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Before I review the various online genealogical sources, let me get on my soapbox for a bit. The Internet has
revolutionalized genealogical research. The flip side though is a mindset that anything found on the Internet must
be a true fact. Go to any of the big genealogy sites and you'll find their version of online family trees. Most
offer free searches with promises that a match can add generations to your family tree. Where did they get all this
data? From fellow genealogists who have submitted their own databases for inclusion. But these online family tree
databases are NOT original source material and the submitters may well have gotten their information from other online
submitters. In many cases, the logic becomes circular as more and more submitters upload data based on other uploads.
Online family tree database matches can often provide clues and avenues for further research, but I for one would never
import such data into my own database unless I knew and trusted the contributor and until I could review and verify
original source documents.
So where to find original source material?
Subscription Services
If being the biggest online genealogy source equals being the best, the title goes to Ancestry.com. Around for years,
Ancestry has amassed a huge records collection a subscriber can access, view, save to disk and print. They used to allow
free access to at least some of their records, but now almost everything requires a subscription. They package various
collections and users can pick and choose which record types to subscribe to.
Every available original census record from 1790-1930 and all years are indexed. Even if you had a local library with
every federal census microfilm roll, it would take many, many times longer to complete your census research and you couldn't
get an electronic image of the original documents. By researching online, not only can you complete your research over the
entire 130 history of the available census records in a fraction of the time, you can also download electronic copies of the
originals for inclusion in a family history report.
To put this collection to the test, I looked up records from 1880, 1910 and 1930 to compare them to photocopies of microfilm
from my past research. All online images were very crisp and clear, obviously digitally enhanced and extremely high resolution.
They allowed for extreme zooming in without distortion. The backgrounds were bright white and the printing clear. They were all
better than the originals on microfilm. Features are provided to save an image to your computer and even to e-mail a copy to a
friend.
A subscription for the Census Images Online collection runs $35.95 per quarter or $99.95 for a year.
Ancestry claims over 750 million names in over 3200 databases including the SSDI, census indexes, military, birth, death and
marriage records. Also includes biographies and historical journals. This subscription costs $29.95 per quarter or $79.95 per year.
22 million names from passenger ship records dating from the 1600s. In some cases you can view images of the original
records. If your ancestors arrived in the U.S. via Ellis Island, be sure to check out the Ellis Island web site (see below)
before paying Ancestry. This subscription costs $39.95 per quarter or $79.95 per year.
200 million names from England, Ireland, Scotland and Wales. The UK and Ireland Collection also includes the 1871,
1891, and 1901 England and Wales Census along with civil, ecclesiastical and immigration records. $39.95 per quarter or
$99.95 per year.
I have found this to be a very helpful resource. 20,000 titles along with journals, atlases, and military records - many from as early as the 1700s. The text of the references available are presented in images, so you can't import them into a text editor. But you can save a high resolution copy of any of the images to your hard drive for archiving. $79.95 per year.
400 different newspapers from the United States, the U.K. and Canada (dating from 1765 through 2002). As with the census image
collection, it appears that Ancestry did quite a lot of digital enhancement of the original newspapers. $29.95 per quarter or 49.95
per year.
This is Ancestry's database of genealogies compiled from a variety of sources, including submitted genealogies from users.
As I said at the start...buyer beware because this is NOT original source material. $49.95 per year.
Ancestry also offers a 
Super Subscription
for $189.95 which includes the U.S. Records Collection, U.S. Census Images, U.K and Ireland Collection and the Historical Newspaper
Collection. That would save you over $140 per year over the cost of individual subscriptions.
Finally, Ancestry offers a 2 week free trial for any of their subscriptions, including the Super Subscription. If you planned
well enough, you could take great advantage of the time and download a tremendous amount of material. Ancestry of course hopes
you'll either like the subscription enough to continue past the two weeks, or forget to cancel in time.
So is an Ancestry subscription worth the cost? I guess that ultimately depends on what value you place on the convenience of
being able to see original source documents on demand in seconds vice the old fashioned method of ordering materials via a local
public library or a LDS branch. At least some of everything Ancestry offers is available free elsewhere...if you know where to
look and have the time and patience to track it down. But there's nowhere else on the web to get such a huge variety and quantity
of original source material.
Summary:
Pros:
- The Internet never sleeps. Conduct your research whenever you want...at home.
- Breadth and depth of original source material, particularly census images.
- One stop shopping for searching almost any kind of record source you might need.
- Images of original source documents are often digitally enhanced and high resolution
- Two week trial subscriptions
Cons:
- Not even the SSDI is free anymore at Ancestry
- Subscriptions automatically renew if you don't cancel before the anniversary date
- The material you want may be available for free elsewhere
- Canceling a free trial or subscription can be a chore
Next in scope of available online resources is Genealogy.com. Like Ancestry, Genealogy.com offers several subscription
options for access to their collections.
Genealogy.com used to offer the 1850 census for free. They have since compiled the entire 1790-1930 census, but only
about half of it is indexed. Most notably, 1920 and 1930 is not indexed as of this writing.
To compare the quality of the genealogy.com census images, I looked at their versions of the 1880, 1910 and 1930 records
I referenced above in the ancestry review. The 1880 image was clearly inferior. While readable, it appeared to be an
unenhanced photograph of a microfilm image, whereas Ancestry's product appears to be a high quality photograph of the
original paper documents. Oddly, when I clicked the link provided to download the image, my browser was directed to the
heritagequestonline.com website whereupon by browser locked up waiting for the image to download. This happened on two
different computers.
The census image collection is available for $99.95 billed annually.
22 million names. This collection appears to be a compilation of the various Genealogy.com family archive CDs.
There are no actual images, but abstracts of the original documents. They offer a monthly subscription for $14.99 or
yearly at $79.99.
This collection features images from the 1850 U.S. census and over 300 million names from a variety of records from
the 1600s to 1900s. Vital statistics, land and military records, and court proceedings. There are about 1800 family
history books available in this collection and they are displayed as text on the screen. That means you can easily cut
and paste passages from a book into your favorite genealogy program. That's a big advantage over Ancestry which presents
images of text which can't be manipulated. $9.99 monthly or $49.99 yearly.
Over 7.5 million images from 16,000 titles. The collection includes journals, state, county and town histories and
published genealogies. As with Ancestry's Local History collection, this is like having a huge genealogy library in your
home. County and town histories in particular can add a lot of background material to the stories of your ancestors.
$14.99 monthly or $79.99 yearly.
Genealogy.com's online genealogy database of submitted family trees. It's a compilation of their now 154 volume
World Family Tree collection with which Family Tree Maker users will be familiar. Buyer beware. There are "hundreds
of thousands of actual family trees", probably translating into tens of millions of names. $9.99 monthly or $49.99 monthly.
Genealogy.com currently offers three package deals, all of which include a copy of Family Tree Maker. The basic package
includes FTM and the Genealogy Library for $69.99. The deluxe subscription adds the World Family Tree to the basic package
for a total of $99.99 yearly. The Gold subscription adds the census and passenger records collection to the deluxe package
for a total of $199.99 yearly. Free 14 day trials are available for all packages.
Summary
Pros:
- One stop shopping for searching almost any kind of record source you might need
- Free 14 day trials for all subscriptions
- Copy of Family Tree Maker included in all subscription bundles
- Actual text vice images in the Genealogy Library family history volumes
Cons:
- Collections are smaller than Ancestry for the same or more money
- Census images are of inferior quality
- Difficult to use the download images function, though you can right click and save
Kindredkonnections.com
Much of the Kindred Konnection data is the result of users who have paid for their subscriptions by extracting
data from original documents in exchange for time credit. I for one would not trust information archived in this
manner and would never use their services.
Free Sources
One of my favorite websites and a must stop for anyone with an ancestor who passed through Ellis Island between
1892 and 1924. All the more so because you may have met the immigrant grandparents and great grandparents who appear
in the records. All searches are free and you can view images of the original manifest pages. Unfortunately they use
javascript to disable the right mouse click function, preventing a user from saving an image to a hard drive. If you
disable javascript in your browser, you can right click and save a relatively low resolution image, but you can't view
a higher resolution image which actually allows you to zoom in enough to read the manifest. You can order 11 x 17 or
17 x 22 prints of a manifest for $25 or $35 respectively. Many manifest records cover two pages, doubling the cost.
As an added bonus, there are photos available for many of the ships referenced in the manifests. After you register for
a free account, you will be able to save your searches, making it easy to split your research over multiple sessions
without losing track of your progress. If you plan to use this database extensively, consider the search portal
at stevemorse.org where you will find an easy to use interface which makes Ellis
Island searches much easier. There are also tools there for when the database returns the wrong manifest.
Summary
Pros:
- Free images of original manifests
- Image library of many of the ships referenced in the manifests
Cons:
- Difficult to store high resolution images to your computer
- The database tends to be buggy and you will occasionally be sent to a manifest page completely unrelated to the ship crossing you need. It's extremely difficult to eventually locate the correct record when this happens.
Another favorite and a great resource for searching land patents. The images are extremely high quality and you can view
them in a variety of formats for ease of viewing, printing and saving to hard drive. Unlike the Ellis Island website, it is
easy to save the images locally. You can also order certified copies of the land patents on either plain paper or parchment
for a very low fee. One potentially important feature is the ability to search on the legal description of a piece of land.
For instance, my 3g-grandfather settled in Lenawee County Michigan, Township 8S, Range 2E. By searching on that legal
description, I can see every other patent in that same township.
Summary
Pros:
- Very high quality images
- Easily download images to your hard drive
- Extensive search options
Cons:
You won't see any original source document images online, but the LDS familysearch.org website and Family History Centers
are some of the greatest resources available and they are must stops.
Familysearch.org has the 1880 U.S., 1881 Canadian and 1881 British census available to searching. If you get a match, you
can view an abstract of the original. The LDS film number is also displayed if you wish to order and view it at your local LDS
family library. For U.S. records, there is also a link provided to view the image at Ancestry. For a quick and FREE check of
1880 census records this is a great resource.
Over 600 million names extracted from vital records from throughout the world. From the website…"The International Genealogical
Index is one of the world's largest collection of genealogical records. Information comes from individual research and original
records. The majority of the names are from records of people who lived between 1500 and 1885. Other records have been submitted
by members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. The index contains:
- Names of millions of deceased persons from throughout the world
- Dates and places of births, christenings, marriages, and other events
Over 35 million names arranged by families and pedigrees.
This is the LDS answer to databases such as the World Family Tree or One World Tree. Currently at over 80 million names
arranged into families from GEDCOM submissions from LDS users.
No need to pay Ancestry or Genealogy.com for SSDI access. Search free here. As of this writing, the LDS SSDI search database is current to
March 2004.
Probably the greatest genealogical resource available. With over 2.4 million rolls of microfilm and almost 1 million
microfiches, almost any conceivable record or genealogical publication is available for review. Visit your local Family
History Center and pay a nominal fee to have any film mailed to the Center for your research. Many big city Centers maintain
vast onsite film collections of commonly requested material such as the federal census. Non LDS members are always welcome
and the Centers are staffed with the most helpful and friendly people you'll ever meet.
Summary
Pros:
- If you can get to a Family History Center, you can access the biggest and best genealogical collection on the planet
- Huge collection of extracted data from decades of research
- Free 1880 census images and SSDI searches
In the spirit of keeping genealogy free, USGENWEB provides a vast network of websites, organized by state and county,
dedicated to providing free access to genealogy records. USGENWEB features several projects, created to collect and
disseminate data that goes beyond county and state lines.
Their goal is to make available to genealogists, useful, readable, high quality maps. You will find both archival maps
and newly made maps based on scholarly research. Many of these maps date from the 19th century and are useful in
visualizing changing county borders and identifying towns which may no longer exist.
A very large collection of census images and indexes from around the country. The images are donated and available for
free viewing. The indexes are produced by volunteers who give their time for data extraction from images they own or available
online or locally. The images are high quality. Not digitally enhanced like what's available at Ancestry, but better than
genealogy.com. Availability is really hit and miss, but definitely worth checking out before paying for a census images
subscription.
Other Projects
USGENWEB features numerous other projects including tombstones, obituaries, church and marriage records. The other way to
access USGENWEB's resources is to simply enter a state or county website. You'll find links to applicable projects, but you
also see a wide range of other state/county specific resources
Summary
Pros:
- Dedicated to keeping genealogy research free
- A wide range of records to search and view
- Easy to use state/county websites with focused resources and avenues for research
Cons:
- While possible to get lucky, records can be very thin or non-existent for any particular county
In conclusion…Even as recently as 10-15 years ago, snail mail and trips to the library ruled the day in genealogy
research. In just a short period, the age of lightening fast research of original sources from the comfort of your
computer chair has really changed the way many of us enjoy the hobby.
Whether to take advantage of available free services or pay for a subscription really boils down to personal preference
and how much of a premium one places on the convenience of instant access. For example, any census image available for
$99.95 per year at Ancestry is available from an LDS Family History Center for a nominal rental fee. The decision is between
instant viewing via subscription, or a 2-3 week wait and a trip to the library.
Disclosure - CensusTools has an affiliate agreement with Ancestry.com. I offer
this review however as a good faith attempt to objectively describe each website and provide my readers with the good and bad of each.
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