May I get help maneuvering this site?

+8 votes
304 views
I don't get it. Wanted to try this site before signing up to full membership. Belonged to Ancestry.com for years, but they offered very little. At the time they offered only Mate nal DNA testing, That test (which was $99.00 at the time) only went back to second generation which was a total waste of time. Extremely disappointed because I already had that information. They did NO DNA testing of my Paternal bloodline.  (apparently they do now, but some reviews are not good).  Regarding my Maternal bloodline, I have info dating back to 1800s but Ancestry ignored that info. What can you do to make this a successful experience for me? I have a Cherokee Indian family connection (proven) and my Father's family is from Pescara and Teramo Italy.  There was NOTHING found about the Italians. Thank you for your time.
in Genealogy Help by Patricia DiNicola G2G Crew (370 points)
retagged by Lynda Crackett

Welcome aboard! A greeter should be by soon to assist you further, but I thought I would stop by and provide some links to help you get started exploring WIkiTree and see what we are all about.

First off, WIkiTree is all about the Collaborative Family Tree, a single shared tree that we all contribute to. Two of the biggest factors of WikiTree is collaboration, and working on well-sourced profiles. We strive to maintain a single profile for every person in the tree, by merging duplicates and searching for existing profiles to contribute to.

New users generally start off by using the GEDCOMpare tool to add their information to existing profiles, or add new profiles that do not yet exist. The ultimate goal would be to link your information to the single family tree.

You mentioned DNA a few times, so I wanted to mention that while WikiTree has DNA features, WikiTree does not offer DNA testing, and raw data from existing DNA tests are not uploaded to WikiTree.

While WikiTree is not specifically designed to help you find information (like ancestry and familysearch), there are many tools (CategoriesProjects, etc.) and collaborative genealogists here who can provide assistance.

I hope you will give us a shot by volunteering! Also, to make sure it is clear - WikiTree is FREE and requires no membership beyond signing the Honor Code and volunteering your time and efforts.

I have added the Greeters tag to your question to get the attention of someone who can help you to navigate the membership process and get started.

2 Answers

+10 votes
Patricia,  

I can't tell from what you say whether you'd find what you're looking for at Wikitree.  Wikitree does not conduct DNA testing -- and its emphasis is on creating a large, accurate, shared, global tree that eventually (in an ideal world) connects all of us together.  We do allow DNA tests to be added to your profile here -- but the usefulness of that DNA is very dependent on the paper trail that exists (or can be built) here.  

The people on Wikitree are volunteers. Wikitree is free. This isn't a big commercial company that you pay and expect to have them "do something" in exchange for money.  Instead, it's a community of mostly very helpful people -- some are professional genealogists, and many are amateurs seeking to learn more about their own backgrounds.

We do have people who have volunteered to be mentors to newcomers -- but again, we are all volunteers.  You will be, too, if you decide to join Wikitree.  And if you do, maybe someday you'll be taking someone else by the hand and helping them learn about, add to, and improve our shared tree.  

Here's a link to an introduction to Wikitree, in case I've misstated something.  https://www.wikitree.com/wiki/Help:How_to_Use_WikiTree

There is a learning curve, and it can be frustrating, but for the most part, people are happy to help.

If you're interested in learning more, ask more questions here in the forum.  Maybe someone else can explain Wikitree better than I can.

I see that Stephen has responded more quickly than I, (and did a better job of answering you), but I'll go ahead and post this anyway.

Reba
by R. Greenup G2G6 Mach 7 (73.3k points)
+7 votes

Patricia, you need to finish your registration process by creating research Tags and clicking the Volunteer button on your profile page. You can then begin to make use of the benefits on WikiTree discussed by the other people who answered your question. Once you have been confirmed as a Family Member, you can begin adding your lineage to our database. For more information on how to do this, see Volunteering. If you have questions, I will be happy to answer them.

by Shirley Dalton G2G6 Pilot (543k points)

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