Ancestry DNA membership features active

[Biggles50]

My conundrum is the fact my direct paternal line comes to a screeching halt in 1841, and nearly all matches tying into that branch are on Ancestry. My mother's side has been thoroughly researched well beyond the 14th Century and even further back on some branches (yay for well documented aristocratic bastards) and most of the other paternal branches get extended step by step.

Just this one branch, the one carrying the paternal family name, refuses to be anything more than a stump on the trunk. So I still need Ancestry for that, as well as for the fact most of Mom's family is like a virus, spreading all over Europe.

A long shot buy a yDNA test may help you.

Mine showed that the Family name on my Birth Certificate is not my actual Biological Family name

[Talacharn]

I felt an urge to keep going back as far as possible, but with every branch I have hit the brick wall around 1800 +/-20 years. There is not the paperwork to offer a name with any certainty, and several at that time were illegitimate. My DNA was tested with LivingDNA and for several reasons I deleted it. They offered my route out of Africa. When I cannot find my route around 1800, there is no point in trying to match it to the Neolithic. Surely some will be interested. The alternative has been to fill each branch of my tree, which I am doing. I have considered an Ancestry DNA test, but will not purchase a DNA test and a full subscription. Apparently, you are still offered matches, it is mainly their tools I would not be able to access, and family trees. Maybe that would be sufficient? What I have never used, their tools and trees, I will not miss. When a company is the biggest and ‘best’; they can control the market. In telling others to use Ancestry because they have the largest database, it increases that gap to others. For those interested in their family tree, more competition is needed.

[TreeDigger]

A long shot buy a yDNA test may help you.

Only works for genetic males, so not helpful in my case I'm afraid.

[TreeDigger]

When I cannot find my route around 1800, there is no point in trying to match it to the Neolithic.

Agreed. You might want to consider My Heritage, they're offering tests at under €40. Their ethnicity estimates can be safely ignored, but if your ancestry is predominantly European the matches may help you either break, or at least remove some bricks out of that wall.

[AnotherDay]

Hi Talacharn.

Living DNA has by far the smallest testing database, so for most people it is not the best testing company to begin with. In addition, until recently they had next-to-no DNA tools. But they recently made some key changes - and they now have a fabulous DNA chromosome mapping tool and you can group matches.

AncestryDNA (with whom I am currently very cranky!) has by far the largest testing database. Their kits are often on special (the next special might be at Easter) - so it's good to buy a kit when they are at the reduced price. And it looks as if AncestryDNA is currently including a free short membership (subscription) with new kits. With all Ancestry memberships, however, you need to cancel it at least a week before it expires - otherwise you will roll over into a new paid membership. Full memberships of Ancestry are expensive. But the new AncestryDNA Plus membership unlocks all the DNA tools - for a cost of about $US30 per six months.

If you do test with AncestryDNA, it's really important that you take advantage of the DNA tools while you have access to them. With a free or paid membership, most of your matches will be automatically designated Parent 1 or Parent 2 - which you can change to Paternal/Maternal or Maternal/Paternal. Without a membership, that parental split disappears.

AncestryDNA has a coloured dot system for grouping matches. I've created a blue coloured dot group called P0 (P zero) with associated paternal dot groupings called: P01 - Name; P02 - Name; etc. And I've created a pink coloured dot group called M0 (M zero), with associated maternal dot groupings called: M01 - Name; M02 - Name; etc.

I've given a blue or pink dot to as many of my matches as possible. The dots remain even when you don't have a membership. Without a membership, I wouldn't see the automatic paternal or maternal designation - but because of my dots, I could call up my P0 blue dot group or my M0 pink dot group. And when a new match arrives, with a bit of luck the three (non-membership) shared matches will have blue or pink dots.

[Biggles50]

I felt an urge to keep going back as far as possible, but with every branch I have hit the brick wall around 1800 +/-20 years. There is not the paperwork to offer a name with any certainty, and several at that time were illegitimate. My DNA was tested with LivingDNA and for several reasons I deleted it. They offered my route out of Africa. When I cannot find my route around 1800, there is no point in trying to match it to the Neolithic. Surely some will be interested. The alternative has been to fill each branch of my tree, which I am doing. I have considered an Ancestry DNA test, but will not purchase a DNA test and a full subscription. Apparently, you are still offered matches, it is mainly their tools I would not be able to access, and family trees. Maybe that would be sufficient? What I have never used, their tools and trees, I will not miss. When a company is the biggest and ‘best’; they can control the market. In telling others to use Ancestry because they have the largest database, it increases that gap to others. For those interested in their family tree, more competition is needed.

One does not need to have a long term Ancestry Subscription.

Just a month or two should be more than enough to extract quite a reasonable amount of data, UK is £10.99 per month.

As for expensive, I do not consider £89.99 a vast sum for an annual Worldwide Subscription which is what we have paid now for a few years.

By comparison Find My Past is expensive and only gives a miserly discount.

[Cell]

I am being totally ripped  off then as I pay 180 pounds ( 179.99) for an annual sub ( worldwide membership) if others are only paying 89 pounds for the same sub . It's  got far too expensive over the years for a lot of people.
They never give discounts  to long time sub holders, which annoys me, no customer  care.

I've  been with them for years and years, and will be cancelling my sub before the next renewal . They've  got worse  over the years, money  grab. Yes they're  a business,  but their business practices in recent  years I  think are totally unscrupulous. .

[Cell]

List of prices under my account if I want to change subs to  another  plan, semi annual .worldwide  sub  is  listed  as 99 pounds.  ,whilst 179.99  is for a  full year  worldwide sub ( my current  plan)

[justmej]

I am being totally ripped  off then as I pay 179 pounds for an annual sub ( worldwide membership). It's  got too expensive.
They never give discounts  to long time sub holders. 

I've  been with them for years and years, and will be cancelling my sub before the next renewal . They've  got worse  over the years, money  grab. Yes they're  a business,  but their business practices in recent  years I  think are totally unscrupulous. .

You need to cancel your auto-renew and once your subscription ends you could then try using one of the 'offer' links below that others have also had the benefit of.

Annual Worldwide for £89.99

https://www.ancestry.co.uk/checkout/mli?direct=1&quantities=1&flow=3&offers=O-24532&rType=11

Annual UK Premium for £59.99

https://www.ancestry.co.uk/checkout/mli?direct=1&quantities=1&flow=3&offers=O-24531&rType=11