Genealogy: Ancestry, Family Search, & Mundia

Over the past couple of years, I developed a passion for genealogy.

 

My uncle on my dad's side researched my maiden name, and my uncle on my mom's side researched my adopted grandfather's name. But, no one had researched the rest of my family! I thought it would be a fun challenge to do so.

 

Here are some interesting tidbits I've found so far:

• On my father's side, I am a descendent of Charlemagne the Great. I'm also a descendent of President Adams, the family of the infamous Benedict Arnold, and the family of the ill-fated Anne Boleyn.
• My paternal grandmother was adopted by her third cousin once removed. Her biological mother was 14 when she gave birth to my grandma, but her biological mother did eventually marry my grandma's biological father. They lived within a close distance of one another. And, my grandma died 5 years after her biological mom. I don't know if they ever met!
• My maternal grandma's family were relatively recent immigrants from Portugal and Ireland. They immigrated in the 1860s. Unfortunately, some lived in Chicago around the same time as the Great Fire, so records have been difficult to find. The rest of my mom's family have names too common to verifiably research, but I'm not giving up!

I use Ancestry, Ancestry Mobile, Mundia, and Family Search for my genealogical research. Of the three, Ancestry is the only fee-based website, but my library gives me free access to information searches.

 

Ancestry, Ancestry Mobile, and Family Search

Ancestry and Family Search are relatively similar. Both allow you to create a family tree, and both provide informational records. I would say they complement each other well as one has records the other doesn't and vice versa.

 

Aside from needing a paid subscription to view records on Ancestry, its free family tree builder is more user friendly than the one on Family Search. You can easily add & delete family member info as it is verified.

 

Ancestry mobile is an application on my Android. Similar to the website, it will notify you of potentially related information about an ancestor. Unlike the website, you don't need a subscription to view the information; however, there is a downside.

 

With a paid subscription, Ancestry will automatically integrate informational records you select into your family tree. On Ancestry Mobile, while you can view information without a subscription, you are responsible for manually adding or correcting information within your family tree.

 

Aside from Family Search's free access to records, its family tree builder has more disadvantages than advantages. The biggest problem I've had with Family Search is the automatic linking of ancestors. Within the family tree builder, Family Search first asks you to search for your ancestor. If it has that person who matches date of birth, spouse, parents, etc., Family Search prefers you select the existing individual's record rather than creating a new record. If you select a record, however, you are also selecting all the ancestors linked to that record. These links may include duplicate individuals, inaccurate ancestors, and inaccurate birth/death dates. Unlike Ancestry, you can't easily delete these linked individuals.

 

After encountering so many errors with Family Search's family tree, I decided to use the site exclusively for searching genealogical information.

 

Mundia

Mundia allows you to freely search other members' family trees. You make the decision whether dates and locations are accurate, and while the site lists spouses and parents, you have to manually add the individuals. Mundia may sound more time-consuming, but I like the responsibility it gives me. As an added bonus, Mundia is linked to Ancestry, so any edits I make to my family tree on Mundia automatically sync to Ancestry.

 

While I'm in no way a genealogy expert, I'd be happy to offer my assistance as I continue to research my family. You can leave me a comment here or contact me using the link in the upper right hand corner!