
having a 4 star match in a book called "Revolutionary War soldiers from New
Jersey", I begin to suspect the star rating system genealogy uses! Sometimes
however, the match is good.
You'll certainly have fun with either (or both!). Good luck!
Alison Scott
(Arney, Fulk, Long)
Subject: [INOWEN] NEED ADVICE
What I am looking for is information on what genealogy package to
purchase.
What would give me the most informtion? I have my Grandfather's
family
traced
back to 1777. I would like more detailed information on this family,
but I
also
need more information on my 1800s ties to Owen Co./Greene Co. Plus
my
son
is looking for his father's history and they don't even know
thier
Grandfather's name! So any suggestions on what would be the most help?I
have
someone
wanting to purchase this for me as a x-mas present and will pay good
money
for it.
Thank you for any help.
Vickie
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