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Friday Family History: Ancestry.com, Or You Thought Pinterest Was Addicting

As you might know, I use ancestry.com as a family history resource.  As I enter information about my ancestors, sometimes ancestry will have hints for me, sources that might help document the person I am researching.  I have entered enough names and received enough hints that I don't think I will ever run out of avenues to explore.

Here is a screen shot that shows that I have more hints than people entered into my family tree:


Out of 410 people in this particular tree, 177 of them have hints for a total of 433 hints.  387 of those hints are records:  census, birth, marriage, death, military, etc.  Particularly exciting are the 42 photo hints and the 4 story hints. 

As I click on the hints, I can compare the information to what I already know in order to determine if the hint really does match my ancestor.  Sometimes it doesn't, but often it does.  I can either accept or ignore each hint.  Accepted hints sometimes lead to finding other relatives, which then leads to more hints. 

I can research hints for hours.  I tell you, it is more addictive than pinterest.  (And that is saying something!)

Do you find yourself getting "lost" in the computer?  What are your favorite sites?

Thanks for the good that comes from technology.


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Comments

  1. NancySeptember 21, 2012 at 8:24 AM

    Oh my, I don't dare try ancestry.com because I would not have time for anything else.

    Reading blogs and checking Ravelry are my time-consuming sites. I do have a Pinterest account, but rarely do any searching, which is a good thing.

    ReplyDelete
  2. DebbieSeptember 21, 2012 at 6:19 PM

    I have used Ancestry before....my cousin is creating our whole family tree so I check in once in a while. It is such fun isn't it?!

    ReplyDelete
  3. An Oasis in the DesertSeptember 23, 2012 at 8:15 AM

    Researching my ancestry is something I really want to do. My grandmother and one of her brothers had done quite a bit of that, but sadly, neither of her daughters thought the handwritten info was worth keeping. I have put off ancestry.com because I know it will be extremely time-consuming and addicting, but it is definitely on my bucket list.

    Truly my biggest addiction is blogging. A day without visiting or writing something is like a day without sunshine....lol. I know that's kind of sad, isn't it?

    ReplyDelete

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