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1837online

Cyndi's List   

http://www.cyndislist.com
Cyndi Howell and her husband deserve a tremendous vote of thanks for providing this link service freely. They also have to be admired for their tenacity in continuing to routinely, albeit slowly, service the list. I would imagine that the commitment of time and resources in maintaining a website of its' size and complexity could easily become overwhelming.

Cyndi's List was one of the first internet sites to organize links specifically for use by genealogists. To this day, the list can serve a valuable function as a direction post for many researchers. I also refer many newbies to Cyndi's List 'county pages' for a quick start - quick access to relevant sites. However, as one becomes more sophisticated in their search this link site becomes less and less important as a primary launching pad. Yet, ironically, the more sophisticated one becomes in their search, the more that researcher needs to review some of Cyndi's List undiscovered regions.

The first issue that needs to be addressed concerning Cyndi's List is its' complexity. It appears to be well organized along a hierarchical structure with a main index linking through to individual country pages,which, in turn, link through to individual county, provincial or state pages. However, the clean structure soon starts to degrade as one selects one of the four types of index listings. One may or may not discover that the treatment of a listing differs on most of the individual indices. For example, the manner in which a particular country is listed differs on each of the "Main", "No Frills", "Text Only", "Alphabetical" and "Topical" indices. Really, in all honesty, after giving Cyndi's List a thorough run, I can see where Cyndi's site would benefit from the merger of, at least, two of her four index listings.

The "Main" Index is the primary gateway to pages concerning individual countries. Be aware, though, that if you are searching on this index for a link to a country such as Hungary or Estonia that such a country may have been included in either the Eastern or Western Europe listings. The links to Eastern Europe and Western Europe are not indexed consistently. Where Western European countries have been specified under that heading, those countries that have been included under the heading of Eastern Europe have not been specified. This would leave a newbie in a considerable quandry if he or she were searching for a link to Hungary, for instance.

The "Main" Index and the "No Frills" Index are essentially identical in content. The "No Frills" Index is simply the "Main" Index listing minus the graphics and fancy headers. Any differences in link listing are inconsequential. Considering that Cyndi's List also produces a "Text Only" Index I feel that the "No Frills" Index is quite pointless. One point I would make, though, in comparing the "No Frills" Index to the "Text Only" Index is that on the "Text Only" Index neither the listing for Eastern Europe nor the listing for Western Europe specifies the countries that are included in each region. Furthermore, the "No Frills" Index cannot be accessed from the "Text Only" Index. I believe that if the "No Frills" Index and the "Text Only" Index were merged into one index and all individual country links were specified on the newly merged list as well as on the "Main" Index, Cyndi's List would immediately step towards becoming much more user-friendly.

Similarly, I believe that the "Alphabetical" Index and the "Topical" Index lists could be merged. The "Alphabetical" Index list includes geographical and non-geographical links together. Both types of topics are organized under their respective letter of the alphabet. For example, Aberdeenshire is listed under "A" for Aberdeenshire and under "S" for Scotland. The "H" list includes links to heraldry, Herefordshire, Hertfordshire, Hit a brick wall?, Homesteads, Huguenot, Hungary, et cetera. One could easily see something of interest in this list that may be overlooked on the "Topical" Index simply because one did not think to look on both indices for a particular topic.

The "Topical" Index is organized by generalized categories, e.g. Disasters, Ethnic Groups and People, Events and Activities, Immigration, Localities, Religions, Records, Research Tools, et cetera. The treatment of geographical places is likewise generalized. Using the earlier example of Aberdeenshire, that county is not listed under Localities - only Scotland is listed. The individual counties of Scotland are listed only under the listing of United Kingdom. Very confusing! Generally, the categories on this index could be easily merged into the "Alphabetical" Index by simply providing a link under the alpha character for a particular broader topic. For example, Disasters, rather than all disasters being listed on the "Topical" Index, could be listed on the "Alphabetical" Index under the letter "D". That link would then progress through to a separate page that sets out links to specific types of disasters and so forth.

After my in-depth tour I would suggest that researchers stick with two indexes only:

• Alphabetical Index for links to place-specific information, and



• Topical Index for links to all other types of information

Problematic, too, in Cyndi's List are the links from her page to independent websites. Websites are assembled, removed and ferried from server-to-server faster than one can write their own name. Cyndi's List has grown to such a size and complexity that much lag time exists between the premier of a new website and the link to that site actually making it on to Cyndi's List pages. Lag time also occurs between the removal of a website or switch to a new URL (uniform resource locater) of a website. Most independent website owners do not take the time to inform any linkers of their demise. Neither are they likely to inform any linkers of a switch of domains or ISPs (internet service providers). Favourite links that were initially found on Cyndi's List have long since been bookmarked or added to favourites' lists. Fresh links to debut websites and otherwise relatively new resources are found on more popular and frequently-visited websites and mailing lists. Alternative link pages, for example Genuki and GenWebs, which have a more focused relevance - translate this to mean 'quick-access-to-hard-data' - to a search are found, bookmarked and quickly override the links found in Cyndi's List pages.

As researchers continually return to favourite websites they are alerted to changes to that site, including removal, updates and any changes in the URL (uniform resource locator). Little wonder, then, that a proportion of the links found throughout the pages of Cyndi's List will be defunct. This is not a problem that is unique to Cyndi's List. This is a net-wide problem and defunct links will be found on just about every site. However, I believe that if Cyndi's List were rationalized by the merger of several indices as described above at least some of the current link-maintenance lag time would be dramatically reduced.

Genuki
             

Watch this space.

Gen Webs
             

Watch this space.

Kent Archaeological Society   
             

http://www.kentarchaeology.org.uk/Research/research.htm
This review, does not include a review of the new website of the Kent Archaelogical Society, which can be found at http://www.kentarchaeology.ac.

Ted Connell, the fellow who instituted this website, had a vision of what an archaeological county website should contain. What an outstanding service he has performed in producing the KAS research website. If you have ancestry in Kent, England prior to 1900 you definitely need to have this website amongst your bookmarks or in your 'favourites' folder.

A tremendous debt of thanks must go to Ted and the volunteers who have donated their time in transcribing and preparing the society's research material for the internet. Although the society would like to convert each and every user of its' website to a KAS member or purchaser of their publications, the society has graciously kept the information on this site entirely free to access and to use. There are no hidden gimmicks and no hidden fees here.

The KAS website contains hard data in the form of transcripts and extracts of church and churchyard monumental inscriptions, a resource that is very difficult for a non-Uk situated researcher to access; mediaeval and Tudor Wills from the Prerogative Court of Canterbury (P.C.C.)and the Consistory Court of Canterbury (C.C.C.); the 1334/5 Kent Lay Subsidy; tithe commutation awards, which were carried out during the period of the 1830s through the 1840s; many photographs of churches and churchyards throughout Kent; and, a gazetteer of place names from the 1905-08 6" ordnance survey arranged by place name and by parish.

The largest undertaking on this site is the move by the volunteers towards transcribing or digitizing, for the internet, the hundreds of historic volumes that were published by the society commencing back in 1858. There are a number of articles already on site. Bear in mind that this is an 'archaelogical' society. Consequently, the articles that have appeared in the journals are primarily concerned with ancient artifacts found at archaeological digs. However, all good archaelogical societies do not overlook the fact that family papers and collections also constitute historically valuable items and such is the case, here.

Although there is no search facility directly on this site, instructions can be found by clicking on the link to Churchyard M.I.s. On that page will be found another link at the top of the page, highlighted in yellow, that will demonstrate how to use "Google" to search just the KAS research website. This search facility, although awkward, does work quite well and shouldn't be dismissed without a trial. The search also works for searching the journal publications and the Wills collection. Simply substitute "/Research/Pub/ArchCant/" or "/Research/Libr/Wills/" for the "/Research/Libr/MIs/" portion of the search syntax before the surname. The home page could be more aesthetically pleasing but, as it stands, each link on the home page goes directly to an index page for the resources listed. It's highly functional and that is just what a genealogy research site should be!

To determine what has been added, recently, to a particular section of the KAS website, check at the top of the index page for that section for a little one-word link called "Updated". Next to that link will be the date of the last uploads to the internet. Clicking on that link will take one to a listing at the bottom of that page that sets out precisely what was added during the last upload. Again, I appreciate that this list is accessible via a very fast, simple, yet, functional facility.

Personally, I visit the KAS website once per week and check all of the "Updated" links. Now that this site is entering a more mature phase of development, one may have to wait several months before a new MI, Will, journal article or tithe communtation award appears that holds relevant interest. However, we have to remember that this site is fed solely by volunteers and, so, we must be patient. If you have Kent ancestors you just cannot do without making repeat visits to this site. If you are considering setting up a County archaeological society website I highly recommend adopting this model. A hearty and well-deserved "Well done" to Ted and his volunteers! And, on behalf of Kent ancestry seekers everywhere, I thank you for the dedication and vision you have demonstrated in producing and maintaining the KAS research library.

Kent Genealogy   
             

http://freepages.genealogy.rootsweb.com/~mrawson/
Maureen Rawson had a vision of an English county website - the types of information it should contain, how it should be structured, and how it should be presented to the world. What an outstanding job and service Maureen has performed in producing the Kent Genealogy website. I urge anyone with Kent, England ancestry to "get thee hence" to Maureen's website and bookmark it immediately.

The icing on the website cookie, though, is that this site is entirely free to access and to use. Here, you will find no hidden gimmicks, no hidden fees and no hidden agendas to sell you anything, except that which comes by way of pop-ups from Rootsweb.

The Kent Genealogy site contains hard data in the form of transcripts and extracts - census, parish registers, directories, tax rolls, voter's polls, County quarter sessions, prisoner indices, apprenticeships, settlements, removals, illegitimacy examinations and more. The crowning achievement comes by way of transcripts and extracts of close to 1,400 Kentish Wills. A Pico search facility has also been added so that the entire site can be quickly searched from one entry box.

Contributions to this site have come from many individuals. Maureen, as well, has diligently and dedicatedly contributed many Maidstone-focused and other resources. Links have also been included to Kent local (village, town, city) websites and to independent family websites that have Kent ancestors.

Maureen keeps this site fresh and active. I visit the "What's New" section at least once per week to catch up on the additions. If you have Kent ancestors you just cannot do without making repeat visits to this site. If you are considering setting up a County-based website I highly recommend adopting the model that Maureen has produced. Well done, Maureen! And, on behalf of Kent ancestry seekers everywhere, I thank you for the dedication and vision you have demonstrated in producing and maintaining Kent Genealogy.

Scotland's People   
             

http://www.scotlandspeople.gov.uk
High marks to Scotlands' People for bringing together all of the first-stop resources that should be used in Scottish genealogy research! The content is brilliant! Portions of the technical offerings are brilliant! The cost of accessing images on the site is well within reason and must be commended and in this respect, evidently, the purveyors of Scotlands People have rightly determined that if the cost of images is kept reasonable, more profit, in the long-term, will be realized. However, this website has lost one full point, with me, solely on a few, but important, technical deficiencies.

The first difficulty with this site is its' awkward navigation system. Trying to locate a list of databases offered on the site can be a long process and a first-time visitor may be tempted to give up easily. To find the list of databases it is necessary to click, first, on the "About this Site" or "Find out more" links, which are located in the yellow sidebar at the left of the page. Next, on either of those two pages, it is necessary to click on the "What's in the Database" link, which is located in the sidebar on the right-hand side of the page. Puts me somewhat in the mind of remembering a lock combination - left one or two clicks, then right one click! The list of datasets should be directly accessible from every page on the site. Similar difficulties will be encountered should you ever want to contact the webmaster. It took me about one-half hour to find the contact page. The web developer has attempted to keep readily available a visitor's search profile. This is a wonderful addition to the searching experience but it seems to have affected the ease of access to equally as important technical facilities.

I also have some complaints concerning pricing. Now, one has to understand that I have used this site, according to my search profile, 19 times since March 2003. I have repeatedly purchased credits on Scotlands People because I fully appreciate that they have made the images very reasonable to access, cost wise. I would have purchased more credits during the past year had the search results been free to view. The ability to view all search results would, I believe, encourage one to view more images. And, so, what revenue would be lost on one aspect of the site would quickly be recouped through another avenue.

Currently, to search the indices of births, marriages, deaths, census, et cetera, one must purchase a minimum of 30 page-view credits, which cost GB6.00 Sterling. Purchased credits are active for a straight 48 hours and this is the first issue that has produced some of my dissatisfaction. Purchased credits should remain active for a minimum of 14 days. In today's very busy and 'over-booked' world many genealogy hobbyists are juggling their research activities against family, work and personal commitments. It is unfair to expect that a researcher should have to repurchase credits at hour-49 should that researcher be unable to complete their search within the 48 hour activation period. After all, we do have to make sure that we eat, sleep, arrive at work on time and see to it that pets and kids also arrive, on time, at their respective appointments.

To their credit, Scotlands People holds your unused credits in your search profile. Should you return a month later you will have to purchase more credits. But, those new credits are added to the credit balance that is already sitting in your account. So, in essence, no credit purchase is ever entirely lost to non-use.

On a search, your credit account is deducted by 1 credit for each page-view of search results. Five credits are deducted for each original digitized image that you view. Five credits to view, save and/or print out a statutory certificate of birth, marriage or death, or a census page is absolutely within line. I have no difficulties with this particular aspect of their pricing.

I take issue with their pricing concerning the cost of each page-view of search results. Searching for events that occurred involving ancestors with unusual forenames and surnames is not too costly. However, when one has to plow through upwards of 14 pages of search results on a search for a William Young in 1891 Scotland, the page-view credit reduction becomes onerous.

Yes, there is a facility that will allow one to focus a search. However, on the search for a popularly named individual, that facility really doesn't offer much of a benefit to the researcher. The advanced search facility could use a revamp to permit a search, not only by specific county, but also by a region rather than by the currently structured registration districts. At this time, it is possible to search the individual registration districts for, say, the city of Edinburgh, but one would have to know in what part of that city the ancestor resided at any particular point in time. There were multiple registration districts covering the whole of the city of Edinburgh and it is quite feasible that each registration district would have to be searched in turn. Combine this problem with the fact that each page-view of search results reduces the available credits and one can see that most of one's credits could very well be expended quite quickly while viewing search results.

Despite its drawbacks, the content on this website deserves attention from every Scottish ancestor hunter. At the current time, there are available the following records:

• Statutory Births 1855 to 1903 - index and images;


• Statutory Marriages 1855 to 1928 - index and images, some destruction of original certificates did occur so there are several years of marriage certificates that are not available - the years are posted on the website;


• Statutory Deaths 1855 to 1953 - index and images;


• minor births, marriages and death - indexed only with images to follow later during 2004;


• 1901 census - index and images;


• 1891 census - index and images;


• 1881 census - indexed only;


• 1841 through 1871 census to be indexed, imaged and uploaded later during 2004; and,


• Old Parochial Registers of christenings, marriages, banns, proclamations - indexed with images due later during 2004.

Please note, that the 1881 census and the Old Parochial Registers may be available, on microfiche or CD-Rom, for a free search at a Family History Centre near you.

In closing this website review, I wish to elaborate on the search profile. I have never run across a pay-per-view website that has gone to such great lengths to assist a visitor to not duplicate a previous search. This is an excellent addition to this site and provides a goodwill enhancement to the value of one's credit purchase. Accessed through one of several links in the yellow left-hand sidebar on most pages, one can review all of the search results that they have amassed since their first visit. This is one of the ways in which I was able to determine the number of visits I have made and the date of my first pay-for-view foray into the website. One can review every single page of previous search results without the need of buying new credits and without the fear of losing purchased credits. One can also recall every image that has been viewed. So if you lose your initial copy there are no worries. You simply have to go back to the site, call up your search profiles and hit the "View Image" button again. A timeline feature allows one to add search results and viewed images to a separate database in their search profile so that it is possible to track the evolution of a particular aspect of one's research. The search profile facilities are a much welcomed invention.

All things being considered, I am a solid fan of this website and will continue to pursue my Scottish ancestral research, as far as permissable, through the resources of Scotland's People. I can highly recommend the site to all of that ilk.

Ellis Island
             

Watch this space.

Ancestry.com   
             

http://www.Ancestry.com
Ancestry.com, the nemesis of many a trusting researcher who has fallen into the "free trial" period only to discover that extracting oneself comes after much effort. How then, can I possibly see my way clear to award a 2 and one-half gold shield standard? These marks have been gained solely due to the bulk of the content, the clarity of that content, ease of navigation and free search results that are offered on this website.

Interestingly, the free search results differ in no material manner than the search results that are returned if a subscription had been purchased, the only difference arises in the "lock" icons becoming unlocked. Inasmuch as Ancestry.com does not operate on a reductive credit system, having to search each item individually on the search results page creates no hardship and results in no devaluation of the subscription fee.

Concerning content, Ancestry.com has lost one gold shield for persisting in adding donated and otherwise privately completed family lineages to their list of subscription resources. In no way manner whatsoever, is it appropriate for any company to market donated and privately completed family lineages. Even Burke's time-trodden tomes are known to contain blatant and deliberate errors in lineages. How then, can a modern company, in all good consciousness and corporate responsibility, flog a product that is likely rife with errors to those who are largely novices and amateurs. In my estimation, this is just one more avenue through which the genealogy world at large will continue to perpetuate the already inaccurate genealogy that is persistent on the internet. Familysearch.org makes it clear that donated and privately completed family lineages found via its' portal need to be verified in original sources. Ancestry.com makes no similar assertion concerning its World Family Trees. Shame on you, Ancestry.com for encouraging yourself to take profits through such an undertaking.

Aside from donated and privately completed family lineages, the remainder of the content found on Ancestry.com is not new, nor is it proprietary to Ancestry.com. What that entity has accomplished, however, is to facilitate the easy and convenient access to many different types of records. Amongst those different types of records are secondary and tertiary transcripts. So, I have to admonish anyone who takes information found on Ancestry.com as proof of lineage unless that information has been drawn from a primary source and the image of the actual source has been viewed.

Although I will not discourage a researcher from purchasing a subscription to Ancestry.com, I will not encourage such action, either. Subscriptions to online research services that ultimately provide links to original resources - census and other primary and secondary sources - can be a great benefit to those who are unable to attend at a research facility. A great many people fall into this category, not only those who are housebound but also those who are geographically-bound - live too far away from a library or research facility to be able to justify a trip. Ancestry.com has to be given due praise for bringing to market original images of many primary and secondary sources.

The downside to online subscriptions comes in the form of exaggerated subscription fees. Yes, a reasonable fee has to be charged by the data provider to cover the costs of acquisition of resources, technical experts and service providers for producing and maintaining the online resources and website presence, and to pay all corporate expenses, fixed, overhead and otherwise, and still provide a modest profit or ROI (return on investment) to the shareholders. But the key here is the "modest" profit. Genealogy has become a hobby in which the demand for tools has outstripped supply of those tools and too many opportunists have taken this as a signal for potentially unlimited hugh returns.

Ancestry.com with its absurd subscription fee structure is a prime example. Differing levels of subscription are offered for separate resources - for the U.S. records collection, for the U.K. records collection and for a combined records collection. Having monitored messages on many genealogy mailing lists concerning the difficult and in some cases, impossible, suspension of an Ancestry.com subscription, I have to provide a warning to anyone who is contemplating the purchase of a subscription. When your subscription period is close to an end, provide written notice to Ancestry.com of your intention to NOT renew the subscription. Also write to your credit card company advising them to not accept any further credit charges from Ancestry.com or MyFamily, Inc. com. This is good advice that should be heeded regardless of to what subscription service one is subscribed.

Before locking yourself into an Ancestry.com subscription careful read through its rather extensive and concise list of databases. To view an alphabetical listing of databases click on the link to 'databases' which can be found in the lower right-hand corner of their home page under the "What's New" heading. Once you arrive at the alphabetical list page look over in the far right-hand column on that page. You should see another box at the bottom of which are three more links to databases titled "All", "Recent", and "International". If you are interested in the British, Canadian or European collections then you will want to view the "International" list. Concerning the British census collection, if you wish to view what counties are currently available on Ancestry.com for a particular census year, click on the applicable link that can be found on the alphabetical list under E-En-England- example, 1871.

I also have to address the "free trial" period offered by Ancestry.com. The word "free" means that a 'thing' is not restricted, impeded or confined in any manner whatsoever, that the 'thing' is clear of any obstructions and exempt of any impositions, monetary or otherwise. Consequently, any "free trial" that requires the conveyance of credit card billing information is not "free" at all. I put forward a challenge to Ancestry.com and to all other subscription services offering so-called "free" trial periods: Make those trial periods truly free! If your product and service provides a real value to the tester, then that tester will likely purchase your product. Perhaps not at that very moment but at some time in the future.

Lastly, it appears to me that Ancestry.com is also guilty of disseminating mis-information by omission of information. Any Family History Centre that has an internet account also received a free subscription to Ancestry.com. Very recent directives have now removed any previously charged nominal internet research fee, so that, in essence, Ancestry.com is now fully and freely searchable at a Family History Centre. I believe that if Ancestry.com, as a service to its more frugal customers, published that fact on their website, that that information would not really have any significant impact overall on their financial bottom line. I believe that it would, rather, engender a sense in those customers that Ancestry.com is really interested first with the customers success in research. Nothing in business goes farther to produce continued success than to demonstrate a real interest in one's customers and in fulfilling their needs.

FamilyHistoryOnline.com   
             

http://www.familyhistoryonline.net
Yes, yes, yes! I give the Federation of Family History Societies kudos for the development of this website! So to all you budding genealogists I say, 'Go forth and spend freely in confidence', knowing that you will reap from your financial sowing and that, as a side benefit, you are supporting the hard-won and time-tested efforts of hundreds of family history society volunteers.

This site demonstrates that win-win situations can be a reality in the online sale of genealogical data. I believe that, if this site can maintain its' current momentum, it will eventually become one of the first destinations of British ancestor hunters. The site draws its resources from the myriad of publications that have been, and still are being, published by family history societies throughout Britain. In my estimation, there is much more bang for your buck online, though. The potential large return of primary and secondary information that can be had from a simple purchase procedure on a secure server of GB5.00 Sterling worth of credits far exceeds what one could hope to recoup on purchasing just one microfiche-format Society publication.

The site is simple to navigate, simple to use, simple to understand and certainly makes abundantly clear what is available to a researcher even before a financial transaction is completed. Heaps of praise and gratitude are also extended to the FFHS for permitting a truly free search of the resources and for providing a search facility that returns a comprehensive list of results from which to determine if a purchase is even warranted. Most results are charged out at a minimal cost of between 4 and 7 pence. To be able, at long last, to find the marriage and the maiden surname of a female ancestor for the investment of a mere 4, 5, 6 or even 7 pence is without comparison elsewhere in the genealogical world.

There are just three points that I would underscore: First, this is a site with British-based resources only. Second, read the list of databases that are offered even before doing a free search. There is nothing that can create disappointment quicker than a lack of positive results. Generally, disappointment leads to disillusionment with the website and this is one site that really does deserve your future attentions. Last, bear in mind that everything on this site is a transcript. Errors in the information may have been made during the transcription process or even during the pre-publication process. Always back up your online research with personal examination of the source.

Genealogy.com   
             

http://www.genealogy.com
Overall, this site suffers from a lack of clarity and focus concerning its' online presence. Do we really need another online subscription collection that largely duplicates resources found on other sites? At the same time, Genealogy.com suffers from a lack of under-marketing of its' potentially valuable contribution to a family historian's search - its' own CD-Rom product inventory and its' GenForum message boards. Hence my poor rating of only two gold shields for this website. But, please, allow me to expand on the points of my rating.

Here is a website that, following several years under the guidance of a series of different management teams, seems to have lost its sense of purpose. One cannot adequately review Genealogy.com without first recapping for the reader the various corporate shifts that have, in my view, contributed to the erosion of Genealogy.com's value in the genealogy marketplace.

The premier product around which Genealogy.com was designed was the Family Tree Maker software, which was first launched during 1984 by Broderbund. Broderbund was a division of Mattel, Inc. - yes, the toy giant. During November, 1999 A & E Television Networks, Hearst Interactive Media, Mattel, Inc., Thomas H. Lee Partners and Weston Presidio Capital announced a joint partnership to back a newly-formed company called Genealogy.com, LLC. At that time, Genealogy.com received US$37.5-million in initial funding in the expectation of expanding its' market share through an aggressive online presence and by continuing its' leadership in the retail software category. In fact, Genealogy.com and Family Tree Maker software did quite well under this arrangement, or, at least, so it seemed.

During February, 2001 A & E Television Network announced that it had acquired, outright, Genealogy.com, LLC. I am certain that A & E had fully expected to provide a workable fit with its other history and biography based products. However, having spent some time working in a high level corporate environment, I just wasn't convinced that Genealogy.com really offered any concrete benefit to the A & E corporate group. This instinct ultimately proved correct, for during April 2003, Genealogy.com was once again sold on - this time to MyFamily, Inc.com. For those of you not in the know, and this is no secret, MyFamily, Inc.com is fast becoming a genealogy conglomerate with its lineup of genealogy websites: Ancestry.com, AncestryUK.com, MyFamily.com, Genealogy.com, and RootsWeb.com. There is no disputing that Genealogy.com with its market-sold software and its proprietary CD-Rom databases makes its acquisition by MyFamily, Inc.com a sensible lateral-market evolution to the parent company's offerings.

Where Genealogy.com fails to produce the goods as a stand-alone website, though, is that its proprietary databases have now been integrated with those of Ancestry.com. What one can find on Ancestry.com, one can also find on Genealogy.com. Furthermore, both Genealogy.com, by way of GenForum, and Ancestry.com offer free message boards and free genealogical research instruction.

Where Genealogy.com steps above Ancestry.com is in the offering of its own proprietary databases to the genealogy-hungry public in a flexible manner either by way of online subscription or by way of CD-Rom purchase. I am not a fan of the manner in which Family Tree Maker has been marketed over the years. It seems to me that each release of the program comes at a greatly inflated price which is supposed to have been justified by the addition of a few CD-Rom databases which were included with the primary software.

I am very much in favour, however, of the separate offering by Genealogy.com of its CD-Rom databases. If you are not aware of what is in the Genealogy.com stocklist you really should take the time to puruse their online Store. A cautionary note must be added: Many of the sources that are offered on CD-Rom are already a part of Ancestry.com searches. If you have invested in a subscription to Ancestry.com there may be no real benefit to buying a CD with the same or similar information.

Each stock unit in Genealogy.com's store is linked to a fuller description of the product composition. Read the full product description before deciding whether or not to buy the resource. If it is something that you are likely to use again and again long after your subscription on Ancestry has expired, it might be worth the investment to buy the database. I would stay away from the higher-end databases, for example the 1870 World Immigration Series, 9-CD Set at US $149.99. It has been my experience that these types of resources shine only if you have a broad search to conduct or are a professional doing many searches for many different clients. Otherwise, such datasets are of little continuing value beyond the production of the initial search result.

Be careful, too, of items such as the Canadian Genealogy Index, 1600s-1900s. This database is listed at US$29.99. However, the data has been constructed from the in-print behemoth of the same name found in most public and university libraries. My comments concerning continuing relevance of the dataset also applies to this resource.

Although I will not discourage a researcher from purchasing a subscription to Genealogy.com, I will not encourage such action, either. Subscriptions to online research services that ultimately provide links to original resources - census and other primary and secondary sources - can be a great benefit to those who are unable to attend at a research facility. A great many people fall into this category, not only those who are housebound but also those who are geographically-bound - live too far away from a library or research facility to be able to justify a trip.

The downside to online subscriptions comes in the form of exaggerated subscription fees. Yes, a reasonable fee has to be charged by the data provider to cover the costs of acquisition of resources, technical experts and service providers for producing and maintaining the online resources and website presence, and to pay all corporate expenses, fixed, overhead and otherwise, and still provide a modest profit or ROI (return on investment) to the shareholders. But the key here is the "modest" profit. Genealogy has become a hobby in which the demand for tools has outstripped supply of those tools and too many opportunists have taken this as a signal for potentially unlimited hugh returns.

Genealogy.com with its absurd subscription fee structure is a prime example. A "Gold" membership, listed at US$309.00 per year allows one access to the Family Tree Maker software; the Genealogy Library, World Family Tree, U.S. census returns, international & passenger records, as well as technical support. The "Deluxe" subscription, listed at US$129.00 per year allows one access to Family Tree Maker software, the Genealogy Library, and the World Family Trees. The "Basic" subscription, listed at US$79.00 per year allows one access to the Family Tree Maker software and the Genealogy Library, only.

Like its sister company, Ancestry.com, Genealogy.com also offers a "free trial" of its online resources. The word "free" means that a 'thing' is not restricted, impeded or confined in any manner whatsoever, that the 'thing' is clear of any obstructions and exempt of any impositions, monetary or otherwise. Consequently, any "free trial" that requires the conveyance of credit card billing information is not "free" at all.

Returning to a discussion of the content of the subscriptions, The Genealogy Library sounds intriguing, doesn't it? It took me awhile to find even a partial enumeration of what resources are included in the Genealogy Library. Eventually, I discovered the following partial list buried in a press release dated March 22, 2001:

• Pilgrim Genealogies and Histories, 1600s-1900s


• Genealogies of Mayflower Families, 1500s-1800s


• Virginia Family Histories, pre-1600 to 1900s


• Pennsylvania Family Histories, pre-1600 to 1900s


• Connecticut Family Histories, 1600s-1800s


• Virginia Family Histories, 1600s-1800s


• Colonial Family Histories, 1607-1920


• Southern Family Histories, 1600s-1800s


• Revolutionary War Pension Lists Military Records


• Mayflower Vital Records, Deeds and Wills, 1600s-1900s


• Pennsylvania Vital Records, 1700s-1800s


• Directory of Deceased American Physicians, Vital Records, 1804-1929


• New York Genealogical Records, 1675-1920


• Massachusetts Genealogical Records, 1600s-1800s


• Virginia Colonial Records, 1600s-1900s


• Pennsylvania Colonial Records, 1600s-1800s


• Maryland Marriage Index, 1655-1850


• Massachusetts Marriage Index, 1633-1850


• New Jersey Marriage Index, 1680-1900


• Indiana Marriage Index, 1851-1900


• Texas Marriage Index, 1851-1900


• Connecticut Marriage Index, 1635-1860


• Selected Counties of Ohio Marriage Index, 1789-1850


• The Encyclopedia of Quaker Genealogy, 1740-1930


• The National Genealogical Society Quarterly, Volumes 1-85


• AL, AR, FL, LA, MI, MN, OH, WI, Land Records, 1790-1907


• Civil War Union Soldiers of Honor


• Lineages of Hereditary Society Members, 1600s-1900s

While the average individual can probably discern that the U.S. Census collection is going to contain only U.S. census returns, no one can be expected to figure out that most of the subscription databases on Genealogy.com are U.S. driven. Notice that the above list of resources are all U.S.-related resources. Oh, how disappointed and disillusioned the British, Canadian or European ancestor hunter would be with a subscription to Genealogy.com. At no destination on the site is there a set of instructions or a form by which a subscription can be cancelled or a refund requested.

It is my closing opinion that some rationalization planning sessions are needed at MyFamily, Inc.com in order to bring Genealogy.com back into a strong position as a genealogy resource provider.

Olive Tree
             

Watch this space.

English Origins   
             

http://www.englishorigins.com
"English Origins provides access to information for genealogists and family historians researching ancestors who lived in or had connections with England. This information is not available anywhere else on the internet."...marketing blurb found on promotional materials concerning the English Origins website.

Indeed, English Origins does provide, courtesy of the Society of Genealogists, datasets of relevance to some family history research. The vast majority of that information relates primarily to the inhabitants, merchants and traders of London and the Home counties.

Information is only provided after the purchase of a minimum of 300 credits for which you will be charged GB6.00 Sterling. At its inception, this site only provided access for 48 cotinuous hours after which your unused credits expired. So, I was delighted to see that the web developers, last year, increased the access time to 7 days. Yet, English Origins could still go further in providing a friendlier service that acknowledges the valuable contribution that purchasers of information add to their bottom line. What real-time financial impact could possibly be lost by extending the use of credit time to 3 months, except for the loss of a second credit purchase following immediately upon the consumption of the initial 300 credits. Be aware, that the temptation on this site - because of the relatively narrow credit accumulation period - is to purchase views of resources that may have poor compatibility to one's search - the thought of 'I'll retrieve that now because I really do not know when I'll be able to get back to this search and I'll have wasted my credits once they expire.'

One credit is consumed with each index record that is viewed. Well, this part, at least, sounds fair... Searches are free, but only a generalized table of results is returned. I plugged in my Gregory surname - somewhat common, but certinaly not among the heavy hitters like Smith, Brown, Davies and Williams. My Gregory search returned the following results:

• Vicar General marriage index, 208


• Faculty Office marriage index, 265


• Boyd's Marriage Index - all counties, 4,253


• Boyd's London burials, 208


• London apprentices, 236


• London Consistory Court Depositions, 0


• Archdeaconry of London Wills, 6


• Prerogative Court of Canterbury Wills, 185


• Bank of England Wills extracts, 52

Having completed numerous paid-for searches in the past, I do happen to know, first-hand, that a few of these very vague search results become somewhat more detailed once credits have been purchased. Unfortunately, though, some resources never become sufficiently detailed to allow a researcher to make an educated guess concerning the applicability of the result to their own research.

In the Gregory example above, if the Vicar General marriage index is selected immediately 208 of one's 300 credits have been consumed. In order to view the Faculty Office index at the same time, an additional purchase of a minimum of 300 credits must take place in order to have a sufficient quantity of credits on hand to view those 265 results. The financial result: GB12.00 Sterling, in a mere matter of minutes, has been extracted from your credit card or Switch account. The research result: no greater than a 50-50 percentile chance of finding something that is pertinent to your search.

In most instances, English Origins offer an additinal service whereby they will forward a photocopy of a resource to you. But be warned, most of those resource copies are being charged out at GB5.00 and GB10.00 per copy.

There are a few minor technical problems with the search facility. One is required to input a beginning year and an ending year for the search. The latest date permitted is 1850. Yet, the London burials resource extends up to 1872! There is nothing in the free search results to indicate that the full range of the London burial index has been included in those results. This small technical problem came to light after I had plugged in a search for Charles Vaughan. Being particularly keen in locating the London burial place and having determined that Charles had died during 1863, this search should have met the criteria of the London Burial index. No results were returned. I have to wonder if that result was a product of the 1850 cutoff date as there was nothing in the search results that indicated to me that the full range of London burial index had been searched and included right up to 1872. A result was returned in the Bank of England Will extracts dataset. I would have been tempted to jump right on that extract as it would have been easy to impetuously post a credit for the full reference. In this case, though, having regard to my year of death of 1863 I knew that any Will would have to have been lodged with the Principal Probate Registry and so I kept my credit safely in my pocket.

I have to dispute the broad statement made by English Origins that its datasets are not found elsewhere on the internet. The Prerogative Court of Canterbury Wills index 1383 to 1858 are fully and freely searchable in the DocumentsOnline section of The National Archives (England) website (formerly the Public Record Office). The information found in the Bank of England Will extracts also are to be found in the Prerogative Court wills as this was the court chosen by the Bank of England to oversee probate of estates that held financial assets, such as investments and annuities, that had been underwritten by the Bank of England. Extracts from either category on English Origins will set you bank GB10.00 Sterling. The full Prerogative Court Will can be downloaded online and saved to your computer for a simple straight-forward stand-alone payment of GB3.00 Sterling. My biggest complaint is that English Origins fails to make their users aware, in this instance, of the alternate online source.

As it stands now, much of what English Origins is offering is not proprietary to it. In other words, most of the online resources can be found either as a free search at the Family History Library and Family History Centres worldwide (Boyd's Marriage Index which forms part of the 100-Most Used Books collection), can be rented from the Family History Library for a fee far less than GB10.00, or can be consulted in many public and university libraries around the world. English Origins, of course, can offer the researcher a one-stop shopping experience for the group of resources it has placed online. But, its' pricing and search results structures detract from the site's overall potential as a less expensive alternative to ordering resources from the Family History Library or making a day-long trip to an out-of-town library.

This site has the potential to really shine. It needs to concentrate on continuing to provide London-focused resources. It also needs to add to its online stock the resources that are currently proprietary to the Society of Genealogists. Radical changes would also have to be implemented in the pricing and search results structures. Adopting the pricing model and search results model developed by FamilyHistoryOnline just might inject some exciting fresh nutrients into this tired site.

Irish Origins   
             

http://www.irishorigins.com
Yet again, we have another credit-purchase based system of online genealogy research. This time the focus is on Irish genealogy. Well, parts of it, at any rate.

The credit system employed here, on one hand, is a tad friendlier than that employed by English Origins q.v.. At least on this site GB10.00 will buy 600 credits with a 14-day continuous access period. One can still buy the base credit amount of 300 for GB6.00 with a 7-day continuous access period. On the other hand, though, the number of credits used to view an image - 20 credits - are exhorbitantly high. One credit is still spent for each indexed result that is viewed, as well.

At this time, the only searchable dataset is Griffith's Primary Valuation of Ireland. Soon to be added to the online resources are Irish Wills index 1484-1858 and William Smith O'Brien petition of 1848-1849 to which 80,000 names had been affixed. Unfortunately, the word "soon" has not been defined.

Just for the sake of taking this site for a quick run, I searched two surnames that are a part of my cousin's lineage - Carson and McAloney. McAloney is among the rareer breed of surname. Carson is among the top 20 most common surnames. My search returned 1,527 close matches and 1,523 exact matches on the Carson search. My search on the McAloney surname returned 2 close matches and 2 exact matches. I also searched on the surname of Anderson and was returned the following statistics: 3,336 close matches and 3,335 exact matches. I did not invest GB6.00 in a full search of this site so it may well be that the search results are little less ambiguous once your money has been paid. However, unless the results are broken down by county, or by smaller geographical units, I really cannot see the benefit to such a broad search. I would not want to be in the position of having to plow through all of the Carson entries to find those that related solely to County Derry (Londonderry).

Like the English Origins website, this site has the potential to really shine. It needs to concentrate on providing Irish-focused resources. It also needs to add to its' online stock the resources that are currently proprietary to the individual Irish societies. The web developers of Irish Origins need to keep in mind the alternate places where a researcher can view a resource before adding that resource. For instance, Griffith's Valuation has been published singly and in concert with the Tithe Applotment Books in the Irish Householder's Index and consequently can be viewed at the Family History Library, borrowed on microfilm at a Family History Centre, or viewed on microfiche or microfilm at many public and university libraries around the world.

I would like to see the proprietary resources of the various Irish family history societies as well as the Irish Heritage Centres brought together under this one online umbrella. Yes, I know that I am mixing the Republic of Eire with Northern Ireland. But, what a force for Irish genealogy could be created by the enjoining of the proprietary resources of both countries! Although there are a large number of resources available through the Family History Library, that library's Family History Centres and in public and university libraries, there are vast amounts of information that people outside of the Emerald Isle just do not have access to - cemetery and monumental inscriptions, local tax rolls, school records, surviving local census returns and parish register transcripts that continue to be found, as well as family and estate records.

Radical changes would also have to be implemented in the pricing and search results structures. Adopting the pricing and search results models developed by FamilyHistoryOnline just might be a viable solution. The adoption of those models would provide the researcher good value for their money while, at the same time, assuring the web developers of continued repeat business.

Scots Origins   
             

http://www.scotsorigins.com
This website has been radically reduced in relevance as a direct result of the production and appearance of two alternate websites - Scotlandspeople.com and Scottish Documents Online. In my estimation the Scots Origins site is now no more than a desparate appeal for research business. Unfortunately, even the services lack forethought: a General Register Office search will run GB9.00, a search of the Old Parochial Registers will run GB8.00 and a troll through a census will lighten your pocket by GB12.50. If no positive results are returned on a search, the client is to receive a refund of GB3.00, or GB3.50 in the case of a failed census search. A search of the I.G.I. is also offered but I'm afraid that anybody stumbling upon the Scots Origins website already has a computer and has likely already been able to complete their own search of the I.G.I. at familysearch.org. I am unable to make any comment on the speed, efficiency or efficiency of refunds concerning searches undertaken by Scots Origins.

I do know, however, that all of the resources that are offered by Scots Origins are fully available on the Scotlandspeople.com website q.v.. These same resources are also fully available at the Family History Library and via microfilm rental at any Family History Centre worldwide.

There is a small gazetteer searchable on this site. It was produced in conjunction with the 1881 census and includes villages, roads and farm names that exited, at that time, throughout Scotland. Unfortunately, the only hamlet I entered into the search box turned up a nil result - Kinlochie. Spelling variations were considered and tried, but still no luck!

This website needs a complete revamp or an outright demolition. There is nothing of any great substance to persuade people to return.

1837online   
             

http://www.1837online.com
Although the concept of this site is nothing new, the website owner, developer and constructionist are to be congratulated for accomplishing a feat which the O.N.S. seems to have been reluctant to undertake.

All statutory birth, marriage and death registration indices are searchable from the commencement of civil registration on 1 July 1837 through the current time period. The searches are broken down into two primary categories - searches 1837 through 1983 and searches post-1983 to date. One can also browse the various quarters and years but I highly doubt that this facility will be of long-term use. 

The site is pay-per-view with a free searchable facility for the index and it is at this point that this website begins to lose many marks with me. For GB5.00 one can purchase 55 credits which are valid and useable for 45 days. Signficantly larger units of credits can be purchased, which will remain valid and useable for up to one year, but I highly doubt, after my run of this site, that it would be worthwhile to invest such a large sum of money in a pay-per-view situation.  Consider that those same indices are easily purchased via the Family History Library at Salt Lake City. Although indices purchased through Salt Lake City have to remain with a Family History Centre the benefit of being able to consult those same indices again and again without incurring additional cost, would, in my estimation, be the better use of one's monetary resources.

For the purposes of reviewing 1837online I purchased 55 credits and used those credits in an attempt to locate births, marriages and deaths of one of our family's missing lines.  I was after one marriage circa 1922, three births estimated to be between 1925 and 1935, and three marriages estimated to follow between 1945 and 1955.  I had conducted a free search of the indices several days prior to my purchase of credits and was quite dismayed to see that what was returned on the search was no more than a listing, by quarter, by year, of surname groupings. 

For instance, concerning the surname Poulsom for deaths March quarter 1859 I was returned a surname range of PAA-PZZ with a total number of pages of 176.  I was then given the opportunity to view those pages via a "View" link on the right-hand side of the index listing.  Clicking on "View" only produced a request to purchase credits.  I could instantly see that trying to conduct a free search would be entirely fruitless if only generalities were to be returned.  I hoped that a more specific search and specific search results would be returned if I purchased a block of credits.

So, armed with my credit card I made a purchase of credits for GB5.00.  Each page to be viewed of search results was debited at the rate of 10p per page with a bonus of 5 credits being added at the beginning of my search.  I set out in earnest to locate the missing family line - Sharps of Maidstone, Kent.  I made my first search in relation to finding the marriage of George Thomas Sharp circa 1922.  I was absolutely appalled to see that what was returned on my search results was precisely the same setup that I had received during the Poulsom search.  In this case, I had entered the search criteria of March quarter 1921 to December quarter 1925.  My search results page contained a breakdown by quarter of number of pages involved, vizt:

Jan-Feb-Mar 1921   SEY-SHA      6 pages      View

Jan-Feb-Mar 1921   SHA-SZZ      7 pages      View

Each quarter was broken down in similar fashion bearing a wide range of surname letters and in every case 5 pages per quarter per surname grouping.  This is the first complaint that I have with this site.  Reading and choosing just one surname grouping per quarter to search becomes a confusing task when one is faced with a long list of two and sometimes, three listings for one quarter over which a surname grouping happens to be spread.  Pick the wrong surname grouping and you have wasted one credit immediately.  By the time I had used up my 55 credits I had grown quite physically tired and my eyes hurt.

It didn't take long for me to run through - and waste - 35 credits trying to locate one marriage.  One has to be intimately acquainted with all of the possible surnames that can appear in the G.R.O. index in order to become a better guesser as to the page on which the entries one is seeking will appear. 

After searching several quarters I began to realize that my Sharp name would appear on page 3 of 6 pages or on page 2 of 5 pages per surname grouping.  This worked fine so long as I was only searching for one individual - in this case, a fellow named George Thomas Sharp. 

I quickly used up my remaining credits on the search for the marriages of his children - Pamela, Glenda and Frederick.  In many instances the Sharp surname was spread over two pages.  I found Frederick listed on one page with Glenda and Pamela frequently listed on the second page of the surname listing.  Consequently, at least 2 credits were used up for each quarter I searched.  If I guessed badly as to the start page for the surname, then 3 credits were used in searching that quarter. 

Cross-referencing one of the children's marriages against the surname of the spouse - Harrison -consumed 7 credits.  In this particular instance I was searching for a Harrison who married a Sharp during the September quarter of 1951.  The search results page returned 24 separate pages of the surname grouping HAN-HAR.  There was an additional grouping of HAR-HZZ in the same quarter.  I chose the first surname grouping to search.  However, my connundrum concerned the HAR reference.  Was page 24 HARB---. HARR----, or HARW--- surnames.  I soon found out that it was HARW--- surnames.  Going back every second page from page 24 I finally found the Harrison entries spread over pages 17 and 18.

On two occasions I had to report a problem viewing an image.  In both cases, the image failed to appear in the DjVu viewer after at least 3 minutes of wait time.  In both cases, I lost - wasted - my credit trying to view each of those pages.  There was no method provided by which to recoup my loss of credits.

I happen to be a professional and have been in this business for many, many years.  Even so, in most instances, I had difficulty nailing down the correct page to view.  I highly doubt that a less experienced researcher - even with a rare surname to search - would have any better a time of it.  I truly feel that the developer of this site should have taken the time to index each page properly.  Give the people value for their money!  It has been my experience that people will happily pay for the privilege of viewing something on-line if, and only IF, there is a true and tangible benefit to so doing.  What I have seen on my testdrive of this site is, given the current state of the surname grouping index, that it is lacking terribly in tangible benefits.