Double Vision: RootsFinder and American AncesTREES

By now you probably know I have a bit of a subscription addiction. This weekend, I was really tempted to subscribe to RootsFinder. I've had the free plan for some time, but never really took it for much of a spin. The site is owned by FindMyPast, a bit odd considering they have their own GEDCOM import and tree building capabilities on their site (and I'm already using them). But still, on the surface, at only $34.95 per year for the Pro Plan, it seemed like a well priced addition...and there were a few features I thought I liked the sound of.

After comparing the free vs. paid Pro Plan, it seemed like the biggest differences were the ability to set trees as private and the DNA tools. To be clear, it's tools....not additional DNA matches. I have plenty of other sites with DNA tools I'm not fully utilizing, so it wasn't much of a stretch (this time) to kick the tires on the free version before upgrading.

One of the draws for me was aggregating hints from multiple sites together in one location. While I do most of my research on Ancestry, I do like to pop over to other sites to see additional hints from time to time, especially about direct ancestors. Who doesn't want to move another generation back?! Per their site, RootFinder pulls hints from "FamilySearch, BillionGraves, FindAGrave, OpenArch, GenealogieOnline, and paid subscription sites Findmypast, AmericanAncestors, RootsPoint, Ancestry and MyHeritage." Subscriptions are required to actually view the hints from the paid sites.

After uploading my GEDCOM, I immediately noticed the tree building and hinting system looked identical to American AncesTREES from American Ancestors. For a moment there I thought I was seeing double! The selections for hinting are the same: Direct Ancestors, End of Line (people with no parents) and Everyone (though a pop up warns hinting is limited to 2000 people.) The checkboxes to pull hints from various sites are the same. The one-time sign in to FamilySearch so it can "mirror" your tree is the same and the warning if you delete your tree it will no longer be on FamilySearch or RootsFinder are the same. (Don't worry, if you have a tree on FamilySearch already, it will NOT delete it. It only deletes the "mirror" tree.) Editing a person is the same as well.

With a quick search I found American AncesTREES pulls hints from "American Ancestors, FamilySearch, FindmyPast, Newspaper Archive, Billion Graves, Find a Grave and more." They say search hints are available for Ancestry.com, but offered up as collections to search, not actual hints. Just like RootsFinder, subscriptions are required to actually view the hints from the paid sites. American Ancestors, where I already have a subscription, was $99.95 per year, but comes with a whole host of other third party databases and research tools (a big draw for me).  

For all intents and purposes, these two sites appear to be using the same technology for their tree building interface and hinting. After consideration, I decided not to use RootsFinder after all. Being limited in how many people can receive hints for is a big deal to me. I'm already doing direct ancestors only on American AncesTREES and a duplication of this information isn't helpful. Since I didn't upgrade, I couldn't compare the DNA features, but I'd be surprised if they weren't the same too. Given FindMyPast has it's own tree building capabilities (and they aren't the same as RootsFinder), I wonder if they aren't simply licensing out the RootsFinder technology to any genealogical society who wants to use it on their own sites. (American Ancestors, also known as the New England Historic Genealogical Society, founded back in 1845, is a tremendous resource for those with family heralding from New England.) If FindMyPast was serious about development of RootsFinder (or American AncesTREES...or whatever you want to call it...) they'd have kept the algorithms and interface proprietary. It seems more of an attempt to create a return on their 2019 investment in RootsFinder.

If you're concerned about the cost of genealogy and/or have a smaller tree where the person limit on hints isn't a drawback, you can certainly try the free version at either site. I joined American Ancestors primarily for the collection of third party databases. American AncesTREES was just a bonus extra for me. If you're going to spend money on either site, supporting a genealogical society is probably a better choice. A subscription to AmericanAncestors includes access to all their databases (including third party databases not included in tree hints), discounts on books and courses, free admission to the research center, a 10% discount on GEDmatch Tier 1, and more. Quite honestly, I probably wouldn't select either site as the host for my tree. The user interface at Ancestry is far superior. The only plus to either RootsFinder or American AncesTREES is the multiple hinting, and you can always use this feature (with the free plans) alongside any site or software you may choose as the home for your tree. 

Image by PayPal.me/FelixMittermeier from Pixabay