(Redirected from Ancestry.co.uk)
'The Generations Network' is an
Internet company based in
Provo,
Utah and the largest
for-profit genealogy company in the world.
[3] They run a growing network of genealogy and
family-related websites.
In addition to their main sites, The Generations Network runs FamilyHistory.com,
[4] which contains some basic free information, but is mostly a portal to Ancestry.com. They also publish ''Ancestry Magazine'' and formerly published ''Genealogical Computing'' before the magazine ceased publication in 2006. They have a presence in the
United Kingdom under the name MyFamily.com, Ltd., whose offices are located in
Hammersmith,
London,
England[5] and an office in
Munich,
Germany.
[6]
History
In 1996,
Infobases invested in Ancestry, a print publishing company founded in 1983, later purchasing the company outright from founder
John Sittner.
Paul Allen (not the Microsoft co-founder) and
Dan Taggart began running Ancestry independently from Infobases in July 1997, and began creating one of the largest online subscription-based genealogy database services.
[7] The company changed its name to "MyFamily.com" in November 1999 since its mission included both genealogy and connecting families to each other.
The MyFamily.com website launched in December 1998 (with free sites beginning in March 1999
[8]), obtaining 1 million registered users within its first 140 days.
The company raised more than $90 million in venture capital from investors including
Intel,
CMGI,
AOL,
Kodak,
Compaq,
Sorenson,
Esnet,
Vspring and
Tango Partners.
According to Paul Allen (quoting a November 2002 article in the
New York Times), the sales for 2002 were about $62 million, and those for 2003 were $99 million.
[9]
In March 2004, the company opened a new
call center in Provo due to outgrowing their old call center in
Orem. The new call center can accommodate approximately 700 agents at one time.
[10] Heritage Makers was acquired in September 2005,
[11] and sold a year later in August 2006.. The Ancestry.ca website was opened on
January 24,
2006.
[12] In March 2006, MyFamily opened a new office in
Bellevue, Washington as part of the MyFamily business unit.
[13] Encounter Technologies was acquired in April 2006
[14]
The company changed its name to "The Generations Network" on
December 19,
2006.
[15] While the company formerly offered access to Ancestry.com free at any LDS
Family History Center, that service was terminated on
2007-03-17 due to the inability to reach a mutually-agreeable licensing agreement between TGN and the
LDS Church.
[16]
Ancestry.com
'Ancestry.com' is a
subscription-based genealogy research website with over 5 billion records online and more being added almost daily.
[17] The majority of records are from the
United States, though a growing number of records are being added for other countries such as
Canada, the
United Kingdom, and various
European countries. Some of these records are free for anyone to access, but the majority are accessible only by paid subscription.
On
June 22,
2006, Ancestry.com completed the
indexing and
scanning of all of the
United States Federal Census records from
1790 through
1930.
[18][19]
Subscriptions are automatically renewed unless you cancel (via the web or a phone call), a policy explained in their
Terms and Conditions.
[20] As commonly happens with the terms of service on many Internet sites, most members do not pay attention to or read them and are therefore surprised when their subscriptions automatically renew. The automatic renewal system has caused some controversy, as documented on the sites
below.
Ancestry.com was nominated for a 2007
CODiE Award in the "Best Online Consumer Information Service" category.
[21] The site was also used recently to show that ancestors of
Al Sharpton were owned by relatives of the late
Senator Strom Thurmond.
[22]
Non-U.S. sites
Ancestry.com operates multiple non-U.S.-centric sites which give access to records specific to various other countries. 'Ancestry.ca' allows for access to only those records from Canada. This allows those accessing the site to avoid search results containing records from elsewhere in the world. The online records include more than 150 million searchable names, as well as the first fully indexed 1911 Census of Canada.
'Ancestry.com.au' allows for access to only those records from the United Kingdom,
Ireland and
Australia, thereby avoiding search results containing records from elsewhere in the world. The site was opened sometime in August 2006.
'Ancestry.co.uk' allows for access to only those records from the United Kingdom and
Ireland, thereby avoiding search results containing records from elsewhere in the world. The Ancestry.co.uk site received almost 4 million visitors in February 2006, up from about 2.2 million in July 2005.
[23] Some credit for this increase in genealogical interest is given to recent
BBC shows such as ''
Who Do You Think You Are?''.
'Ancestry.de' was launched in 2006 and 'Ancestry.it' was launched in mid-2007, each offering census records, immigration lists, and other records.
Family Heritage Project
This site is set up so that you can order a customised book containing census images, photos and other information regarding your family's past. The book is leather-bound and contains information up to four generations of a family.
[24]. As of December 2006, the book is no longer available for order.
[25]
Family Tree Maker
Advertised as "the #1-selling family tree software on the market."
[26] As with other
genealogy software, Family Tree Maker allows you to keep track of all of the information you collect as you are researching, and then create reports, charts, and books containing that information. The software was developed by Banner Blue, then purchased by Broderbund. It passed through the hands of The Learning Company, Mattel, and others before coming under its current ownership. At present, it is offered for users of
Microsoft Windows 98/ME/2000/XP only, with no plans to release it on any other platforms.
[27][28] Most features of Family Tree Maker 2005, 2006, and 16 function with
Windows Vista, but "certain features (like exporting a view, book, or tree to PDF)" require an update. Even with the update, one must run as an administratior if one wishes to preview a book.
[29]
Family Tree Maker Version 16 was nominated for a 2007
CODiE Award in the "Best Consumer Productivity Solution" category.
[30]
Genealogy.com
A genealogy research website with some records not found on Ancestry.com, though the total number of records available is smaller. Genealogy.com was acquired from
A&E Networks by MyFamily.com in 2003.
[31]
LongLostPeople.com
This site allows you to search
public records for living people in the
United States.
[32]
MyFamily.com
An Internet website which allows anyone to create a family or group website (e.g., a class reunion site, a club site) within a matter of minutes. A basic template for the site can be manipulated to turn on or off various modules for the main page, but the customization is limited. This may change in the future as they are currently running a public beta of a new version of the site (titled "MyFamily.com 2.0 beta").
[33]
RootsWeb.com
A free genealogy community which makes excellent use of online forums and mailing lists to help people research their family history. RootsWeb was founded in
1993 by Dr. Brian Leverich and Karen Isaacson as the Roots Surname List, and quickly grew from there. It is the oldest free community genealogy research site.
[34] RootsWeb was acquired by MyFamily.com in June 2000.
[35] Users can also upload a
GEDCOM of their information for others to view.
Controversy
There are some who disapprove of the policies and business practices of The Generations Network and the sites it operates. Some sites, e.g.
BadBusinessBureau.com, catalog these stories. Ancestry.com and affiliates sell perpetual subscriptions that only end when they are cancelled, sometimes allowing them to collect from long deceased subscribers.
Because the company is based in Utah, some mistakenly believe that it is run by
The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (or "
Mormons"). However, according to the company's Public Relations Senior Manager, Peggy Hayes (as of January 2006), the company is privately held and the LDS Church has no stake in it.
External links
★
The Generations Network corporate site
★
Ancestry.com —
Australia —
Canada —
Germany —
Italy —
United Kingdom
★
Family Heritage Project
★
Family Tree Maker genealogy software
★
Genealogy.com
★
LongLostPeople.com
★
MyFamily.com
★
RootsWeb.com
References
1. MyFamily.com names Tim Sullivan as President and CEO
2. Andrew Wait named SVP Marketing
3. From Shared Resources, Your Personal History Peter Wayner
4. FamilyHistory.com
5. Contact MyFamily
6. Ancestry.com Expands Its Scotland Census Collection
7. Infobases "Our Companies"
8. MyFamily.com begins offering free sites
9. My Companies: A Chronological View of My Entrepreneurial Endeavors Paul Allen
10. MyFamily growing in Utah
11. Acquisition of Heritage Makers
12. Release of Ancestry.ca
13. Bellevue, Washington office opened
14. MyFamily.com acquires Encounter Technologies
15. MyFamily.com, Inc. Changes Corporate Name to The Generations Network
16. Ancestry.com Terminates Free Access in Family History Centers Dick Eastman
17. Genealogy Databases Posted or Updated Recently
18. Genealogical site digitizes millions of census records
19. Ancestry.com Digitizes Entire U.S. Federal Census Collection From 1790-1930
20. Terms and Conditions
21. Finalists - The 22nd Annual SIIA Codie Awards
22. Slavery links families Austin Fenner
23. Millions log on to discover their ancestors
24. Common Questions
25. Family Heritage Project
26. FamilyTreeMaker.com
27. What are the system requirements for Family Tree Maker 2006?
28. Is Family Tree Maker available for the Macintosh?
29. Family Tree Maker Update for Windows Vista
30.
31. Acquisition of Genealogy.com
32. Frequently Asked Questions
33. MyFamily.com 2.0 beta
34. RootsWeb.com
35. Acquisition of RootsWeb
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