Ancestry search

[TheVBs]

Has anyone done this? I've wanted to do it for years, but every time I've looked into it online, it's been an overwhelming, time consuming mess with little to no info gained. Any guidance, suggestions, must-dos, don't-dos would be much appreciated!

[TheDuckRocks]

I have been doing the Ancestry dot com thing on and off for quite a while. I pay for one month during a time frame I know I won't be busy or at WDW. I had confirmed that I am DAR through my maternal grandfather 3 times, family gossip had it for only 1 man. I found out my paternal grandfather was a total louse and ran off with another woman when my grandmother was pregnant with my father. Found out a great grandmother who was supposed to be Irish was from Scotland and another great grandmother who was supposed to be 1/2 native American wasn't. Much to find out there if you have the time. My next, I must, must do, is put this altogether in a neat manner and keep on digging.

[Speedy1998]

I have done this before. I would suggest doing google search on your surname, and the surnames of your grandparents and Great-Grandparents. You might get lucky and find out that a distance cousin has done all the work for you.

For example when I searched my surname I found a database with all of my deceased family members in it. Through it I was able to trace my father's side of the family back to 17th century France.

On my mother's side I was even luckier, I found an ancestry database with me in it. It had been created by a professional genealogist, who turned out to be my eight cousin. He was more than happy to share his work with me. He sent me a file that traced my ancestors back to 17th century Massachusetts.

[faline]

I've played at a bit here and there and have had some successes but have not devoted a lot of time to it. And, like Speedy1998, I have found that one branch of my family's history was readily available back to the 17th century - also in France.

[TheVBs]

Thanks for the responses! I will try Googling our family names and see what I come across. Does anyone know what it typically costs to have a professional do it?

[Disney Doll]

I have used ancestry dot com as well and have had success. If you know even a little, finding more is fairly easy. I also did their DNA testing for my birthday a couple of years ago and that was super interesting. Before the DNA test I found a few people on the site who had done extensive research and it seemed that we may have had some common branches in the tree. DNA testing confirmed that we were likely related so it let me know I was on the right track. Some parts of my ancestry were expected and some were a complete surprise. It's a fun hobby for sure and I wish I had more time.

[NJGIRL]

I know my dad did it and found nothing more than he already knew...and yes it took so much time.

I tried it too a couple of years ago with my mom's side of the family. It took too much time and the only thing I did get to see that I didn't already have was a picture of the boat my grandfather came over on.

It's not like that show they sponsor on TV....You need lots of money and time for that kind of search and finding that detailed information.

If you want to try something I feel is cool, do the DNA search. It's not too expensive and you may find what you think you are....you are not! lol

[PirateLover]

It can definitely be worth while if you give it the proper time and dedication. I go through phases with it. My mom has a standing membership so I just use her account (typical mooching kid, haha). We went to an "Ancestry Day" convention a year and a half ago and I went on a real kick after that. They are adding more and more records all the time, so even if you had little luck before, you may be able to find out more. I've been trying to do my husband's side, the line from which he got his last name. We are stuck on his great grandfather. He either died/divorced the great grandmother and was never spoken of again, so I've had little luck getting past that. I found a death certificate of someone of the same name and went to an archive to find his death logged in a book from 1920, that was pretty cool! But again we hit a wall as none of the names that appear on the certificate, nor the woman who signed him into the hospital, turn up on any census records. My mother and I did the Ancestry DNA as well. We didn't find any matches but it revealed that I had a lot more Irish ancestry than I thought, some British which we did not know of, and I had no Western Europe whatsoever (we thought at least 2 ancestors were German).

[magicofdisney]

My grandmother wrote books of her genealogy and my grandfather's genealogy. They went back several generations to at least the 1700's on her side. I remember when I was a kid, going to cemeteries with her while she researched names and plots. On my grandfather's side she found strong evidence linking us to a known pirate. It can be fascinating. I can only imagine how far she'd have gotten in this day and age with the internet.

[TheVBs]

I love reading all the experiences here! I'm feeling a little more encouraged to give it a try. And, I've just heard they have someone at our local library who can help (I think). Maybe I'll try devoting some time to it once school starts again.