There were many record sets and websites mentioned:
GENUKI, FreeBMD. FreeCen, OPC (online parish clerks), The Genealogist, Family Search, National Archives,
Carmel mentioned the AJCP which gives links to record offices etc throughout England.
AncestryChat: Another awesome resource is: familysearch.org/mapp/ I often use this to find which parishes existed in a civil registration district.
Helen: I love that Cornwall OPC! It’s the best! It’s great to be able to douse the noise of the bigger search engines and easier to see patterns
Michelle: All the FreeBMD etc already mentioned. I use the GRO index a lot to find children born and died between censuses or to find maiden names. FS have a lot of Northumberland Parish Registers – some indexed, others you need to browse.
The Record Office for Leicester, Leicestershire and Rutland is excellent, with a good online catalogue. But also, lots of local family history societies have research centres too, worth checking out.
Absolutely! #OnePlaceStudy websites haven’t helped me with my own ancestors, but from feedback I’ve received I know my own OPS site has helped others with theirs!
SOPs: FreeBMD; local BMD sites for Shropshire, Staffordshire, Cheshire; GRO birth/death indexes; Lancashire OPC site; GENUKI; Find A Grave / Billion Graves; Google + Google Books/Images; Internet Archive; Hathi Trust; plus the big genie/newspaper/map websites.
Sharn: My Phillimore’s Atlas and Index of Parishes is an all time go to book. I always have it handy
ANZ: It’s been a research bible for years hasn’t it? Do you find yourself defaulting to a book rather than search online?
SOPs: For English ancestors and people in my #OneNameStudy and #OnePlaceStudy, primarily BMD indexes/records, parish registers, censuses, wills, military records, newspapers, county archive catalogues, MI records.
Jane: I use the Lancashire Online Parish Clerks quite a lot … lan-opc.org.uk
Maggie: I’ve done the Higher Cert through @TheIHGS which gave me a wonderful grounding for researching my English ancestors, plus some @PharosTutors courses. Useful books: Herber’s Ancestral Trails, plus all the Gibson guides.
Sandra: I did a pharos’ course once a very long time ago – but not sure how useful it was at the time, maybe might be better to do one now that I have more experience. I don’t have that many books on English research – google does it for me if I don’t know something
Pauline: Books: The National Archives (Colwell), Hertfordshire Muster Rolls, Hertfordshire Icknield Way, Tracing your family history in Herts (HALS), Hertfordshire Brewers, Tracing your northern Ancestors, Behind the Plough (Agar). journals and local history books
Hilary: Check out the local societies use GENUKI or Family Search Wiki many have websites or Facebook groups local knowledge is worth its weight
Tara: Any local FHS I’ve contacted has been helpful. I’ve an old copy of Ancestral Trails, which I found useful in the beginning (many sources mentioned are now online). But I’ve also got texts on Equity Courts and Title Deeds – more specialist/rarely used, even now
Sharn: Using Essex Archives online I took a branch of family back to the early 1500’s a few years ago! They were ahead of their time
Fran: Cousin and I found loads of interesting rental archives, real estate and rent records there. The turn around to get documents was fast too.
Sandra: I think they are the only ones that have the full parish registers on line (not just an index)
Shauna: always look for the family history society website for your county or research – they can be so helpful and often resources are online too
SOPs: I have visited TNA plus county archives for Northamptonshire, Shropshire and Staffordshire, all of which were very helpful. Online catalogues with good descriptions have also helped enormously, Shropshire Archives’ in particular for me.
Fran: Walking in the footsteps of your ancestors is so important!!!
Pauleen: We all need time, more time…and more money for travel and accommodation!
Helen: I wondered about the climate thing when I was in Cornwall June 2017. Stood in front of my ancestors’ house on Marine Terrace, the Prom, Penzance – why would they ever leave somewhere so beautiful, overlooking Mount’s Bay. Winter was the answer!
Jenny: my Rich branch came from Bristol in 1858 chasing gold, Cordeaux from Yorkshire was in Commissariat in 1817, his future wife came from London with her brother in 1815 who was the 1st non convict govt appointed solicitor
SOPs: In the main it seems people in my family tree, one-name study or #OnePlaceStudy who left England did so for better employment/farming opportunities, or sometimes to make a fresh start after bankruptcy proceedings.
Margaret: My guess it was to have a better life – and they certainly did. Left Kent in 1839 and ended up owning a large house and lots of land in the Hutt. Difficult times at first as the first settlers, but they succeeded
Sharn: My two times great grandmother left England after her husband died. I don’t know what brought her here with her 10 year old son in 1860
Tara: One of my more colourful ancestors entered ministry, then joined up (WW1) and then was sent to minister in Kentucky, where he discovered jazz 🙂
Sharn: I had English ancestors who migrated to NZ as Albertlanders in 1862. Albertland was a non-conformist settlement
Jane: One or two transportees and others presumably looking for a better life. One family went to Australia because they already had relatives there and ended up looking for gold in Bendigo
Pauleen: It seems my Kent family may have left due to bankruptcy with their pub ownership plus opportunities for the family.
Jennifer: This is the big question I’d like answered. My 2 x great grandfather supposedly jumped ship in SA. He left a wife in England and married here so there’s questions around that.
Shauna: no nothing specific but I can see those from Cornwall would be looking for employment, better climate while those from the Black Country of the English midlands would want to get away from the smoke and grime
Sharn: I have been researching English ancestors who established patterns of county hopping to marry. I’ve found patterns of generations of this so now know to look over the border for missing persons
This week #ANZAncestryTime chat looked at Family Tree software and online tree services.
For your main family tree, what software or online tree service do you use and why?
What other software or online tree services do you use or have used for your family tree and why?
What important features or functionality do you look for when choosing a home for your main family tree?
Do you prefer a program that interacts with online services such as FamilySearch, Ancestry, etc?
Some participants have their main tree offline on their home computers, but might have a basic pedigree type tree on online websites. But if they have DNA tested they have a well built tree on the site where they tested as well as a GEDCOM uploaded on other sites where they have also uploaded their raw DNA data.
Main online websites for creating and/or uploading trees: Ancestry, MyHeritage, FindMyPast, FamilySearch, WikiTree, Family Tree DNA
Offline family history software: Family Historian, Legacy, Family Tree Maker, RootsMagic,
Allie: Offline I use Family Historian, having tried out a few different ones. I have bits of my tree online, as a back up of sorts and to take advantage of record hints, but they are all private. Also have part of my tree publicly on WikiTree.
Maggie: I use Family Historian, but really only for generating large charts. I should spend a bit more time getting to grips with it.
Allie: Tbh I tend to put my research mainly into documents rather than the software, but it’s useful for quick reference and producing gedcoms. I probably don’t use a tenth of the features.
Pauleen: Ah, another narrative person 🙂
Allie: Definitely! I use a combination of text, timelines and tables depending on what I’m researching, I find it a much clearer way of recording the info as I go and easier to pick up again when I come back. Gedcoms are more of a quick reference tool for me.
Pauleen: Strange as it may seem I really don’t like FH software much except for the basic genealogy descendancy. The software makes me feel boxed in and I prefer narrative and using spreadsheets etc as tools. DNA, on the other hand, necessitates using a tree.
Michelle: I use the Person Notes space in FTM to write a biographical narrative and the Research Notes space for thoughts observations, questions, hypotheses etc Combined with timeline view and task list it keeps me on track even if I have a break from it 🙂
Michelle: It is much easier to find errors and do data cleanup in the offline tree and then I can just push the changes to my online tree. So much better for consistency.
Michelle: I like my offline tree for confidentiality, to keep sensitive information private and to store images/documents that are subject to copyright. I like the online tree for DNA matches, collaboration. I prefer offline tree for ability to group, filter and colour code people, generate reports, find errors and do database cleanup, see linkages between people by location. Lots of power that the online sites don’t have.
ANZ: Sometimes it’s best to stay with what you know. It’s so time consuming to learn a new program entirely I’ve found
Hilary: I am trying to update my file with better sourcing so trying to figure out how best to do it before I add too much not quite there yet
Michelle: It is definitely worth doing. I restarted my tree a couple of times in RootsMagic as I learnt more about how it handled citations and decided I wanted to change how I had set them up.
There was quite a bit of discussion about how to add weblinks to Ancestry so you can extend the story with other sources than those provided by Ancestry.
Dara: I do that occasionally too, though not consistently. Must get better at it !
Sue: I try to research one person at a time and after putting in basics look for newspapers etc and include links straight away before I forget. Do that with library clients as well so they get whole story.
Jennifer: There is so much I need to learn about Ancestry. I don’t spend much time there at the moment mainly due to the dreaded time issues
Sue: Also add Trove article URLs to same place as web links
Jane: I sometimes add links to images of a record from FindMyPast where Ancestry has the record but not the image
Sue: I add those weblinks so anyone checking the profile of person they are researching known I have done lots of research on my own not just relying on Ancestry hints.
Jennifer: I’m using Legacy and their Timelines work well. The early FTM had great time lines. I haven’t used the later versions so unsure
Dara: I started with Legacy, easy to use. Now I use Ancestry as my main ‘tree’, but I don’t usually attach sources. I save them down in my ‘filing system’, which acts as my pedigree chart.
Jane: I do tend to work in Ancestry and sync to Family Tree Maker rather than vice versa. I should take some time to learn to use FTM more proficiently rather than just using it as a syncing and merging tool
Pauleen: One reason for choosing RootsMagic was its online links. However I don’t load my tree from there to Ancestry etc. I don’t load sources found elsewhere into Ancestry, just the ones on their site. I prefer to keep my sources and data separate to my software.
Hilary: I prefer a standalone desktop program as less risk of introducing errors. My software has good matching capability which is one of the reasons I like it
Jane: Sometimes it gets to the point where the additional trees at places like GEDmatch etc. are best taken down and a new more up-to-date GEDcom uploaded from your main tree
Hilary: I love @WikiTreers as it allows a narrative and photographs to be added that I have control over so is main place for my online tree I can also add links to blogposts
Jennifer: I keep saying that I must check out wikitree. Time always seems to get in the way, but I’m putting it at the top of that ever growing list
Fran: Yes the online trees are great if you are sharing / collaborating with family in distant places.
Fran: Ancestry has got us more entwined with trees and DNA as we get more matches.
Sue: I only put public tree on Ancestry when I was doing DNA, prior to that, kept on my computer and rellies could request charts etc especially as they had helped with data at family reunions
Sue: Where is everyone else? on Ancestry, also where I have DNA tested lots of rellies, great hints, ability to add sources and weblinks as well as add to a timeline. Great support help area
Allie: Ease of use. I like software that is easy to navigate and fairly intuitive/WYSIWYG. I’m not going to be using it much for anything other than producing gedcoms & recording sources, so lots of extras like reports, charts and maps aren’t that important to me.
Maggie: I look for ease of use, good search facility, reporting features. Plus good support from company.
Jennifer: I was drawn to Legacy because of their sources capability. It took me ages to get my head around how to use it. When I was almost about to give up I figured it out and know that I made the right choice for me.
Margaret: I was talking about merging FamilySearch entries within the Legacy FamilySearch box as against going to the website and doing it. Merge in Legacy is easy.
Pauleen: Confidentiality, compatibility with online databases and especially flexibility in relationships. Same sex marriages, pre-marriage childbirth, divorce and separation are part of many families
ANZ: I tried out the My Heritage app recently and liked it. I use family search and Ancestry apps regularly
Fran: I also use Family Tree Maker with it linked to Ancestry and Family Search. It’s linked to various persons DNA i manage. Plus I save Ancestry sources I find – good when I do not have time to source immediately. Risky however better than not saving them at all.
Jane: I used to use Legacy years ago and really liked using it but in recent times I have switched to Family Tree Maker because of the way it syncs with Ancestry. My Ancestry tree has a very broad base with lots of DNA matches connected
Fran: Moved back to Reunion when the app came out. Like having everything on my ipad when I go away. Before I used to duplicate all the sources on Evernote with digital images so needed the paid version. Evernote had a big price increase so it cemented the change.
Maggie: Use Heredis for some of its reporting features, plus Family Historian for when I want to print large family trees. Use online private unsearchable trees on Ancestry for figuring out DNA matches. Plan to put a basic tree up on Findmypast.
ANZ: I found Legacy really difficult for a while. While in lockdown I decided to learn it properly instead of just trying to wing it. I love it now that I know what I’m doing
Jane: Main tree on Ancestry synced with Family Tree Maker on laptop. Smaller direct line tree in a few other places e.g., FindMyPast, MyHeritage …
Sue: I have main tree on Ancestry but basic trees for DNA mainly on MyHeritage, Family Search, FTDNA. Often just pedigree trees then as match made, add to the tree
Margaret: A lot of my work is added to @wikitree. I spend a lot of time correcting entries on FamilySearch. So I have trees there as part of the global trees
Jennifer: I have a basic outline of my tree online at @Ancestry and @FamilySearch mainly for the hints and as cousin bait. I do it because I know I should, not really because I want to
Margaret: I use Legacy for all my many trees offline. It syncs to FamilySearch. I load Gedcoms elsewhere. I contribute to my nephew’s research tree on Ancestry (back that up to my computer)
Sandra: I use RootsMagic for my offline tree because it’s simple and easy to use and reasonably priced. I have 2 trees on Ancestry, one is for DNA matches and one for general research.
Hilary: I have my own database that can’t be altered by others on my computer but find collaborative sites good for cousin connections
Fran: for my main tree I use Reunion on my Mac. It suits my lazy sourcing, images collections, transcripts and more. It is not connected to any online service so is a secure as my computer
Pauleen: When so many people had my tree online I defaulted and made mine public on Ancestry. I find it useful as a reference and as a way for people to see how my DNA links. I use RootsMagic offline which can sync with Ancestry.
Sue: I used to have The Master Genealogist but since it is not updated I moved it all to both Ancestry (Online) and Legacy (on my laptop) I add to the one on Ancestry more than Legacy
Readers: How do you keep a record of your research? Do you have it online or solely offline?
#ANZAncestryTime chat was discussing pros and cons of the big four companies related to genealogy. This post will separate each of them.
Paul Chiddicks writes for Family Tree Magazine and has written a post including links to all his articles. Many of these relate to the big four companies and how to get the most out of them.
Hilary also reminds us: Whatever we think about the online databases there is so much more hidden in our archives
Pauleen: I think the biggest weakness that comes from the digital records on the genie giants, is that inexperienced researchers haven’t learned to assess what they’ve found. Too easy to just accept what you’ve found. More a user weakness than that of the giants.
Alison: Definitely a lack of education or even an awareness that at least some informal training is necessary to make the best use of the resources out there.
ANZ: I see this so often. The word research has a different meaning to many I find. Sometimes it’s a matter of ‘if it’s on the internet then it’s true’ or seems to be that way
Pauleen: And if it’s on the internet it’s mine to use – ignore copyright. I find this every single time I talk about writing family history. Those who don’t want to know, turn listening ears off and arguing voices on.
Fran mentions: Their size means they can source data that smaller companies cannot afford to purchase. I feel a weakness of the paid sites is the cost. It is really expensive to have all three. Gradually more sites seem to be offering Monthly fees.
Pauleen gives us: Weaknesses: yes, it’s been said a bazillion times. A chromosome browser in Ancestry would be gold. MyHeritage- a less clunky search process would be good. FindMyPast has become less user friendly not more so, IMO.
Pauleen: Using digitised sources through all the genie giants has made research easy and almost too speedy. I kind of liked the slow genealogy of doing it in archives etc. But it is easier sitting at home in pyjamas.
Carmel: photo enhancements on MyHeritage, comprehensive collections on FamilySearch Irish collections on FMP and hints on Ancestry
Maggie: Loving the updated address search on @findmypast! And the newspaper collection is fab. On Ancestry I like the tree building features and DNA; FamilySearch – their wiki is brilliant; MyHeritage – chromosome browser.
Sue: I use all of them: FMP for British records, Ancestry for my tree and hints, FamilySearch to check what others might have as family members, MyHeritage for DNA stuff
Sharn: Each site has different merits. Ancestry.com gives me access to German records while FMP has better English records. I prefer to use the search method rather than using hints.
Karen: I’ve loved being able to connect with family members on @Ancestry. Have learnt a lot. My grandmother didn’t know her father, so that whole line was new to us. Weaknesses are in the duplication of data and also very many errors.
Sharn: I find I get most of my DNA matches on Ancestry.com although I have tested with 5 companies
Jane: That reflects the relative sizes of the databases, I expect. Despite lower numbers in other databases, I have some very good matches in them as well as on Ancestry.
Pauleen: And I have some from one branch in 23andMe that appear nowhere else. Kind of mystifies me because it’s not so popular in Oz.
Margaret: Ancestry needs to let you see shared matches below 20cM. As most of my matches are in that group, it is a slow process finding people. And a chromosome browser.
Margaret: I have totally run out of colours. I now use symbols in the notes as well for the large groups that I cannot identify. The generations are so long in my family I am into the 1700s for 2xggparents
Sharn: Yes Ancestry definitely needs a larger colour palette for coding!
Paul: they all have their own good points and bad points and a lot will depend on the areas that your ancestors lived as to the availability of the records you need. I prefer Ancestry simply because it syncs with my FTM software
Sharn: I think the biggest strength for Ancestry is its huge database and number of users. And a great place to find family photos!
Helen: I’d forgotten that Sharn. Yes, I’ve found terrific photos for other people I’ve researched (not family) through @Ancestry (in my past working life) connected with family of research subjects & secured permission to use their photos womenaustralia.info/exhib/widows/d…
Sharn: My first ever online discovery was back when Ancestry was fairly new and I found the passenger record for my Swiss g g grandparents to Maryborough. I joined Ancestry to find no other Australian records until later
ANZ: I didn’t find much on my Australian family in the early days of Ancestry so stayed away from it for a while. I consider it essential now, especially for DNA and exposure for my trees
Margaret: Ancestry has given me family members through DNA matching, but always with the help of several other sites.
Jennifer: Certificates and other documents on Ancestry are a great resource. I need to find time to pay it forward and upload mine
Pauleen: Technically those images are copyright to the specific BDM agency…check the small print on the document. Hence why I don’t upload mine.
Sue: That’s why I add the web link to the document for relatives to check out themselves
Fran: I like the electoral rolls on Ancestry as it is easy since my tree has grown in size so I have more to check and trips to NZ are non-existent for me currently. Looking them up at Archives in Wellington was always interesting before Ancestry got them.
Sharn: Two years ago I was an advertisement for Ancestry.com after having my photo taken at RootsTech with a sign saying “My great Uncle was a Spy” with regard to a discovery
Margaret: I use Ancestry for its records in the Card Catalogue. It has the NZ Electoral Rolls which I use often. I use this site the most for DNA matching, but need many more groups.
Sue: on Ancestry, DNA match to positively identify surname of my paternal grandfather then within hours have lines back to 1700s – great discovery
Helen: I love the public member trees on @Ancestry, sure some are way off but others can help, you can help others and connect with potential family
Pauleen: Ancestry has a diverse range of research options and I find it easy to store an online tree there. Also very good for DNA and I like the grouping options. And yes a chromosome browser is wish list.
Jennifer: I love the hints on Ancestry. They can be a starting point for research. I always validate them before adding to my tree or discount them altogether
Margaret: FamilySearch is very difficult to find anything on through a general search. No matter how much you try to limit the search, it does not work. Looking in the specific records is better.
Fran: Agreeing with you again. I mostly search via the catalogue rather than a general search.
Pauleen: And using keywords can be more helpful than place especially with Irish townlands.
Sharn: Familysearch gives you an excellent opportunity to transcribe records and you can choose which ones you want to do.
Pauleen: A strength of Family Search is its training opportunities for researchers eg wikis, videos and similar.
Carmel: best finds two gt grandfathers wills on FamilySearch
Margaret: FamilySearch gives me the probate records which are very useful.
Fran: Greatest discovery – siblings on the passenger @FamilySearch records for my Great GrandMother, Amelia Bretel. Discovered the migration date & she had siblings. Or does she? I cannot find them in the Channel Islands in the same household. Might be cousins?
Pauleen: Any discovery is a great discovery! I like how DNA matching has confirmed previously hypothesised cousin links. Digitised records showing you the original documents. Loved trawling #FamilySearch microfilms – apart from my eyesight.
Pauleen: Family Search is one I use less than I used to. If I had fewer paid subs I’d use it more often. It was gold when I started and could borrow in microfilms so I’ve done a lot of research through those.
Helen: I have gone through phases with FamilySearch too Pauleen. I find the search irritating, but its fuzziness in results is really helpful, better than some of the others
Margaret: My Legacy software syncs to FamilySearch which is useful when I am building quick trees to find missing fathers or grandfathers. I use it to find some records from there and @WikiTreers , but the search method is poor.
Hilary: I like building families at Family Search and like that they give citations for records
Jennifer: I don’t have European ancestors so haven’t used MyHeritage. Though I did love the photo enhancer that I tried out during Rootstech
Pauleen: MyHeritage has good trees for European families and I like their DNA analysis tools, cluster and chromosome browser. Their search facility is clunky.
Jane: There is power in working across the databases and cross referencing data
Pauleen: Absolutely! But you need to “get” that the opportunity to do so exists and that you might learn something different/new
Carmel: biggest problem, one has to pay to keep a tree of more than 250 people there, and it requires another subscription for the data as well as the tree
Hilary: My Heritage is known for its search engine and photo enhancing tools Good for European research
Margaret: MyHeritage is NOT my favourite tonight having got another nonsensical ToFR equating my grandfather’s father to a different person. And my 2xggmother with a totally different name in the next one. Why can’t I reject them!! And that there are no sources for profiles on trees. I don’t use it very much although I have at present got a sub.
Pauleen: You’ve reminded me of a weakness of MH Margaret. I should turn off notifications because my inbox gets flooded.
Margaret: Although the chromosome browser in MyHeritage is useful, it is clumsy and slow to use. I download the results and sort them instead!
Hilary: The strength of #findmypast is the UK records 1939 register updates Newspapers and next year 1921 census in UK
Margaret: I haven’t yet had a subscription to Find My Past but do use them for many searches. I use the free 1881 Census there. I plan to have a sub once I have cleared my life of other urgent tasks
Helen: Lots to love about @findmypast and UK censuses, adding in a birthplace to optional keywords rather than location, helps with the waifs and strays
Helen: @findmypast, ability to sort your search results is AWESOME, means you can broaden search then sort in a number of helpful ways
Pauleen: FindMyPast is my favourite for Irish research because of its range of sources. It also has more focus on UK based offerings.
Margaret: I have so many – FTDNA, Scotlands People, IrishGenealogy, Internet Archive, Online Genealogic Index, papers Past, Trove, BDM , FreeCen Reg, BMD, Archway and Google (and others I am sure). And many Facebook Groups.
Paul: I would also add that joining various online forums can be a great help, although not obviously genealogy research sites, forums are packed full of experts in their own fields and can be invaluable
Helen: If doing Cornish research the wonderful @CornwallOPCs Being able to focus exclusively on Cornwall without all the noise. Sorting features. Person search over all databases. Easy ability to correct transcription errors. cornwall-opc-database.org
ANZ: Facebook pages and groups for help with research. Especially for help translating foreign records
Jennifer: Many years ago, I found letters my gg grandfather wrote home to England on Royal Historical Society of Victoria website. Lots of unexpected info there for Victorian research.
Hilary: as I am updating my tree @WikiTreers I use the research function to search but mostly the Big 3 as others not on the automatic search
Jane: I have had a good response rate from my matches on Living DNA … Yes progress on the site has been slow 🐌 but sometimes slow and steady 🐢 wins the race
ANZ: newspaper sites like Trove, PapersPast and The British Newspaper Archives are invaluable for finding details you won’t find elsewhere and adding context to your family stories
Fran: My top 4 go to sites are PapersPast in NZ, more recently the NZSG site as I finally joined up, Ancestry and NZ BDM. Sticking to the basics as my tree is still in the immature stage with plenty of room to grown if fertilised correctly.
Maggie: I use The Genealogist occasionally for their tithe records, and RootsIreland for parish register index/transcriptions.
Hilary: as I don’t use My Heritage I would say the others I use are GRO, FreeUKGen all 3 of them are great and some OPC sites mainly Dorset but others do exist Find A Will and National Archive
Sue: As my family history since 1830 is mainly in Tasmania, my first go to is Tasmanian Names Index at Libraries Tasmania – all free and includes BDMs, wills, arrival departures, convicts, some employment, welfare records etc
Jennifer: Scottish Indexes for Scottish research and Trove
Pauleen: My personal genealogy giants include Trove (could not live without it – it’s been a game changer), ScotlandsPeople for Scottish research; irishgenealogy.ie and registers.nli.ie for Irish research
Margaret: You have left out @WikiTreers which is the site I use for my and my husbands’ trees. I like the way I can write stories supported by sources. And leave a legacy for those who come after me
Sophie: Crowdsourcing research will always need good guidelines which users stick to, I think WT has a good approach and from what I’ve seen, a v supportive community
Margaret: The quality is hugely variable. My cousin writes research-type biographies. I’m not quite as good but include as much as I can. Others write nothing except birth and death year. Quantity is applauded over quality.
Sophie: Yes, the biggest challenge comes with validation when you have such a huge undertaking. I know of some users who put a great deal of time into the quality of their WT research, though the big question is how to incentivise quality across a big community
Ryan: I love WikiTree’s mechanics. If there were a genealogy desktop software program that let you do sources and citations like you can with WT’s inline system, I’d use that.
Paul: agree with Margaret and @ScientistSoph@WikiTreers is another great place to share your tree, I have started uploading my biographies on there this year
Helen: I would say my biggest discoveries have all come through a combination of @TroveAustralia newspapers feeding into hardcore on the ground archival research in repositories
ANZ: When researching I usually have Find A Grave, Ancestry and FMP open. If it’s Scottish research then also Scotlands People
Hilary: My best most recent find was not from any of the Big Four but through finding maiden name on GRO website
Helen: Yes, agree Hilary. The GRO comes into its own, especially for inclusivity of children born/died between censuses because of that wonderful addition of mother’s maiden name
Hilary: I often use other sites first for UK research to find things then look at paid site for an image
