I use ancestry off and on. More for the record images and old actual transcribed documents than anything else. The trees? Take many of them with a huge grain of salt. Lots of them are non-sourced and basically lifted from each other and repeated. I've done family research for about 20yrs and started with the work of kin that had been gathering long before me. Even with such a start, don't take anything as gospel...the older generations lived in a time that skeletons were kept tightly closed in the ssshhhhh closet. Verify and trace the sources to the original documents.

It's always been the thrill of the hunt of me LOL.

I did the family tree thing for a while. Biggest thing I learned is people lie and only claim what they want too. Interesting project but too many family secrets. 4 month premature 7 lb babies, marriage dates fudged, and one cousin who will have no idea his dad isn't his dad unless he searches the internet.

I would love to do that! It is actually free through my local library but I never have time lately for much of anything!

I used to have an account and I've learned a few interesting things. My paternal great grandfather (dad's mom's dad) fought in WWI but also enlisted to fight in WWII. And that side of the family used to live out near where I currently live in PA. My maternal great great grandfather (mom's mom's mom's dad) went back and forth between NYC and Italy a LOT. I found tons of records for him from when he went back and forth. He moved his wife and kids here (and he had a lot of kids, but, a lot didn't survive long) but went back to visit his family a lot. And I learned that my mom's dad's side of the family came to the NYC area by way of Canada.

I got as far as my grandparents and that's as far as I got as well. Sure, there were some records, but you couldn't be sure of what was the record meant.

It was never as easy as just going straight back by marriage and birth records. For one, I couldn't find birth or marriage records for my mother's parents. I found birth records for only a couple of her siblings, and I know she said both of her parents had children from other relationships, but how to find those people I'm at a loss.

I found two census records for what I think was my mother's father but I can't be sure which one is the correct record. My mother's dead now so I can't ask her, even if she was alive I doubt I'd get a straight answer anyway.

All these commercials that say "I found out my great great grandfather was a blacksmith" well, I don't see what record they used to find that out. I never found any records that listed a person's occupation.

I didn't get as much information as I had hoped for so I cancelled my membership.

I have used it before as well...

my mom was adopted as a newborn...she had a twin that died within a month after childbirth..my grandmother died one day after having my mom and her twin....I was able to find BOTH death certificates and cause of death was written on both...I now know my grandmothers real name and the name of my mom's twin...growing up, all that info was keep a huge secret from me and my siblings....I was able to crack that Scooby Doo mystery using that site!!!!

I have to say that I love ancestry.com. I have been researching for years now and the info I have found has been very interesting.
I have over 4000 people on my tree and I know that some have to be wrong but the majority are the correct people.

I have found that I am descended from Kings and Queens of both England and Scotland. My children's family on their Dad's side settled New Orleans and they had relatives that were a big part of the German settlers in that area as well as relatives that were sent north to Canada to be later called Cajuns.

I live in the south but so far I have not found a history of any slave ownership of which I am glad. My family was poor and they had to work for a living and not force someone else to do it for them. However while looking into DH history, he had relatives that owned slaves. In wills and documents that I have uncovered, I have found that these slave owners had children with the slaves. They were given only 1 name. When the owner passed away they willed their slaves to their children. Some of these slaves were their children also so actually a son would be willed a slave but in reality that slave maybe be their brother or sister. Just crazy. Funny thing is that most of my DH's family was from Delaware. I didn't realize slavery was an issue that far north.

Over all I am really hooked on my ancestry.com. I do recommend it but I also recommend that you do your own research. Its great to look at someone's tree but if one person has something wrong and someone copies it instead of fact checking it then it just perpetuates the mistakes going forward.

As for finding out what an ancestor may have done for a living, it should be listed on the census records. Most of my family were farmers or homemakers with a few teachers and preachers tossed in.

My Mom tells me to stop looking. That it is better to let sleeping dogs lie but she grew up in the time when secrets were kept. I say lets just drag it all out in the open.

Good luck on your research! I'm big into the Revolutionary War right at the moment.