Author Topic: Scotland's People, Ancestry, FamilySearch etc: which to use?  (Read 72579 times)

Offline jcjc123

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Re: Scotland's People, Ancestry, FamilySearch etc: which to use?
« Reply #9 on: Sunday 29 May 16 09:01 BST (UK) »
to add a little, i find scotlands people comparitive to other site, very expensive, especially when you have to pay 1/2 credits just to find out if it's the person you think....often it isn't.

You are not comparing like for like. I repeat, Ancestry, FindMyPast, MyHeritage etc do not have original birth, marriage or death certificates for Scotland, or for England, Wales, New Zealand, Australia etc etc (apart from a few published in breach of copyright by people who have got them from SP or elsewhere).

I do say very clearly to check at info with SP.
But if you only use SP you'll be laying five info that's freely available elsewhere.
Please remember many people have searched SP and recorded their findings on Ancestry.

We don't need to keep reinventing the wheel.

Use the many sites.
Check the info you find on original certificates..


Primarily Startup, Dickson & Cranston, with branches in baggs, Cheetham, Keir, Fosyth, Marshall & Logan. Regions mainly Scotland & the borders & Greater London area.
Many Naval ancestors and connections to Canada & American.

Offline maggbill

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Re: Scotland's People, Ancestry, FamilySearch etc: which to use?
« Reply #10 on: Sunday 29 May 16 09:58 BST (UK) »
I must say that I consider myself fortunate that by far the bulk of my family tree is Scottish (and being west of Scotland, also Irish of course!!).  I suppose if I counted the amount I have spent over the years with SP, ... well... I just won't keep count (could be spending it on worse vices lol!!).  I agree that it is the "Bible" for Scottish records - and again, I say I consider myself fortunate that they are so easily available and so full of info.  Yes, I use other sites to my advantage, but only on a "pay as you go" basis - very sparingly - and only when absolutely essential - often ending up disappointed and not trusting others "transcriptions"! So good to see the "originals".. and that and the joy of having discovered them myself rather than depending on others... well that is 90% of the joy of the "Chase".. With experience I have learnt to use SP to advantage - and am truly thankful for it. And Rootschatters have proved to be such a help over the years - Thank you to all who work to keep the site going!!
McNab, Kenney, Johnstone, Carrigan, (Cargan, Kirgan, Corrigan), Toll, Tracey, McNulty,  Reilly, Maguire, Loughlin, Banks, McGonagle, Forsyth, McDonald, Michael,  Kennedy, Bagnell, Cronan, Dunleavy, McMullan. -  Glasgow, Ireland, British Columbia Canada, Manchester New Hampshire USA.

Online Ruskie

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Re: Scotland's People, Ancestry, FamilySearch etc: which to use?
« Reply #11 on: Sunday 29 May 16 10:09 BST (UK) »
I really enjoy Scottish research, and love using Scotland's People.

Sadly I do not have any Scottish ancestors of my own, but have a little experience researching for others.

I often use Familysearch as a first port of call, and if I believe I have found the relevant record, I purchase the corresponding certificate or bmd entry on SP.

I may have been lucky, as I have had some unusual names in my searches, but I have found the costs very reasonable, especially for cerificates as Forfarian has noted - they are very cheap and contain a wealth of information.

I can't find much, or any, fault with SP. :)

Online Forfarian

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Re: Scotland's People, Ancestry, FamilySearch etc: which to use?
« Reply #12 on: Sunday 29 May 16 10:26 BST (UK) »
I do say very clearly to check at info with SP.

Quote
But if you only use SP you'll be laying five info that's freely available elsewhere.
You may be, but most of what is on SP is not available elsewhere.

Quote
Please remember many people have searched SP and recorded their findings on Ancestry.
Very true. But if they include images of certificates, they are in breach of copyright and if they don't you cannot trust their 'findings'.

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We don't need to keep reinventing the wheel.
No, but we need to be able to distinguish a wheel from a brick. Scotland's People is an official government site, like the GRO site for England and Wales and similar ones in other parts of the world. Those are the bricks. Ancestry etc are commercial sites which do not have a complete range of originals, but do contain a lot of information submitted by individuals, some of which is of excellent quality and some of which is garbage. They are the wheels. You use bricks and wheels in different ways. You use SP and other government sites in a different way from Ancestry and other commercial sites, but if you are going to create a tree you need to understand the differences, just as you need to understand the differences or you risk trying to build a house out of wheels.

Quote
Use the many sites. Check the info you find on original certificates.
Absolutely agree. But don't believe anything until you have seen the original document. And don't get the idea that SP and Ancestry etc are alternatives to one another, because they are not. They are fundamentally quite different.

Never trust anything you find online (especially submitted trees and transcriptions on Ancestry, MyHeritage, FindMyPast and other commercial web sites) unless it's an image of an original document - and even then be wary because errors can and do occur.


Offline Wiggy

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Re: Scotland's People, Ancestry, FamilySearch etc: which to use?
« Reply #13 on: Sunday 29 May 16 10:56 BST (UK) »
Thanks Forfarian!

I agree - there is simply no comparison in price for getting at original information from church certificates etc.  Having done initial searching on other sites, it is really good to find such a rich source of comparatively cheap records.

Our Victorian, in Australia, records are on a par with GRO, but more expensive than SP.

Wiggy
Gaunt, Ransom, McNally, Stanfield, Kimberley. (Tasmania)
Brown, Johnstone, Eskdale, Brand  (Dumfriesshire,  Scotland)
Booth, Bruerton, Deakin, Wilkes, Kimberley
(Warwicks, Staffords)
Gaunt (Yorks)
Percy, Dunning, Hyne, Grigg, Farley (Devon, UK)
Duncan (Fife, Devon), Hugh, Blee (Cornwall)
Green, Mansfield, (Herts)
Cavenaugh, Ransom (Middlesex)
 

 Census information Crown Copyright, from www.nationalarchives.gov.

Offline anne_p

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Re: Scotland's People, Ancestry, FamilySearch etc: which to use?
« Reply #14 on: Sunday 29 May 16 12:42 BST (UK) »
I have to agree with Forfarian but, we should all be aware of that Ancestry also indexes a fair amount of records taken directly from FamilySearch.

The old version of FS made it really easy to differentiate between "Extracted" and "Submitted" entries but, the new version is not quite as straightforward.

Some submitted entries are partly or wholly incorrect.
Look out for the addition of middle names which never appeared on the original document.
Submitted by researchers who mis identified their relatives on FS records in the first instance !

It's always worth doing a simple search on SP to ensure that the entry actually exists.


Offline harrisj

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Re: Scotland's People, Ancestry, FamilySearch etc: which to use?
« Reply #15 on: Monday 13 June 16 10:01 BST (UK) »
Enjoyed reading these posts.

As far as SP is concerned, why don't they offer some sort of monthly, quarterly or annual sub?

Online Forfarian

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Re: Scotland's People, Ancestry, FamilySearch etc: which to use?
« Reply #16 on: Monday 13 June 16 10:43 BST (UK) »
As far as SP is concerned, why don't they offer some sort of monthly, quarterly or annual sub?

SP's charges, as I understand it, are set by the Scottish Government.

You might as well ask why the GRO in England and Wales, the DIA in New Zealand, and the relevant government departments in Ireland and Australia, also charge on a pay-per-view basis for original documents, and why all of them are more expensive than SP.

SP are aware that almost everyone would like a subscription option, and have not categorically ruled it out for the future. We can but hope!
Never trust anything you find online (especially submitted trees and transcriptions on Ancestry, MyHeritage, FindMyPast and other commercial web sites) unless it's an image of an original document - and even then be wary because errors can and do occur.

Offline whiteout7

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Re: Scotland's People, Ancestry, FamilySearch etc: which to use?
« Reply #17 on: Monday 13 June 16 11:52 BST (UK) »
Buying an Ancestry subscription would have been an expensive mistake for my family tree, since no one on Ancestry had researched (and stolen of SP, tsk, tsk).

Ancestry simply had none of my Scottish family records at all.

I only used the site on free days to see what was available and there was literally nothing for me.

If you have recent Scottish ancestors who have never been researched, I would say Scotlands people is a must use site and Ancestry ho hum.

Wemyss/Crombie/Laing/Blyth (West Wemyss)
Givens/Normand (Dysart)
Clark/Lister (Dysart)
Wilkinson/Simson (Kettle or Kettlehill)