Thoughts on thegenealogist.co.uk

[saw119]

I have a dilemma and its a pretty big one. I feel like I need some tithe records but the only way of getting them is through thegenealogist. Is it worth it? I don't even think it will be very many records and I'm in a real quandary about it all. Can someone advise me on whether they have used the site and whether the records are worth having (an ancestor was a farmer).

[trystan]

TheGenealogist is an excellent resource, the quality of the images are excellent and their transcriptions are on the whole very well done.

You can try them out for free for two weeks to give them a whirl:
https://www.thegenealogist.co.uk/14day/

Trystan

[clairec666]

I'm confused by TheGenealogist. They have parish records for several places I'm interested in, but I can't tell whether there are images or transcriptions only. And there's no free search so I can't be sure whether the records I want are available.
I guess I'd better give the free trial a try!

[LizzieW]

claire - be sure to cancel the free trial if you don't want a subscription to The Genealogist.  I had a free trial a few years back and then found I'd been charged for a subscription.  I wrote to them telling them that I had cancelled the free trial and didn't expect them to charge me for a subscription.  I must say they were very prompt in returning my money - it is a family run company so they need to keep their good name, unlike the big boys.

[clairec666]

claire - be sure to cancel the free trial if you don't want a subscription to The Genealogist.  I had a free trial a few years back and then found I'd been charged for a subscription.  I wrote to them telling them that I had cancelled the free trial and didn't expect them to charge me for a subscription.  I must say they were very prompt in returning my money - it is a family run company so they need to keep their good name, unlike the big boys.

Thanks, I'm wary of putting my credit card details into sites for trials and making sure I've cancelled it properly. There are probably quite a few people who have been caught out.

[smudwhisk]

I'm confused by TheGenealogist. They have parish records for several places I'm interested in, but I can't tell whether there are images or transcriptions only. And there's no free search so I can't be sure whether the records I want are available.
I guess I'd better give the free trial a try!

Many of their parish records are transcriptions from FHS or other sources or from digitised books that are out of copyright.  They've recently released some original registers for Norfolk.  When it was announced they claimed they would be images of the original registers and not microfilm, but from what I've seen from the Press Release they look like images from the films and many of those are free to view on familysearch anyway.  They did have a few original images of registers for the odd Wiltshire parish but can't remember which.

Personally, and there have been other threads about this, I don't tend to agree with Trystan that its that good a resource, but that's my personal opinion and I did have a subscription for a number of years prior to the Non-Conformist Registers and PCC Wills appearing on ancestry so am qualified to comment.

For anyone considering, I would definitely recommend using the free trial to see what you think.

[saw119]

You see, that goes to the very heart of my problem. I really only need one set of records from one record set, I'm fairly sure there is nothing else I want.

[smudwhisk]

I'd check if the tithe records are included in the free trial, its possible they may not be. 

Otherwise, the cheapest option is the 4 month sub, of which there is an offer at the moment making it £40 for 4 months.  However, I'd personally check that the "minimum period" is just 4 months and you're not expected to pay for a minimum period of 12 months before you can cancel.  It may be me, but I'm a bit suspicious of the wording.

[saw119]

I'd check if the tithe records are included in the free trial, its possible they may not be. 

Otherwise, the cheapest option is the 4 month sub, of which there is an offer at the moment making it £40 for 4 months.  However, I'd personally check that the "minimum period" is just 4 months and you're not expected to pay for a minimum period of 12 months before you can cancel.  It may be me, but I'm a bit suspicious of the wording.

Hence my nervousness