ancestry

I have used a few genealogy sites and have gone back to Ancestry. While I am not a huge fan of the new format it still is miles better than the 2 other online services I tried. Ancestry also has the most records of any service I tried.

Public family trees have been really useful. I recommend to everyone make your tree public as it allows for easier collaboration. 

Just remember that any photo you do upload becomes public domain.

I plan on trying out Ancestry's DNA testing soon. It looks interesting and I am curious to find out what other ancestors have been hiding in my background.

While I was putting in the information for my family tree on Ancestry I notice that it pulled information from other users family trees. 

The problem is a lot of the information from the one family tree from a certain user was incorrect. I am not sure if the information was not verified or what. The info was from my immediate family so I know what was correct so I contacted the person requesting they make the changes. I did not hear back from the person at all and Ancestry apparently can not do anything about it to correct the tree. So the information will remain and the pictures will be for the wrong person.

I continue to use the Ancestry site as it does offer a lot. Just be careful of some users information for their family trees as it may be incorrect and if they are not currently using Ancestry there is nothing you can do to correct it. The government documents Ancestry offers is where they shine and make it well worth the subscription.

I did the DNA kit from Ancestry at first. It was interesting to find the percentages of where you come from in the world. Not sure how accurate it is as I am almost positive we have some Native American in our background on my Father's side from way back. I even have diary entries about it from my great grandparents along with the stories from my grandparents when I was young.

Besides that I really like the online Ancestry website. It is really detailed and easy to use.  I have already created a large family tree and even found someone else in the community who has created their own tree that works into mine only a few generations back. Searching for all the records is also unreal. It's amazing at all the information that is available.

I have used Ancestry for a while now creating my family tree. I really like the website and researching my family history has been a rewarding experience.

The problem I have is with the DNA part of Ancestry. All I have had is problems. I ordered my DNA kit in October. Ancestry said 6 to 8 weeks until you get your results. I received the kit in October and received an email confirmation late October that it was activated. I then received another email early November which explained "we’ve received your DNA" and it would be 6 to 8 weeks to get my results. Then late in November another email which said "Your DNA is now in lab processing. And it will be 6 to 8 weeks to get results." Then finally another email mid December explaining:

"Action required - we need a new DNA sample. Unfortunately, after multiple attempts, we were unable to use the sample you sent to AncestryDNA. This can be resolved by submitting a new one. Just click the button below, and we'll send you a free replacement test." 

I am not sure why Ancestry would not just email me a new DNA testing kit. They waiting so long to tell me the sample is not good. It's almost been 3 months now. Now I have to start over and after calling customer support they told me it would be another 10 days before I received the new kit. Why so long they should be able to ship it faster? Plus, now I have to wait another 6 to 8 weeks before my new DNA sample will be processed. I asked for my money back and they told me no refunds after 30 days. That is crap and very bad business especially since I subscribe to Ancestry.com. I am going to call back and ask for a manager. If I don't get my money back I am going to cancel my subscription to their website.

I did really try to like the new Ancestry website but I still much prefer the old one. I find the new one too cluttered. I feel that they are catering more to new customers than those of us who have been around for a few years.

I have emailed customer support several times about the changes and "improvements" without much luck. I find the new site much slower than the classic one and it doesn't always seem to work. I find myself always refreshing my webpage.

I plan to give Ancestry another year and if things haven't been fixed then I am going to try and find something else. I really love the community at Ancestry and the features they offer but if at the current stage if feels like it takes me twice as long to do things as before. 

Please, please fix things Ancestry!