Advice needed please - Ancestry or FMP?

[Charney Jo]

Hi All

I'm after some advice please as I am a bit rusty! I spent about 5 years tracing my trees a couple of years ago but had a break when I had my baby. I really want to start it up again and want to know whether to subscribe to Ancestry or Find My Past. I always used to subscribe to Ancestry but currently only have a FMP 1911 census sub which is due to expire in a few days.

I currently have FTM 2006 so am considering buying 2011 Platinum so that gives me Ancestry for 6 months but I am confused by what is available on both sites now.

My ancestors are from south London, before that Essex and before that Surrey. My in laws are from Manchester, Yorkshire, Warwickshire and Scotland!

Can anone advise me, would one particular site be better than the other? I think Ancestry but is that because it is what I know?

Thanks in advance! I look forward to rejoining this lovely community

[Darksecretz]

Jo if you can, stick with Ancestry they are in the process of putting the 1911 onsite, I have used FMP but tbh found its search methods very confusing, much prefer Ancestry..

dont know if you know that Ancestry have also added LMA marriages which has been a real boon, and they are adding new snippits all the time..

[Charney Jo]

Hi Julie

Thanks. That was my gut feeling. I like sticking with what I know but didn't want to discard FMP if it was better! I think I have done pretty much all I can at the mo with the 1911 census anyway.

Yes, I did look at the LMA a year ago for my London rellies. It was great, I found out about a few more that I didn't know so it would be good to have another look.

Thanks for replying.

Jo

[Darksecretz]

No worries Jo,

they have put so much stuff on ancestry now its just brill, they have also not long since added female convicts, and the national probate calendar too.. which has been very helpful for me finding little nuggets about my family.

[Elaine ..Spain]

I like sticking with what I know but didn't want to discard FMP if it was better!

I don't think you can say one is better than the other, I think it really depends what you are looking for.
Findmypast has a much larger collection of parish records which I have found extremely helpful, but it's only of use if it covers the area you are researching. They also have Army Chelsea Pensioner records going back to the late 1700s, which I have also found useful.
You can always try a 14 day free trial with Findmypast to see what they have to offer. I think like Ancestry you would need to submit credit card details, but as long as you cancel before the end of the 14 days then you wont be charged.

[Janet]

I agree with Elaine. They both have different collections, all of which suit my family History, so I have subscribed to both. You just have to look carefully at each one to decide which one will suit your own Family History. If people do not have London ancestors that is within the jurisdiction of LMA or military for First W War then I would not recommend Ancestry, but if you have London Ancestors and military post 1914 then Ancestry is a must. I actually prefer FMP census to Ancestry census but this is my preference. I rarely use Ancestry for any of the census.

Janet

[kylejustin]

ancestry has 1841-1901 census, but really bad transcriptions. they also have the london records which get added too every now and then. they have the scottish 1841-1901 census transcripts, which come in handy sometimes, but if you have credits, they cost one to look at the transcripts. 1911 is coming to ancestry soon, annd they added the probate calendars till 1940 i think? so you can find wills now. they also added female convicts records.

findmypast have complete 1841-1911 census, all newly scanned and more legible than ancestry, plus they have great transcripts. they have a massive parish record collection, which beats ancestry's, but it depends which county's your interests are. they also have the army pension records.

i use fmp, they're layout is pretty easy, and i find searching good, though searching by birthplace they could finetune! id use ancestry for the london records, but they arent adding the areas i need as yet, and id love the scottish census, but cant justify a sub to both sites.

so i guess you need to look at your tree and see what comes in handy. most folks here love ancestry and would die without it. but fmp seems easier. so up to you. good luck.

[SueNSW]

One other point is that worldwide Ancestry is available through many libraries - though the library edition lacks the family tree element and the ability to contact other users - whereas whilst some gen societies do have FMP available - it doesn't seem to be anywhere near as widespread

Having said that though - with a new baby (or a toddler by now) the convenience of being able to access the info at home whenever it suits you is probably the most important factor to you at the moment

Enjoy - whichever way you go

Cheers
Sue

[Charney Jo]

Thanks for the new input. I bought FTM 2011 Platinum so have 6 months ancestry free. I think I might see how I go and see if I can justify FMP ....