How to Join the Ancestry Website

Have you considered researching your family tree on Ancestry but aren’t sure how and where to begin?

This article will help you on your journey to learning more about the ancestors who came before you!

First let’s start with the main home page on Ancestry.com, you will see options for genealogy research, DNA, a free trail, and a login or sign up button.

The opening landing page provides you an over view of the services that Ancestry.com has to offer.

There are various links for selecting resource articles and videos. I encourage you to check these out to learn all that the program has to offer as well as other customer’s experiences!

(Throughout this article may be Affiliate links and Ads. There is no extra cost to the buyer. RLS Photogenic may receive a small commission. Thank you for supporting my blog!*)

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Free Ancestry Trail

If you are brand new to family tree research, I recommend starting with a Free Trail.

When signing up for the 14 day free trail, you can choose which membership package you would like to try out.

Please note that a credit or debit card is required for sign up but you will not be charged if you cancel the chosen membership 2 days before the end of the free trail. If you do not cancel the membership plan will go in to effect.

To cancel the free trail visit the Account Settings section or by contacting Ancestry customer service.

By using this option, it gives you the opportunity to see what information is available for searching for your loved ones, and an understanding of how the Ancestry website works.

Searchable Documents

Depending on the plan you choose for a membership (more details below) you will have access to all sorts of files, documents, pictures, and more!

Some records available to search include:

• Census and Voter Lists
• Birth, Marriage, Death
• Immigration and Travel
• Military
• Card Catalog
• Member Search
• Public Member Trees

Within each of these categories is even more options for resources.

Card Catalog

The card catalog is a great place to search for specific types of documents such as newspapers, directories, maps, yearbooks, and more!

You can also narrow down your search by location, date, and names.

Member Search/ Public Member Trees

So you may be wondering what those categories mean.

When you or someone else sets up their family tree and starts gathering information, there is the ability to have the tree be Public or Private.

This determines if other Ancestry members can view or find your tree, or not. And whether you can find someone elses.

That is all up to personal preference.

I will caution you to never take someone else’s research as fact unless you check their sources.

Sometimes people get a little over excited and save everything they find without double checking that it is the correct person.

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(Throughout this article may be Affiliate links and Ads. There is no extra cost to the buyer. RLS Photogenic may receive a small commission. Thank you for supporting my blog!*)

Ancestry.com Membership Subscription Options

Okay so now we will dive in to the membership packages!

The information written here is from the Ancestry website as of September 2023.

I tried to keep this section straight and to the point.

If you have any questions please be sure to comment at the end of this article and I’d be happy to help you!

Please note the prices listed are at a discounted rated if you start with a free trail (I highly recommend this route!)

U.S. Discovery

With the U.S. Discovery membership you will receive access to all U.S. records on Ancestry.com

Per Ancestry.com this package also includes:

• Make discoveries in Ancestry special collections with records and help focusing on African-American and Jewish family history
• Learn from our exclusive Ancestry Hints® – where we do the searching for you to expand your family tree
• Organize, preserve and share your family tree online with advanced tools that help you grow your tree and upload photos and stories
• Connect with millions of other Ancestry members to ask for help, share ideas, make discoveries and possibly discover living relatives you never knew you had
• Explore all our U.S. record collections including birth, marriage, death and census records detailing occupations, ages, siblings, birthplaces, addresses, and more – even maiden names

Pricing

Monthly Fee- $19.99

6 Month Plan, Paying a Monthly Fee – $16.50

6 Month Plan, Pay a one time Upfront Fee – $99

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World Explorer

This is the most popular option, which provides access to all U.S. and International records.

Per Ancestry.com, this package includes everything listed in U.S. Discovery membership, plus:

• Learn about your ancestors in more than 80 countries outside the U.S., including the UK, Ireland, Canada, Germany, Australia, France, Denmark, Norway, Sweden and more
• Travel back to the 16th century in popular UK birth, marriage and death records and see original hand-written documents
• Discover your immigrant ancestors and learn more about your family’s homeland in detailed passenger lists, border crossings and more
• Enjoy unlimited access to more than 3 billion international birth, marriage, death, census, military, church and other records

Pricing

Monthly Fee- $34.99

6 Month Plan, Paying a Monthly Fee- $24.83

6 Month Plan, Pay a one time Upfront Fee – $149

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All Access

The All Access option covers both U.S. and international records in addition to information from Fold3 and Newspapers.com Publisher Extra.

Per Ancestry.com, this package includes everything listed in the U.S. Discovery and World Explorer membership, plus:

• Explore millions of global military records on Fold3®, including many from WWII and the US Civil War
• Find stories among the largest online newspaper archive, dating back to the 1700s with Newspapers.com™ Publisher Extra®

Pricing

Monthly Fee- $54.99

6 Month Plan, Paying a Monthly Fee- $39.83

6 Month Pan, Pay a one time Upfront Fee- $239

Conclusion

Ancestry.com is personally my go-to website for researching my family tree, tracking my DNA results and family matches, and connecting with relatives.

I have tried other platforms but this one is my favorite by far.

I hope this article was helpful in providing you an overview of options available.

If you have any questions please leave me a comment below!

and we can connect on Pinterest here at RLSPhotogenic !

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