Unofficial Guide to Ancestry.com: How to Find Your Family History on the No. 1 Genealogy Website

by Nancy Hendrickson

Master the world's #1 genealogy website and discover the secrets to Ancestry.com success! This book, updated in 2016 to include the most recent changes to the site, will help you get the most out of your Ancestry.com subscription by showing you how to take advantage of all the world's biggest genealogy website has to offer--and how to find answers to your family tree questions within its 14 billion records, 60 million family tree and 32,000 databases. What you'll    • Step-by-step strategies for structuring your searches to find what you're looking for faster   • How to drill down to specific records, time periods and topics using the card catalog   • Details on each of Ancestry.com's historical record collections, including what you can expect to find in them--and when you need to look elsewhere   • Tips for creating and managing your family tree on Ancestry.com, as well as connecting your tree to others on the site   • Timesaving tricks to maximize your Ancestry.com Hints (the "shaky leaf"), Tree Sync with Family Tree Maker, and the Ancestry.com mobile appEach chapter includes step-by-step examples with illustrations to show you exactly how to apply the techniques to your genealogy. Whether you've just begun dabbling in family history or you're a longtime Ancestry.com subscriber, this book will turn you into an Ancestry.com power user!

Genres: Nonfiction, Reference, History

492 pages, Kindle Edition

First published October 21, 2014

About the author

Nancy Hendrickson is a non-fiction author who writes about diverse industries for books, magazines and the web. Nancy has recently turned her writing talents to fiction, and is currently working on a cozy mystery as well as an historical time-travel novel. Nancy lives in San Diego, California and is available to give talks on all facets of non-fiction writing.

When not writing, you can find Nancy somewhere in the frontier west - delving into the people and events of a bygone era, all while listening to the tales spun by the resident ghosts. Nancy is the one with the Canon DSLR, the little Canon Elph and the digital recorder!

Catch up with Nancy at http://nancyhendrickson.com

Reviews

[Theresa · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book is great for what it was designed for, to use as a reference while navigating Ancestry.com. I did read some entire chapters and others I only skimmed as they are not relevant to any of my current genealogy search questions. I'm glad I have this reference if ever I need it. The writing is clear and the suggested steps are easy to follow. The lone detractor from the book is that Ancestry has already updated many of the layouts presented in the visual reference boxes so things look different on our screens now. I found it a bit confusing at times. I've decided I probably should not hold this author accountable as it was out of her hands when updates occur, therefore I did not subtract any stars.

Bottom line- ok reference book for those like me who sometimes find learning easier with reading about something in detail before trying.

[Christopher Newton · Rating 3 out of 5]

It's not really meant to be read straight through, but I find it a handy reference. I'm a bit of a genealogical tyro (is that the word?). Useful, succinct.

[Mara F. Sprott · Rating 4 out of 5]

More Windows and doors

I was little overwhelmed by " new info " on how to do a search and theses processes had /were evolving just my skills in genealogy research are evolving.
Just the resources 35+ yrs ago were "books on the shelf" now access now is much easier, limited by only not knowing the records exist and bureaucracy of getting to the records. There is SO much I have to do to make sure my children know their ancestors and are proud of those ancestors AND be glad I was able
archive what have and that more complete info was findable.
I will re-read this book many times in my continuing genealogy and my old hard copies. There is always something learn in something you've already read.
Don't give up, on your search for "family ", because there, is really a forest we have to navigate from "roots to sprouts". We have to adapt how we do things.
Otherwise we won't grow. Get the book, read it get busy.

[Laura M · Rating 4 out of 5]

I received an ARC from NetGalley on this book. I was excited to read it because I have been working on my family tree for months. Typical for me, I read no directions before starting in - just winged it - so it was nice now to have some input from someone who actually knows what they are doing on the thing! I learned some slick new tips as well as what I was doing right on the site. The book covers things like how to read birth and death records, looking at voter records and newspapers, as well as understanding DNA results if you also submit that to go with your tree. There are parts that might be overwhelming for a newbie (even I didn't understand a couple sections) but it gives a great overview so people can use it as a guide in reference to whatever stage they are in. Great genealogy book.

[Just · Rating 4 out of 5]

I believe this book would be valuable to someone just starting their genealogy journey so they get a good overview of what Ancestry can offer them. The step-by-step instructions are clear and concise to help someone navigate searches. Nancy does not seek to put down any other sites and say Ancestry.com is better, she merely provides what the book set out to do – teach the user about Ancestry.com.

You can read my full review at https://walkingthegenes.com/book-revi... - this is the first review I have done of a book since highschool!

[Cat · Rating 5 out of 5]

Ancestry is an amazing site! I've been exploring it for about three years now and am nowhere near covering all I want! This book i a Godsend! I had no idea all the stuff in the book was on Amazon! I've been searching randomly and this book certainly gives me some organized means of sorting through all the data Ancestry offers. Anyone who is interested in searching for ancestors will benefit from using this book. It contains lots of useful info to guide users through the site. Very well researched and organized.
I received a Kindle ARC from Netgalley in exchange for a fair review.

[Carla · Rating 4 out of 5]

I had subscribed to Ancestry many times so did not expect anything new. I was surprised that things have changed since the last time I subscribed. Even though you have to pay to get on and get too much information you can still look up and see if there is anything on a family member. This gives you the information from someone other than Ancestry. Would recommend it to help you get around the website.

[Randal White · Rating 5 out of 5]

A great reference book for Ancestry.com research. Starts out with the basics, then delves deep into the mysteries of researching your ancestors. I have been using Ancestry for over ten years now, and I still found so many new ideas and techniques to use. I especially appreciated the chapters on DNA. I took a DNA test through Ancestry, and now I have a whole slate of new possibilities to research and explore. A definite addition to my library that I will refer to again and again!

[SallyStenger]

Paperback, 256 pages. I am interested in this book because I am interested in genealogy research. Looks interesting, but probably is of most benefit if you have an Ancestry subscription. I want to read it more for general genealogical information since I am not on Ancestry.

[Summer · Rating 5 out of 5]

A good way to get a head start with ancestry.com!

Easy to read and follow and with many valuable tips and links as well as examples of her personal searches this book made a valuable time saver and resource for me when beginning my family research.

[Trudy Miner · Rating 4 out of 5]

Great resource for people new to Ancestry.com. Full of detailed How-t0's, charts, photos, and lists for people looking for a one-stop resource. Many of these are U.K. related; I was looking for U.S. related.

[Barbara V. Vaughan · Rating 4 out of 5]

Helpful Overview of the Ancestry website

This book is a quick Study. There are many link nuggets to help the newbies and those oldies who are mining their family history. It's worth the read.

[Jim Blessing · Rating 3 out of 5]

Decent book on this genealogy site. I skimmed it.

[Ola · Rating 4 out of 5]

Very good information.

[Patty · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great reference book!

[Christa · Rating 4 out of 5]

Excellent reference resource with good tips.

[Kim Phillips-Sasso · Rating 2 out of 5]

I didn't realize how old this was when I requested it from my library system. It's potentially useful to someone entirely new to research and genealogy, but I suspect Ancestry has changed so much in ten years this book will just muddy the water. The library really should take this off their shelves. And readers are better off relying on website tutorials presented by Crista Cowan and Ancestry itself.


Greater Clarks Hill Regional Library System/Columbia County Library
requested via PINES

[Gato Negro · Rating 2 out of 5]

I was already two weeks into my Ancestry foray when I picked this up.
It would have been better to read it before commencing.
For those brand new to research, it might be a valuable read, but I found that I knew most of what it contained.

[Nora Olmo · Rating 5 out of 5]

A guide and reference book...

[Lance Blair]

The place to get started !

[Angie]

As someone who has not found ancestry.com intuitive to use, I look forward to putting some of these tips into practice.

[Cynthia Hodgson · Rating 4 out of 5]

Excellent review of using features on Ancestry. Have been using for a number of years but learned a lot of new tips.

[Rangifer · Rating 4 out of 5]

Solid resource to help genealogy newbies navigate the basics of the Ancestry.com, though this is probably severely dated by now as so many new features have been added, and many other websites are now available to try.

[Sandy · Rating 4 out of 5]

Great resource for genealogy hints.

[Debbie Aiken · Rating 5 out of 5]

It provided a great tutorial including exercises to practice new skills. Now that I've begun on the "tree," I know I will need to read again.