FindMyPast disappointing Christmas present

[LizzieW]

I think FindMyPast is great.  I have subs to both that and Ancestry but rarely use Ancestry nowadays, unless I'm searching on one of the census not yet on FindMyPast. (1851 and 1901).  As soon as FindMyPast has all the census on line, I'll be ditching Ancestry.

You don't have to have much information to search FindMyPast.  I quite often choose just a census year and put in a surname and get loads of results.  If you do know the county where your ancestor is living, of course, that narrows it down.  I've found my g.uncle on the Soldiers Who Died in WW1, then found the reference for his death certificate in Overseas Deaths.

As others have said their transcriptions are second to none and if you are not sure you have the correct person are so much easier to read than ploughing through the census on Ancestry.

Keep at it Abiam and you'll grow to like FindMyPast the same as the rest of us.  I seem to remember I found it difficult to start with.

Lizzie

[Abiam2]

Thanks everyone for your replies.  I do agree that if you hit the jackpot it is very well transcribed.  But, so far my jackpots are about as often as my lottery successes!

You can't all be wrong so I shall persevere and as Lizzie said maybe it will grow on me,

Off to have another go!
Abiam

[Tewin]

Hi Abiam,

It sounds as though you were trying to fill in too many of the boxes. The FindMyPast search tips emphasise that 'less is more' - just start with the bare minimum and then only add in other fields if you need to narrow your search.

The point of having so many search options is that you can use different combinations of fields to search - so if you can't find your ancestor with the right surname or forename you try eg people called William living in the same household as someone called Daisy in Cornwall'.

I've managed to track down some of the ancestors I couldn't find on sites that offered less flexible search using FindMyPast, so good luck with your search. Wish my OH had come up with such a thoughtful and useful present!

Cheers,

Tewin

[Abiam2]

Hi,

You are quite right I was putting in too much and since following "less is more" I am a lot happier!

And apologies to FindMyPast!!!

Regards Abiam

[kerryb]

So pleased for you Abiam, FindMyPast is a site worth watching over the next few months as all the information that is currently on familyhistoryonline will be added, making it a really good site to have access to.

Kerry 

[trish251]

So pleased for you Abiam, FindMyPast is a site worth watching over the next few months as all the information that is currently on familyhistoryonline will be added, making it a really good site to have access to.

Kerry 

I really like familyhistoryonline & I'm sorry they are going to FindMyPast - which I don't much like at all - I am probably hung over from when they started & I spent a fortune looking for folks and never finding them on their very badly indexed  BDM registers.

I think we must be very lucky in Australia to have all our war records  easily available from our national archives, so we have no need to search elsewhere - Canada seems to be similar.

I still find FindMyPast expensive so am unlikely to subscribe to them at the current time.

Trish

[Abiam2]

Must tell you all this:

New member to FindMyPast and not very happy to begin with but with good advice from RChatters am now liking it. 

I looked up a particular family which I know are wrongly transcribed on Ancestry and there it was mistranscribed.

So I did a correction for them for 5 people in the same household, the gentleman was blind and dump, the surnames were Jubb instead of Tubb,  Dabson instead of Dobson and the place was Southam Bridge instead of Smitham Bridge.  (7 errors in all)

Within hours of sending the correction I had an acknowledgment and today I have just received notice that it has been changed with their thanks and one free credit!

So FindMyPast certainly appreciate hearing of errors,
Abiam

[kerryb]

Brilliant Abiam

I've not had to correct any errors yet on FindMyPast but when I can't find a census record on the other site I come to FindMyPast and 9 times out of 10 find it immediately.

They also reward you for loyalty, 20% of next year's membership sub if you take out Explorer or Discovery package.  Now that can't be bad. 

Kerry

[LizzieW]

Well done Abiam, I knew you'd get to like FindMyPast.

I've told them about a few mistranscriptions and now have 14 credits.  As I have an Explorer sub, I'm not sure what I can do with these credits, I think I'll e-mail and ask them.

Hint though, advise them of mistranscriptions one at a time and you'll then get a credit for each one.   

Lizzie