RootsChat.Com

I'm getting more than a little frustrated with the Ancestry web site, as I pay good money for the access I feel some what justified.   

Is there anyone out there that has experience using it and could point me in the right direction please. I've gone to the "Learning Center" and don't see where the "how to is". There's lots of disjointed snippets that look like they are written by some techno geek that has forgotten how to think like a person with average computer literacy.

I have three gripes:
1. Their accuracy leaves something to be desired, the transcription of names and their lack of understanding of UK geography positively prevents people being found.
2. Even if you come at a search from a sideways direction the search engine produces different results. I've got a post up on the Kent board and I'm rechecking searches and I don't get the same data sets come up when I know I've put in the same information and I know that there are TWO family trees that have this particular man on them (one of which is mine) and NEITHER come up.
3. Why must I have all the US "matches" when I was very clear that the person was born, lived and died in the place I indicated. Let me move further afield if I get no where. Why do they think that they know more about the person I am looking for than I do?

How does the Ancestry search engine work? I've done the Lit review for a post graduate degree. I did OK for myself, so I'm fairly confident that I know how to research. Its not a Boolean search as far as I can make out so what is the matching order/priority? If I knew that it should help ease the frustration.

Not a happy camper
Canuc

PS
If one has taken them up on their request to provide feedback has there been a response, even as much as an acknowledgment. No, I've not had one either.

Hi Canuc,

Sorry you are unhappy...be happy!

I'm not sure what you mean when you say that you have told the search engine where your person was born, lived and died.......how did you do that?....

The box that I click only asks where they lived.....and actually it has come up with some great finds of people that were born in England but ended up in the USA or Canada....people who emigrated that I wasn't aware had emigrated.

As far as transcriptions......Yes they are a problem for all of us.
I am English...born and raised and have been transcribing for FreeCen for a couple of years. I like to think that I know the geography of GB fairly well....however, the enumerators writing and quality of images sometimes make it impossible to determine the name of POB. Also, I do not know every town and village in Somerset...or Worcestershire...or Rutland....so I defer to other research when using Ancestry....i.e. Genuki or Old Maps.

I like Ancestry because I can sit at my computer and complain about it...instead of travelling to the records office and complaining......

If you volunteer to transcribe...you will find that it is not as easy as it looks!

Be Happy 

Annette,

Yes.....exactly.....all transcribers are told to transcribe what they see...even if they know it is wrong.....this is because of the copywright on the images.

I was transcribing some pieces of the Birmingham census and came across a family named Owell.......I laughed because I knew it should have been Howell...but in Birmingham the H is dropped and maybe the enumerator wasn't familiar with the accent. I had to transcribe it as Owell.
I hope the family finds them....

I'm not sure what you mean when you say that you have told the search engine where your person was born, lived and died.......how did you do that?....
The box that I click only asks where they lived.....and actually it has come up with some great finds of people that were born in England but ended up in the USA or Canada....people who emigrated that I wasn't aware had emigrated.

Sounds like you are just searching on the first search page that comes up instead of under certain databases like 1901 census for scotland, etc. You can put in various search details like name, age/date of birth, birthplace, residence, etc. depending on the database.

And, yes some of the original pages are very difficult to read and mistakes are understandable but the last few days I've looked at names that are VERY clearly written and have some very different names transcribed in the index. I've had to search at least half of the people I'm looking for using first name/birthplace/age, birthplace/age/residence, etc. and go through countless records until I can find the one I'm looking for- and that's when I know the names and most of their details already.

Yes, Ancestry has some wonderful sources on it but it could be much better. As an example, 1901 and 1911 Canadian Census records are online (free) and in addition to whatever was written at the time there are also suggested corrections clearly visible but suppose that's due to people with inputting the information (and it is also checked which Ancestry doesn't seem to do).

I'm not sure what you mean when you say that you have told the search engine where your person was born, lived and died.......how did you do that?....

I know of no page where I can say where a person was born, lived and died...if there is one...I would like to know about it.

I search through the advance search option reached from the home page and I go to the UK census search, again making use of the advance search. Certainly through the general search on the home page I get to state birth, marriage and death locations and specify the residences. The advanced census search gives me the birth and residency options. Both ways one has the "keyword" option.

I do all that and a man I know is in there on two separate trees does not appear today, no make that yesterday. When I found him and communicated with the other tree creator three days ago.

There is an awful lot of usefull stuff in their. My mother worked for Winterthur Silks before she was married, they wove the fabric for the HMQ's wedding dress. Ancestry allowed me to find the details of the Regent Street sales office easily. But, looking for a Sewell reli was impossible as it was transcribed incorrectly yet I presume the same person had correctly read the "S" of another surname at the top of the page and it looks exactly like the "S" written for Sewell.

Well, at least I'm getting it off my chest if nothing else.

Thanks for listening
Canuc