Find Ancestors

HAS ANYONE TRIED USING THIS SITE. i'VE JUST PAID £5 TO SUBSCRIBE AND CAN'T SEE ANY WAY ON HOW TO GET INFORMATION, APART FROM A LIST OF PERSONS WITH THE NAME YOU ARE LOOKING FOR. DOES ANYONE FEEL THE SAME? ELAINE

I haven't seen this site before, but have just looked at the homepage and on the left hand side of the page there is a button called 'how to use this service'. It doesn't sound easy, but that could just be that I'm not used to it. Kath

Hi Nichola No it's a different site.

Kathleen, I've read it and believe me, it's not easy!!! Elaine

Elaine This website contains information gathered by local family history societies. It is thus very patchy. When you get a search result, you click on the person's name and it will give you the information it holds. Bear in mind if your ancestor has a name like John Smith there may well be lots of records, none of which may be your relative! YOU DON'T PAY AGAIN, IT DEDUCTS THE COST FROM YOUR ORIGINAL PAYMENT UNTIL YOUR ACCOUNT RUNS OUT. I strongly recommend that before anyone else parts with money, they check the lefthand menu on the site and click on "What databases are included?" This is arranged by county, so you can see whether the info you want is covered. If you do this before you do a person search, you will save a lot of time [this is the voice of experience speaking!] It does have the 1881 census, which is free, and a useful alternative when the LDS site is not functioning. nell

Hi There, Yes the minimum you pay is £5 and yes it is pay-per-view. You pay 4p (it doesn't sound a lot) to view an entry for the name you are looking for. when you view your entry, it gives you very little information! I wouldn't recommend this site to anyone. I have e-mailed them so I shall wait for a reply. 1837online seems the better site!

Elaine, I use this site a lot, I find it very good for odd info. The 1881 Census is free, and has been very helpful, I know other sites like LDS have it but I prefer the layout on this site. There is also older census you pay a few pence to view, and burials Marriages and births etc., My fiver lasted me so long I had forgotten about it. I use the person search and go through the names and areas. There is a button to explain how to use the service and another about the database, FAQ and not too long ago there was a new load of stuff put on the site, the database is growing all the time. Hope I have made enough sense. Good Luck Pat x

Hi Diane, I clicked on the person's name for a census return, but it doesn't list the census. Or it didn't for the one I tried. Are you saying you can view the whole census for your choice? Elaine

Hi Elaine, I have used that site and found out quite a bit from it and most things only cost a few pence to open if do find something, really depends what area you are looking for also some 1851 census on it Happy hunting Margaret

Hi, I invested a fiver on the site yesterday and found quite a few useful leads, plus some burials I didn't have. It isn't that hard once you get into it. Gwynne

Hi Pat, I clicked otn the "person search" and it came up with a list of names with "1851 census index" next to it. so I then clicked on "1851 census index" and all it gives you is an explanation of what this means. How fo I actually view the census? Elaine

Elaine You cannot see the whole census. Please read carefully: Click on the lefthand menu under "What databases" then click the county. This will tell you what information is available for that county. Some of them have very little, others quite a lot - it will also tell you if you click on the resource which dates are covered. If your area/dates are included, then do a person search. Once you've done that you can click on the results. You have to pay extra for the household. This website is info submitted by individual family history societies, so for example it has the 1841 Cambridge census, but not the 1841 Bucks census. It has the Surrey 1891 census, but not the 1841, 51 or 61. Please check they have the data you want before you search otherwise you will waste time, and possibly money. (As I say this is the voice of experience speaking!) nell

I think most Family History societies did an index of the 1851 census for their areas. Some indexes are quite detailed, others just a list of names. They are NOT the census - just an index as it says. I havn't used this site yet because my areas are not very well covered. The reason is that the local volunteers have not submitted their data yet. As I understand it this is not a profitmaking site but one which intends to make data compiled by volunteers accessible to everyone. We will have to be patient - or volunteer ourselves!!! Anne

Hi I've just been on for the first time in absolutely ages - couldn't even remember my user name! Anyway to read results, click on the price even when it says £0.00 to see the results - but remember that if it says £0.04 or whatever, that is what you are charged! Jan

Having spent all day recommending GR to family historians, now I’ll do my bit to recommend familyhistoryonline to GR members. For starters, registration is free. You don’t have to part with any money until you decide that the site has something you want. 1881 is free, which is reasonable since the majority of the transcription effort was done by family history societies. 1881 is organised differently from the LDS site. It is particularly useful in showing occupations I the index, which can help find people with common names. Other entries cost a few pence. The price depends on the quality of the information. It is a mixed bag, but more databases are being added all the time. A good many of the records are not available elsewhere and for those who have access to censuses on film, the other census indexes are useful. I’ve derived a great deal of use from the site in the last couple of months since my last voucher expired without paying a penny piece. Brenda

I think this site is fantastic! I have found quite alot on this site that I couldn't find online elsewhere. It has certanly helped with some of my brickwalls, it also works out quite alot cheaper than some other sites. Dawn :)