Can I use ancestry. com as a source since I built a family tree on their site?

+2 votes
213 views
in Policy and Style by Eric Olson G2G Crew (830 points)

4 Answers

+4 votes
 
Best answer
I posted a link on Mary Bassarabaʻs profile that might help you. The tree you have on Ancestry is full of nice sources, I hope you are able to find the same on FamilySearch (its free) and/or transfer them to WikiTree.

And----Welcome.
by Kristina Adams G2G6 Pilot (343k points)
selected by Lizzie Griffiths
I just read your link Kristina :-)

I never knew that, when I’ve not found an alternative to an Ancestry source I’ve been writing out full citations! Great to know!

That’s a great tip Eric, and also hello and welcome :-) But as everyone says, try to back it up with Familysearch where possible!

Lizzie
Thanks Lizzie
+11 votes
You need to show what the actual sources are for your Ancestry tree are here on Wikitree.  Most people here aren’t Ancestry members so can’t see your tree or your sources unless you copy them on to your profiles here.  Many of the sources on Ancestry are available for free on Familysearch, so you can also post links to the Familysearch versions.
by Kathie Forbes G2G6 Pilot (844k points)
To support Kathie's answer,

While I do activate my ancestry.com membership for about 6 months of the year,   very frequently referenced links to ancestry.com are broken and so no information is available.
+4 votes
Source records available on Ancestry are OK—but as the previous answer said, if those same records are available on FamlySearch, where anyone can access them without paying fee, that is preferred. In both cases, but especially when citing Ancestry (or any other paid site) you should use a complete citation and not just a link, so that the reader of the profile can see where the information originated.

In contrast to source records available on Ancestry, citations to Ancestry family trees should be avoided, since the huge majority cite no sources, and most of the rest cite problematic sources like the AGBI, or cite sources that don't really support the assertion, such as citing a census record for an exact date and place of birth or for the names of an adult census entry's parents. If an Ancestry tree does cite a good, solid source, cite the source here, not the Ancestry tree.

In the rare situations where an Ancestry tree does have a lot of good sources, you might want to put the tree under Sources with a "see also" moniker—but for the basic facts of a person's life, birth, marriage, death, you should still cite the original sources.
by Stuart Bloom G2G6 Pilot (104k points)
+3 votes

The sources on Ancestry for each of your ancestors are only good if you examine that evidence before accepting it to your tree. I have found several ancestors who are definitely ancestors, but may have incorrect sourcing, maybe they are connected to the wrong spouse, or have way too many children attached to them.  

My ancestry tree is very large. I have been adding my ancestors one at a time, but not before examining each source; ie: US Census, marriage record, Find-A-Grave, and make sure that they make sense to that one particular ancestor.

I don't use the information like it is written in ancestry.com, but rather I make sure it conforms to WikiTree standards. I ALWAYS cite the original source, for example: Year: 1920; Census Place: Momence, Kankakee, Illinois; Roll: T625_377; Page: 4B; Enumeration District: 125; Image: 678.

Remember - you have to check your sources - no matter where you find them, to make sure they match your ancestor.

by Cheryl Hess G2G Astronaut (1.8m points)

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