Getting the Most Value From Genealogy Subscriptions

Note: I do not receive any compensation (affiliate or otherwise) from any of these sites. This post is simply my observations on the value of various genealogy subscriptions and ways to save money accessing subscription resources.

Subscriptions come and subscriptions go. For several years, I maintained a lot of genealogy subscriptions. Truth be told, I still have more than I need. But I get really excited when one of the sites I subscribe to rolls in a new membership benefit providing access to another site I'd otherwise have to pay to access. Each site below offers many on-site features, but this post focuses on the additional website access provided with each subscription. Prices shown are regular price. Many sites have sales throughout the year to help make subscriptions more affordable. (All prices are shown in US dollars).

Let's start with the big sites:

Most everyone knows, Ancestry.com offers several membership levels. Personally, I stick with the All Access Family Plan ($269.00 every 6 months). Not only have I been able to share the subscription with 4 others (encouraging new family historians) but I also get full access to Fold3 military records and Newspapers.com including Publishers Extra. You can find out more about the All Access Family Plan here. The value of having Fold3 and Newspapers works out to about $30 every 6 months (based on the current pricing I've found). The biggest value in this plan is the ability to share it with 4 others (and they don't need to be related to you). You can ask the others to contribute to the cost if you need to bring your price down, but this is something you coordinate yourself. You cannot split the price between members directly on the Ancestry site. 

At MyHeritage, the Omni Plan comes with access to OldNews (newspaper archive). The cost is currently $399 per year. Additionally, you receive access to GeniPro and Legacy Family Tree Webinars. On the MyHeritage site, you'll also have access to some outstanding photo and AI features at your disposal. More information on all the benefits of the Omni Plan can be found here. If you subscribed separately to all the features it would cost over $600 per year!

FindMyPast offers an Everything subscription. This includes not only all their record collections, but all the newspapers you'd have access to with a British Newspaper Archive subscription (a value of $133 per year). They also offer a 15% discount on continued subscriptions (no playing games, cancelling and resubscribing necessary). The current price is $299 per year. The 15% discount works out to about $45 per year off the annual price (so $254 as of this post). For more information on their subscriptions please click here.

And now for a few of the lesser known sites offering a good value:

A few years ago, the National Genealogical Society (NGS) added access to Newspaperarchive.com and Storied. My $85 membership to NGS (already providing many nice benefits and access to their Family Papers Collection) was expanded to save me $95 on a separate NewspaperArchive and Storied membership (based on the current pricing shown on their website). It's worth noting, while Storied does have the option for a standalone membership at $99.99 per year (for Unlimited), all the features are included in a regular NewspaperArchive subscription. The subscription to NGS literally pays for itself! For the complete list of member benefits visit this page.

One super value is AmericanAncestors. A regular price Individual Membership is $99.95 per year. In addition to their databases, you also get access to an impressive list of partner databases. For a full price membership, you can also get discounts with partner sites, including a $10 discount on a GEDmatch Tier 1 membership. But let's circle back to the partner databases for a moment. While they don't disclose the full value of all the partner databases, NewspaperArchive is $95.00/year, a New York Times subscription can run in excess of $150 per year, Genealogical Publishing Company (GPC) eBook Collection (a subscription I used to maintain) is worth $135 per year. And there are many more partner databases. Even if you only use one, you've paid for your membership. You can find out more about a membership here. While the full membership is already a great value, I don't use any of the on-site benefits or discounts on services. Last year, I considered letting this membership lapse. I received a couple of discount emails (as most sites tend to offer) but was still on the fence —until I received an email for a truly amazing deal...digital access for just $49.95 per year! This still includes all the partner databases! While they don't seem to advertise this level on their site, here's a link to the digital membership page from the email I received. If it doesn't work for you, I'd suggest reaching out to them to inquire about this membership. 

And finally, there's the Conococheague Institute. This is a "hands on regional learning center" in Mercersburg, Pennsylvania. A membership is only $25 per year for an individual. The added value is in the History Commons (formerly Accessible Archives) access they provide as a membership perk, a $90 value per year. From the website, "History Commons presents a curated universe of landmark primary-source collections presented on Coherent Digital’s award-winning, next-generation platform." This is not a one-size fits all site. I needed it for some specific Pennsylvania newspapers, so it was useful to me. But if you're considering it, I'd suggest checking the site out first. For more information on joining the Conococheague Institute, visit this page.

One other resource worth noting is libraries! If you don't often access the brick and mortar building for your local library, you may be able to register for a digital card. Many libraries offer in-branch access to library editions of the big genealogy sites for free. They may also offer digital access to a wide variety of various databases and newspaper resources. And it's worth noting, if the resources at a given library outside your local area are valuable enough, you may even be able to obtain access even if you aren't a resident of the area. The cost and availability vary considerably, but depending on the materials you need, it could be an option. (If you can't find the information for out of state residents online, I'd suggest emailing or calling for more information.) Many libraries now offer some genealogy resources free on their websites. And several offer amazing on-site research areas with collections, manuscripts and other resources not available elsewhere. You can't go wrong checking out library websites for areas you're researching. Family Tree Magazine has a wonderful list of the best libraries for genealogy research. 

I've added all the links in this post to my Genealogy Toolbox (including a new section for both Books and Libraries, and expanding Articles, Tips/Tricks, Guides, to include Webinars and Videos). The cost of doing genealogy can vary greatly. If you're willing to put in the time, many records can be found for free. But sometimes we need a subscription. Finding the ones with the most bang for your buck is always a great feeling.  If you've discovered any other genealogy subscriptions with great bundled perks and membership benefits please share them!

Image by Foundry Co from Pixabay

Disclosure: I used ChatGPT to assist in titling this post, and for the search description. All content is my own.

Ancestry's Index Panel: I'm Trekking Through the 1850 Census Faster Than Ever

Census records are a goldmine of information. As I've mentioned before, I like to mine all the details. This takes time. For a big family, it can be quite a bit of time. Often, I find myself zipping past census hints, in favor of something I can work on more quickly. 

Recently, I decided to set out on the task of getting through some of those census records. They're important, and I need to stop glossing over them. I'm starting with the 1850 census. Using the Ancestry Hints By Specific Record Collection I previously wrote about, I'm able to see all the hints I'll be working with - only those hints (so I'm not tempted to bypass them). My only current goal is to make it through all the 1850 census hints I have. Then, I'll move on to 1860. Wash, rinse, repeat. 

I'm not worrying about how many other hints this is adding on my main hints page. I'm simply plugging away at a concrete goal I've set for myself. While I'm making progress, I haven't been spending as much time checking out new features, updates, tools or websites. However, I was reminded recently about a handy feature on Ancestry I either never really paid much attention to, or forgot about - and it's a big time saver for my census journey. Let me explain the backstory...

I use a spreadsheet to transfer all the data from a given family on a census record. I like a standard way of formatting (using the concatenate function to string data together). Then I copy this data into a document before I begin updating each person in Ancestry. It leaves me with a list of all the facts I need to add, and a full summary to paste into my transcription field in the citation for each person. This is the simplified version. I have a few other steps in the process to get it to work just so, but you get the idea. I'm more than a little OCD about how I work with a census record. Certainly not everyone would want to go through my whole process, but I'm betting some of you have a process you like to follow.

In order for my spreadsheet to do its magic, I need to list each family member in their own column, not rows as a census is presented. I can't tell you how much time I've spent diligently transferring the contents of each row into the necessary columns (flipping back and forth endlessly between tabs as I entered the data in columns). And here's where I can't believe I've dedicated (but not wasted) so much time I didn't need to! 

If you open the image of the census record, at the bottom of the screen is a little toolbar. We've probably all used the filmstrip view at some point. And I'd imagine everyone has used the arrows on the sides of the image to move forward and backward through pages....but how often do you use the index panel? Here's where to find it:

You might recall, I work on a small screen, so this next screenshot is not all the data. But it gives you the general idea of the format you'll see. Each line of the census is already transcribed!

The hard work is already done! Because I already have all the headings for each field in my spreadsheet, I just need to highlight, copy and paste all the family members into my spreadsheet. I do spot check fields like occupation, attended school, etc, just to be sure all the data is there - but most of the time it's very complete. I occasionally find a name transcribed incorrectly like "Susah" instead of "Sarah", but all in all, this saves me a ton of transcription time.

Now, if you've followed along this far, you might say..."Uh, Doris, you said you put each person in a column. You just copied rows." And you'd be right! I plop the copied data in my spreadsheet below where I want it. Then I right-click and copy it from within my spreadsheet, navigate to the first column for the data, and I paste-special (Excel) transposing rows and columns. This gives me exactly the layout I want to make my spreadsheet provide the specific formatting I use - all without having to do any (or very little) transcription myself. I'm going to hazard a guess and say this is saving me at least 50% of the time I spend working with census records. 

I won't bore you with any more of the details on my personal process. But if you'd like to see a little more on how to grab all this information, I found this video very helpful. (I've added it to my Genealogy Toolbox under "Articles, Tips/Tricks, Guides". 

While I still have to tweak a little for my own process, this is a huge timesaver! And as always, verifying is important. This isn't a substitute for making sure the transcription is correct (but it sure makes it a lot faster and easier to do). This feature is available on other images as well. And while I can't say for certain if every record set is as detailed as census records, you can be sure I'm going to start checking....right after I've finished my 1850 census project (and hopefully a few more years as well). Let me know if you already use this feature, or if you think it's going to help you in your own research. 

Image by Gerd Altmann from Pixabay

Detailed Instructions for Using RootsMagic to Create a Minimal GEDCOM

 I like to have my tree on multiple sites. A few times a year, I've been creating a GEDCOM from either Ancestry or Family Tree Maker (FTM) and uploading it to MyHeritage and Findmypast. These are simply the sites I choose to use. If and where to upload GEDCOMs is a personal preference, depending on your specific needs.

There  are numerous other sites and software where GEDCOMS are accepted. Reasons one might want to upload could include:

• My #1 reason - having easy access to hinting from the sites I subscribe to
• Keeping multiple online backups
• Searching for more DNA matches
• Collaborating with relatives and family groups
• Utilizing specific research tools provided by software or websites

GEDCOM files generally contain a lot of information, most often including citations and facts, and potentially media depending on the program used to create the file. I've long wanted to be able to create a minimal GEDCOM, since all I'm interested in is hinting. I wanted a GEDCOM with only name, birth date/location, death date/location, marriage/location and divorce/location. I only want the basics...just enough to provide sufficient data to prompt the algorithms for hints. 

My preferred desktop software is FTM. I can absolutely export a GEDCOM, but the options for filtering the contents are slim. Ancestry provides a one-size-fits-all download solution, no editing options there. GEDCOMs can be manually edited, but it's simply not a viable option for trees with large amounts of people and data. At one point, I found a website where they used to offer a program with the ability create exactly the file I was after (called The Complete Genealogy Builder). Sadly, the software has been discontinued and is no longer available for purchase. I didn't want to have to buy (or learn) new software specifically for creating these GEDCOMs. With a little persistence, I found a way to do it reasonably easily with RootsMagic. While not my preferred software, I do have the most recent paid version (RM11). According to Google, you very may be able to do this process with the free version, RootsMagic Essentials, as well. It does take a few minutes of setup each time you want to create this type of GEDCOM, but it's by far the easiest way I've found to do it. Here's are the detailed steps.

First, export your GEDCOM from your preferred software, or download from your preferred site, such as Ancestry. (Note: If you're a RootsMagic user, I'd still recommend exporting and working with the GEDCOM separate from your main research tree. If anything goes wrong or you make an error, you don't want to risk messing up all your hard work!) Since the main sites I upload to already privatize living people, I don't worry about doing it in my GEDCOM. But it's important to double check how the uploaded file is handled on each site. As an example, GEDmatch requires you to privatize your own file. Be sure you check each site's requirements so you don't encounter any unexpected surprises or problems.

Once you have your initial GEDCOM, import it into RootsMagic by selecting File > Create a New RootsMagic File > Import > GEDCOM > and select the location of your GEDCOM file.

Then, open your newly created file and select Tools > Fact Tools > Add or Modify Fact Types. Then Run the Selected Tool. You should have a screen like this:

Next is the most time consuming part. You'll need to edit each fact you don't want in the GEDCOM. Select the Fact Type and click Edit. You'll want to UNCHECK Include When Exporting GEDCOM Files. Then click OK. (Facts have this box checked by default). 

For facts you are keeping in the GEDCOM (especially if you use custom facts) be sure to check each one to determine if Use Description Field is included by default or not. You may wish to make adjustments to include or exclude them, depending on the purpose of your GEDCOM, and the information you're entering in the field. As an example, I have custom Marriage and Divorce fields to record timeline events for additional spouses I'm not researching or including in my tree. These facts are set up as individual person facts (not family or shared facts as the standard Marriage and Divorce facts are). In these cases, I include the name of the additional spouse in my description. Even on a minimal GEDCOM, I want to have the names visible when I upload to another site, so I must ensure those facts are using the Description.

You'll have to go thru every fact type one by one. When you're done excluding all the facts you don't want, and verifying the description use on the fields you do want, click OK on the bottom of the Fact Types screen. 

This is where I wish there was an option to save, but unfortunately, there is not. You'll have to repeat this process each time you want to create a minimal GEDCOM. CAUTION: Your fact changes will be lost after you exit the file you're working with, regardless of whether you save it or not.  It's critical you do the GEDCOM export prior to closing the file you're working with. The good news? Now, you're ready to export your modified GEDCOM! 

Click on File > Export Data > GEDCOM

From here, you can specify where you want the file exported. I recommend reimporting the file into RootsMagic (or your preferred software) to double check and make sure everything looks just as you want it. Once you've verified, you're ready to upload to the sites or software where you want to use this GEDCOM. 

Here are links on how to import GEDCOMs to the major websites:

• Ancestry - Uploading a Family Tree
• MyHeritage - How do I upload (import) a GEDCOM file to my family site on MyHeritage?
• Findmypast - How to import your family tree using a GEDCOM file
• FamilySearch - How do I upload my GEDCOM file?
• GEDmatch - Uploading a GEDCOM File on GEDmatch - Genetic Genealogy Research (VIDEO)

I've also updated my Genealogy Toolbox to include these links, under GEDCOMs, in case you'd like to reference them in the future.

There are any number of reasons you might want to create a minimal GEDCOM. The facts you wish to include may be completely different than those I use. But the creation process is the same! It only takes 1/2 hour or so to create a minimal GEDCOM using RootsMagic. Perhaps in the future more software or websites will offer easier ways to do this, but this process accomplishes the goal without the need for time consuming manual editing or purchasing additional software. If you've long wanted a way to do this, or if you've found other easier ways to do it, let me know! 

Genealogy Assistant Browser Extension

I love time saving browser extensions. I have several I use daily. Earlier today, I saw a post on Fortify Your Family Tree about a browser extension by genea.ca called Genealogy Assistant. Based on the post, I was super excited to get home and try it out! 

The extension can be installed in Chrome, Firefox, or Edge. It's quick and easy to install, and pretty much works right out of the box. There isn't a lot you need to do to get started with it. The developer offers a free trial, allowing ample time to decide if you find it useful and want to continue utilizing it. Should you decide you want to keep it, it's $2.95 per month, or a single payment of $29.95 for a lifetime license. 

I'm not going to go into all the various features. There are tons of them! Many have been created to enhance the experience on Ancestry. Some simply make current features on Ancestry a little more visible and quicker to access (see the images of profile headers below). Some are designed to minimize clutter to improve the tree viewing experience. There are many enhancements to make working with DNA matches easier (on multiple sites). Some tools make exporting data to CSV very simple. From the website:

"Genealogy Assistant adds over 100 custom features to popular genealogy websites like Ancestry, MyHeritage, FamilySearch, FamilyTreeDNA and more!

Get access to all of our tools in an easy to use, one-click install. All features are automatically updated and new tools are added regularly."

One feature I'm really excited about is the advanced search capability. This little extension makes searching across various websites a breeze! The snip on the left shows the advanced search options. As you can see, most of the major sites are included. Personally, I find the search experience on MyHeritage less intuitive than on Ancestry, so I tend not to take the time to search there. No extension is going to make searching entirely painless. After all, the thrill of genealogy is searching for, and finding, the records we need! But it does make the experience faster and easier, and may motivate me to do more cross-site searching than I usually do.

I did notice with all the potential features enabled, the header on a person profile is expanded. 

I tend to keep my notes open on the right sidebar, and this changes the layout to look like this:

You'll notice the header is "taller" in this specific view, with notes open, but the advanced search features, while still there, are collapsed.

With the recent advent of the collapsing headers on Ancestry, and with notes open, as I scroll my header shrinks to look like this:

Aside from these visual changes, working in a person profile, accessing gallery and hints are all the same as usual. You can also access the advanced search by clicking "Ctrl + /" from any page on the website.

For those who spend a lot of time working with DNA matches and ThruLines® you'll find the extension plays well with some of the Pro Tools features. It also enhances working with DNA matches on GEDMatch, MyHeritage and FTDNA. I've long wanted to be able to easily hide and unhide matches already connected to my Ancestry tree - and now I can!

As a creature of habit, it takes me a few days to get accustomed to visual changes and enhancements. But I'm intrigued enough with just a few minutes of use, I've already purchased the lifetime license for $29.95. In my mind, it's a small price to pay for productivity and it supports the developer so he can continue to expand the features offered. While the lifetime price is equivalent to 10 months of monthly costs, there is always a possibility Ancestry (or any of the other sites) could find away to block the extension with no notice. I certainly hope this never happens, but I'm willing to take the chance and go all in with this extension. If Ancestry is smart, debatable at times, they might do well to consider acquiring this extension and integrating it as a part of their offering in the future. 

The developer also has a free extension called Genealogy Blurring Tool. For blogging or presenting, it's a hassle free way to blur sensitive data automatically, for cleaner looking screenshots or presentations. In fact, you can see it in action in the headers above, where my tree name has been automatically blurred. (I don't mind my tree name being public, I was just testing out the tool).

If you'd like to learn more about the Genealogy Assistant extension, you might enjoy watching the features video (about 15 minutes long). It moves quickly, but it's a very good overview none the less.

I've also added a link to the website in my Genealogy Toolbox under Online Tools and Browser Extensions. If you decide to test it out, comment or connect with me on socials and tell me how you like it!

Missing Branches on Ancestry (With Fix)

So there I was last night, doom scrolling on Facebook (FB). I noticed several posts from people who claimed branches of their Ancestry tree are going missing, and previously attached ancestors are now showing only as potential hints in their tree. These types of posts aren't new (they're quite frequent), and they get plenty of good suggestions from forum members on how to fix the problem. Yet the original posters (OP') seem determined not to comprehend the problem -  or how easy it is to fix. Over and over, they'll claim Ancestry pruned branches without their permission. I rarely take time to answer any of these posts, because by in large, the posters seem to prefer insisting it's an Ancestry intrusion and not a user mistake. You can't make people understand if they don't want to. But this time it hit me different, and I've decided to make this post. 

I have a shocking announcement for these people, So long as you've not committed some egregious violation of the Terms of Service (TOS), Ancestry does NOT care about your tree. I don't care how many people you have in it, or how long you've been working on it. Ancestry does not randomly jump into trees and start making changes. Yes, if a record collection is removed entirely from the catalog, you could potentially see a few hints or previously saved records/media items disappear....but they are not randomly messing with your tree, deleting people just to screw with you. If you suddenly have a missing branch (or branches) of your tree, YOU did something you may not have noticed (or intended) at the time. And oh, by the way, this is a relatively easy fix (as most people are suggesting in the forums).

I'm going to give these folks the benefit of the doubt, and assume they've not truly worked with Ancestry long enough to realize both the absurdity of the claim, and the simplicity of the fix. Casual users may not pay any attention to how trees actually work. They may just point and click (potentially propagating incorrect information, but it's a different problem, and one for another post). Those who take time to research thoroughly, document, correct errors they may may find, and use tools to ensure accuracy are not likely to be the ones posting this type of concern. They are the ones posting the solutions.

I'm going to illustrate the problem, and the solution. Here's a snip from a small portion of one of my trees.

As you can see, John Livesay has both a father and grandfather shown. Further, his father Peter Livesay is clearly shown in my list of people. (You can access this list by going to your tree view, clicking on Tree Overview and selecting People in the right hand column):

Now, let me show you how to magically make the branch disappear. I've gone to the Edit Relationships option on John Livesay, the first person shown in the tree. I've selected "Edit Relationships" for him. As you can see, Peter Livesay is shown as his biological father.

Now, I'm going to click the X and remove Peter Livesay, and confirm I want to remove him. I'm not the least bit worried in doing this. Changing a relationship DOES NOT delete anyone. It simply removes the relationship. 

Refreshing my tree view, you can see it now appears this branch is missing entiely. Both Peter, and the grandfather are no longer shown.

If I go to my list of people again, you'll see Peter is not actually removed from my tree. He's just now a "floating branch". This means nothing more than a person who is saved in your tree, but not connected to anyone you show as related to you. Keep in mind, once the first person is "disconnected", so are any ancestors and people related to the person. The entire branch is affected.

This type of situation can be intentionally created as well as accidentally. Many researchers use floating branches to catalogue FAN networks or to research people they come across, but aren't yet sure are related. I personally don't care for floating branches, but I acknowledge they can serve a useful purpose.

Now, I go back to John Livesay, and you can see he clearly has no father. But I'm going to click to add, and then select a person already in my tree. When presented with the field to choose who to add, I'll use someone already in my tree and insert Peter Livesay. We know he still exists because we see him in the list of people

As soon as I do this, Peter will immediately show back up on the profile page as his father, and refreshing the tree now puts EVERYONE who was missing in the branch back.

As you can see, I was able to make it appear as if a branch had been pruned. It was not. It was simply a floating branch. So if you encounter a missing branch, identify the missing person and simply reattach them. More than likely, you were doing some editing and accidentally removed a relationship. On Ancestry, it is NOT possible to truly delete an entire branch at one time. You can certainly delete people, one at a time, but it's incredibly time consuming to actually remove an entire branch, since it has to be done person by person. 

Now, if you use offline software to sync, and the program supports removing an entire branch with a few clicks, and you choose to do this and then sync to Ancestry - it is possible you could remove an entire branch. But again, this is a user error, not Ancestry messing with your tree. And if you've permitted others to be editors to your tree, one of them could make changes you don't want. Again, an issue by the permissions granted by the tree owner. But most often, posters in forums are saying they don't allow others to change their tree - and this means only one thing - the poster has accidentally removed a relationship themselves.

So there you have it. Ancestry does not go into your tree and make changes. Users make mistakes. It's wonderful to have a resource, like Facebook forums, to ask for help. But if you ask for assistance, be willing to hear and try the solutions. Many forums prefer users do not post links, but if you see a person with this issue, feel free to point them to my blog.

Ancestry Hacks: Ancestry Hints by Specific Record Collection

I make research plans and I carry them out...for awhile. I tend to get restless and bored doing the same thing day after day.  I like to switch up how I'm attacking my research, and I generally like to keep working on all branches of my tree (backward and forward) at the same time. Some days, I work on a specific person until I'm done with all the green leaves and suggested hints. Sometimes, when I'm pressed for time, it's working through a few photo hints or other user trees. When I have good mental energy, it's attaching census records or obits (though they tend to take longer). And some days (like today) I choose to concentrate on a specific record collection. When I'm "in the zone" on a specific set of records, I feel like I can fly through hints (while still making sure each is correct and documented). 

One of the best "secret genealogy hacks" (ok, maybe not super secret) I've come across is Mining Ancestry.com Hints by Specific Record Collection - Updated by Randy Seaver on Genea-Musings. This tip has been around years, and it still works! It's a trick I use quite frequently. He outlines how to search a specific record collection on Ancestry.com to find the people in your tree who currently show hints available in the specified database. This is done by using your Ancestry member tree number (treenumb) and the database number (dbas) in a carefully crafted URL. I won't go in to the specifics. Randy does a brilliant job of explaining the steps and I encourage you to read his post. It's a very simple trick to use. I want to tell you some of the reasons why I like it searching this way.

Have you ever wished, for instance, you could find all the yearbook hints? Those are fairly quick and easy to attach. Working thru quite a few in a single sitting is liberating (though still requires diligence to be sure you have the right person). Or Social Security Claims and Applications? Often a way to verify the child for a set of parents, along with the birth date, birth location, death date, social security number - and for females, potential other husbands surnames (from the notes). With a confirmed Social Security Number it makes working with SSDI records a breeze (cause you can easily confirm the SSN matches) and you often get the added state where the number was issued (and when) as well as the last residence/benefit address. Social Security records are some of my favorite record sets to work with when I want to make a small dent in my ever growing list of hints! Or all the FindAGrave entries or draft cards or....ok, ok, you get the idea. You can search for any database you want, so long as you know the number.

Any record set can be extra useful when narrowed down. Are you working on a specific branch of your family and want to see all the census records for a specific year? Perhaps you want to see who lives near who...or who moved away since the last census. Once you've narrowed to the specific database of interest, you can further narrow your search by first name, last name, or most recent hints (just like you can from the main list of all hints). This is a great way to focus in on specific parts of the family within a given dataset. Even public records, with the numerous addresses, when narrowed down, can help you figure out if the various people are all falling into the right place (pun absolutely intended). This isn't a magic solution to find elusive hints. Everything this search returns is already shown somewhere in your "all hints" listing. It just makes it easier to find the hints by filtering out the noise and letting you focus on a specific database for a period of time.

Randy provides a really good list of various database numbers to start you off. As I work, when I encounter a new database I'm running across frequently, I'll add the database number to my running list so I can go back and use it whenever I want. This "trick" has been around since at least 2013, and with a few tweaks to the original method over the years, it still works extremely well. It's definitely something you want to have in your genealogy toolbox. If you've never tried searching using this particular method, give it a go and see how you like it. Personally, I'm as excited about it now as I was when I first discovered it. Connect with me on social media (or leave a comment) and let me know how it works for you.

Image by Arek Socha from Pixabay

Cost Savings Tip: Accessible Archives and the Conococheague Institue

Accessible Archives was founded in 1990. They've assembled a database comprised of "Diverse primary source materials reflecting broad views across American history and culture". Most of the publications are from the 18th and 19th century. This data has all been scanned and digitized, and all text is searchable. Though the site is in the midst of a transition after becoming a part of Coherent Digital in 2023, it's still fully functional and a great source of information. The information on the site will be transferred to History Commons and ultimately, it will be even more useful as it's integrated into the new platform. 

I found the site particularly helpful for accessing some specific Pennsylvania newspapers not available elsewhere. These are but a few of the many collections available (see the link below for a more comprehensive list):

• African American Newspapers
• America and World War I: American Military Camp Newspapers
• American County Histories
• Native Americans in History
• The Civil War Collection
• The Pennsylvania Gazette
• The Pennsylvania Genealogical Catalogue
• The Pennsylvania Newspaper Record
• Reconstruction of Southern States
• South Carolina Newspapers
• The Virginia Gazette

The individual membership (prior to the acquisition) was around $99 per year. Since I already had a lot of subscriptions, I wasn't sure I wanted to spend the additional money. So I searched for discounts. I found a way to support the Conococheague Institute, a regional learning center with the mission to "to develop and foster awareness, understanding, and stewardship of the cultural and natural history of the Appalachian frontier of Pennsylvania, Maryland, and Virginia" AND gain access to Accessible Archives! 

By joining the Conococheague Institute, you cannot only access all the collections at Accessible Archives, you also receive a membership card for free admission to events (with the exception of some of their fundraisers). On the 30 acre grounds of the homestead and gardens, they have buildings, re-enactments, archives, artifacts and a library. For those who cannot visit in person they even offer some virtual programs. The Institute offers learning opportunities for families and history buffs alike! The price for an individual membership is just $25 per year! There are other membership levels available, including student and family, as well as some higher levels. Each level has its own membership benefits. If you'd like to consider joining to take advantage of this great opportunity, view the membership options here. 

This cost saving tip is a win-win. Not only do you get access to a great wealth of searchable data (no matter where you live) but membership supports a worthy cause. Just in case you're wondering how to pronounce the name of the Institute, per the website: "In the Lenape language it is translated as 'Water of many turns' and it is phonetically pronounced as 'KAH-no-KAH-cheek'. Today locals pronounce it as 'Conica-jig'." I you live within driving distance, with so many learning programs, this would make for great family day trips!

Image by Michal Jarmoluk from Pixabay

Using OCR for Transcribing Newspaper Articles

Newspaper articles and obituaries can provide a lot of information. You're likely to find names of relatives and friends, possibly birth/death dates and places, residence, occupation/retirement or even cause of death. I personally like to transcribe newspaper clippings so I can easily work with the details...but transcribing can be a time consuming process depending on where you find the image. Enter optical character recognition (OCR). It's not perfect, but it can make the job a lot easier.

The majority of newspaper clippings are .jpg images (photos) so it's not as easy as copy/paste. If you're finding the image on a newspaper archive site, there's a reasonable chance an OCR transcription is already provided. Those are typically able to be copied and pasted (but you can't edit out errors directly on the webpages). Be sure to read both the source document and the transcription. Computers aren't infallible, and sometimes they have trouble with certain characters, old/faded images or when column borders exist. If you accidentally "transcribe" the column border, or catch some random characters from the next column, you'll have a lot of i's and l's and other gobbledygook where it doesn't belong. Articles spanning multiple columns may need to be transcribed in separate steps for each column. No matter how you cut it, OCR speeds up the process...just don't expect it to be perfect.  Once copied/pasted, you can feel free to make any necessary edits before saving in your tree or using to mine the details.

If you don't have a "built in" transcription with the image, there are tools to make the job easier. My new favorite is the build in Windows Snipping Tool. Windows users can search for the app on their computer, and I highly suggest pinning it to your taskbar for easy access. OCR was added in the last few months. Open the image you want to transcribe, and select the area with the text. Then, click the OCR button as shown in the image. All the text will be highlighted and you'll see an option to Copy All Text. This will put the text on your clipboard and you can paste it into the program of your choice (notepad, Word, Google Docs, etc.). For additional information on using Windows Snipping tool for OCR please watch the video linked at the end of this post. The biggest caveat is all the text needs to appear on your screen before snipping. Snipping Tool won't let you scroll to capture text. This can be problematic with longer articles/obits when the text becomes too small for the computer to "read" it. 

If you have a longer article, where the text is too small for Snipping Tool to work well, try using Google Docs! (Yup, it works! I use it all the time.) Simply upload the .jpg from your computer to Google Docs. Right click it, select Open With and choose Google Docs. You'll see the image at the top, and when you scroll down, the OCR transcription will be below. You can edit the transcription as needed right in Google Docs. More detail on using Google Docs for OCR can be found here.

If you happen to be lucky enough to have a PDF of the document you're working with, but can't just copy/paste the info (thank you Adobe and other PDF editors for locking down some documents), you can use the same Google Docs trick. You can also open PDFs in Word (though I've had mixed success) or you can use the PDFCandy.com OCR tool for free (though you are limited to how frequently you can use it at no charge. See my previous post here for the limitations.)

We all use transcriptions a little differently. There's no right or wrong way to go about it. If you like to do it old school and enjoy reading, then typing, then reading, then typing, then....well, you get the idea...that's fine! I personally prefer to let the computer do the heavy lifting, then I'll just do a little housekeeping to tidy up the text. Please keep copyright in mind if you're planning on posting/sharing any transcriptions, and always credit the newspaper, poster, etc. appropriately. If you have another suggestion for OCR transcription, connect with me on my socials. I'd love to hear how you handle transcribing from images and PDFs. 

Image by PublicDomainPictures from Pixabay
YouTube video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=k5tDJCLnShw

Liking Linkclump

Linkclump is a browser extension for Chrome. (Firefox users can download it here). It's one of the handiest tools in my Genealogy Toolbox, Developed by Benjamin Black, it's a free extension with over 300,000 users. The developer does not collect or use your data. It makes opening, copying or bookmarking multiple links at once a snap! For genealogists it's a huge time saver.

When you open a record on Ancestry.com, you've undoubtedly noticed the additional Suggested Records on the right hand side of the page. Sometimes it's just a few, and sometimes the list is quite lengthy. How many times have you wanted to look thru them all to see what might be new, check for what's not included in your New Hints (not all of them are!) or find out if you've already saved a particular record, but the thought of all that clicking is just plain annoying? Enter Linkclump! 

Simply drag and draw a box (shown in red in the image) using the left mouse key + Z around the links you want to open and Linkclump does all the clicky work, opening them all at once in new windows or tabs (depending on how you set it up). I changed my action key to be "Ctrl" instead of "Z" because I can remember it easier. Customizing is super simple. 

I use it to open all the Ancestry.com Suggested Records (and I haven't encountered any issues no matter how many links I've selected), then I click thru them and close the ones I already have saved. Anything remaining I either review on the spot or copy the URL for future research. I've learned from experience, just because something shows in your new hints today doesn't mean it will be there tomorrow. It's best to save any URLs you may want to research later using whatever system works best for you. I use iDailyDiary by Splinterware as detailed in my previous post.

I personally haven't used the copying or bookmarking features, but they're easy enough to set up right in the extension if you want to give them a try. Once you use Linkclump, you'll wonder how you ever survived without it! Because this is a free extension, there is no support per se, but there is extensive information on GitHub if you encounter any issues. I know not everyone is a fan of browser extensions, but this is one you should definitely give a time saving try. It truly makes opening bunches of links at once a breeze!

For a quick tutorial check out this YouTube video.

Family History Daily Course Center

I'm not a professional genealogist (far from it) - I'd call myself an intermediate amateur (and when it comes to analyzing DNA, a definite beginner). When I first started building my family tree, I made a LOT of mistakes. Even after restarting my tree several times over the years, I continued to fall into the same bad habits and patterns. I can't count number of blogs and articles I've read cautioning not to blindly trust other people's trees. Do the research yourself! Don't just accept hints, make sure they make sense for the person you're working on. Nonetheless, I barreled through dozens of hints a night, hundreds in a weekend, measuring my progress by the drop in hint count and increase in number of people in my tree. And I realized - my tree was a MESS! How could I ever fix it? The thought of trying to "clean it up" was beyond daunting. I finally accepted, I needed to start over, from scratch.

Before I jumped into my do-over, I spent time researching affordable genealogy courses. I knew I needed to reframe my thinking and improve my skills. I didn't want to spend thousands of dollars or years in classes. I didn't have time for scheduled online classes. I wasn't after a certificate or degree. I didn't want to be a professional genealogist. I wanted a decent, easy to understand, useful course, at a reasonable price and to study at my own pace. Enter Family History Daily Course Center.

Family History Daily has tons of articles, tips/tricks and guides anyone can access for free. There's quite a lot of valuable information to be had in the free resources. But for those who crave more, they also offer the Family History Daily Course Center with several courses to choose from to fit almost any budget and goal. Courses are online, easy to understand, self paced, created by experts. Prices range from $89 (for the Ancestry.com Crash Course) to $339 (for the Complete Access Package, including access to any new courses offered in the future). I decided the Complete Access Package was the right choice for me. After registration and payment, access to the courses is immediate. 

Courses include lessons, hands-on activities, quizzes, forms, charts, worksheets and links to valuable research resources. I completed all the courses in my package, and felt much more confident as I set out to restart my tree (for what I've pledged is the final time). While the number of little green leaf hints still makes me anxious sometimes, I now take my time adding people to my tree. I've learned to verify and cross-check information before adding facts and saving records. My organization and search skills have improved dramatically. I scrounge every little scrap of information (no matter how small) from each record because you never know how important one little detail might be or what door it might open when researching in the future. I no longer wonder how/why I added someone to my tree. In short, I'm proud and confident in my tree.

If you're considering taking a course to improve your research skills and genealogy knowledge, I highly recommend the Family History Daily Course Center. Genealogy is a big investment in time and effort (and for some, money). Continually improving your skills and bolstering your knowledge will help you make the most of your genealogy journey. 

Image by Engin Akyurt from Pixabay

More Resources at Ancestry.com

 

Ancestry.com is far more than just a site to build a tree, research records, and do a DNA test to find matches. I happened to click on the Ancestry Site Map (scroll to the footer at the bottom of any page on the site) and discovered a wealth of information I had no idea existed. From links to pages on family history resources including the Ancestry Academy™, to all kinds of information about DNA in the AncestryDNA® Learning Hub or AncestryDNA® Traits Learning Hub, and links to social media accounts and other Ancestry.com family owned sites, there's so much information here it's incredible! If you want to expand your genealogy knowledge, this is a fantastic place to start!

Here is a small sampling of the additional resources on the site:
Ancestry Search - Main search page, some records are free, others require subscriptions

Ancestry Card Catalog - Search additional records, including unindexed

Vital Records- Birth, Marriage, Death - Several free record collections, other require subscriptions

Recently Added and Updated Collections on Ancestry - check regularly to stay up to date on record collection changes

Ancestry Wiki - Check out the "Explore the Wiki" links

Ancestry Live Chat  - Results interacting with agents seems to be hit or miss, but if you have a need, feel free to try it

Provide Feedback to Ancestry - Provide your feedback and comments about the site. No responses are provided, but your voice can be heard

Ancestry Site Map - Links to an amazing number of pages on the site you may not know exist (see below)

Ancestry Genealogy Toolkit - Links to Ancestry and other resources

No matter how long you've been researching, there's am amazing wealth of information and resources available to you with both free or paid subscriptions to Ancestry.com. It's important to get well rounded information, and no one site will be a full one stop shop, but the amazing resources on this site further my belief if you could only subscribe to one site, this is the one you want!

I Do 90% of My Research on Ancestry.com

Ancestry.com  is by far my favorite of the bigger genealogy sites. With the ability to build a tree, using an intuitive and easy to navigate interface, it's where I keep my main family tree. Combined with extensive record sets and user submitted data for research around the globe, plus DNA testing/matches/tools, the majority of my research can be done in one location. I'm not saying I don't use other sites, I definitely do! I actually have subscriptions to several other sites as well. But Ancestry.com is the closest to a "one stop shop" as I can get, so I spend more time on this site than any other. If I had to pick just one site to have a membership, it would definitely be Ancestry.com.

Building a tree on Ancestry.com is simple. You have the ability to upload your own photos and stories or link to those submitted by other users. You can search for and save records from the Ancestry record collections, edit citations and add as many facts as you want (including custom facts). You can also save links to external websites and add sources of your own. Always keep copyright in mind and don't upload anything you don't have permission to when adding your own images, stories and sources. When in doubt, link to the information instead. Ancestry.com will help by building a story of each person's life and showing helpful insights into the time period they lived and the records pertaining to them. You can keep private notes, include comments for other users, add tagging (for easy filtering) and of course, the algorithms will keep the little green leaf hints coming! You can also easily invite and share your tree family and friends (and limit what those guests to your tree have access to do). Ancestry.com provides all the basic tools you need to easily manage your tree (or as many trees as you may want to create) and they regularly update and add new features and record sets.

I personally find the World Explorer membership to be a great value. With access to US and International records (a must if you want to trace your heritage to other countries), as well as a basic subscription to Newspapers.com and Fold3 (also owned by Ancestry.com) it's a good deal for the serious family researcher. But there are other lower priced, or even free options available (with limitations on which record sets can be viewed) for those who may not be able to financially afford the "deluxe" membership. You can absolutely use Ancestry.com with the free membership, but it may require a lot of research on other sites in combination with the free record sets at Ancestry.com (and not every record is available for free no matter how many sites you search.) Memberships to the site go on sale often, and you can even let your membership expire and rejoin using a sale/gift price. (I personally don't do this as there are huge costs associated with maintaining such an all-encompassing site, and I feel I get a good value for my membership. But for some, cost is a significant factor and this method is an option).

You'll find Ancestry.com DNA tests on sale regularly to help jumpstart your research. While Ancestry.com does not allow uploads of raw DNA results from other sites, you can download your raw DNA file from Ancestry and upload to any number of other sites to find additional DNA matches. DNA tools on Ancestry.com are expanding, and with the largest database of testers, it's definitely the place to start if you're interested in DNA matches. Serious DNA testers can also manage results for DNA tests of other family members with ease (if they give permission). You receive not only DNA matches, but ethnicity results, and potential ancestors (but do your research, these are curated from other member trees and may not be 100% accurate). For additional fees, you can also receive traits information based on your DNA.

There are tons of valuable links and educational information on the site as well. I'll detail some of those options in a future post.

If you have to pick just one site to join, make it Ancestry.com. You aren't likely to be disappointed! Just remember, it's still up to you to do your research. Hints are just that, hints. Not every hint is accurate. Do your due diligence when researching. From personal experience, don't just attach every hint or you'll  end up with a tree full of errors. I can't imagine a scenario where I wouldn't use Ancestry.com. It's the leader in genealogy websites for a reason. If you don't have an account yet, go sign up for free and check out the various available resources. You have nothing to lose, and a lot of family history information to gain.