In Ancestry worth it if you don't know the names of your relatives?

throwaway12222

My family history is very fragmented. In terms of my past family members, I know the names of 1 of my grandparents on my mothers side, both my parents and my sisters and brothers. 

But I don't know the names of any of my aunties or uncles, and by extension I don't know the names of their children, I don't know the name of my brothers children etc. 

Even if Ancestry did somehow manage to connect me with a relative, how would I know if it was a true connection or not, since I don't know their name?

Flugelhorn

part of exploring your family tree is finding out who these people were, what their names were, where and when they were born etc 

Browntoa

It's simple documentation trails 

Ancestry is pretty good at following the links 

For example 

Mr Jones marries miss smith in Holborn 

Modern birth records have mothers maiden names 

So any child , surname Jones , with a mothers maiden name of Smith , born in Holborn in the right period has a high probably of being a relative.

If you are lucky someone else's tree has already done all the research and will display a good chunk of your family tree 

silvercar

If it’s a DNA search, you don’t need names.

maman

Some public libraries give access to Ancestry and other similar websites. 

Baldytyke88

throwaway12222 said:

But I don't know the names of any of my aunties or uncles, and by extension I don't know the names of their children, I don't know the name of my brothers children etc. 

Even if Ancestry did somehow manage to connect me with a relative, how would I know if it was a true connection or not, since I don't know their name?

Ancestry is more useful for finding direct ancestors, grandparents, and great-grandparents, but not so much for finding aunties, etc.

Are you thinking about doing the research yourself, or a DNA test?

RAS

If you were born in England or Wales, go to the public library and their computers may well offer access to the Library edition of Ancestry (occasionally findmypast). 

Start by checking your own birth, then your siblings and from that your parents' marriage. Do not assume that they were married before their first child was born. Also ask your parents for copies of their marriage certificate and birth certificates. That may sound silly, but verifying online the information for which you have records is the best way to learn how to search the indexes. 

By that stage, Ancestry will probably start suggesting possible possible births for your parents. If you can't get their marriage certificate, it might be worth buying it from the GRO (there are rip off companies that charge you a lot more to buy it for you). That'll give you information about their fathers and verify that you are looking for the right couple.

Once you've got records for anyone born before 1939, try the 1939 Register. 

Note family trees online only report people who are deceased, so if your parents are alive, they won't appear in other people's trees. Their parents probably will. 

The GRO indexes are free to search and birth records before 1934 usually include the mother's maiden name. After that date you need to search using Ancestry or findmypast. Also try FreeBMD.

For Scottish records use the scotlandspeople website.

Just don't assume that what you've been told is correct. It's not unusual for John William to become William John, or Bill or even Stephen. Or for a child born before marriage to acquire the father or step-father's surname.

Cloth_of_Gold

RAS said:

If you were born in England or Wales, go to the public library and their computers may well offer access to the Library edition of Ancestry (occasionally findmypast). 

Start by checking your own birth, then your siblings and from that your parents' marriage. Do not assume that they were married before their first child was born. Also ask your parents for copies of their marriage certificate and birth certificates. That may sound silly, but verifying online the information for which you have records is the best way to learn how to search the indexes. 

By that stage, Ancestry will probably start suggesting possible possible births for your parents. If you can't get their marriage certificate, it might be worth buying it from the GRO (there are rip off companies that charge you a lot more to buy it for you). That'll give you information about their fathers and verify that you are looking for the right couple.

Once you've got records for anyone born before 1939, try the 1939 Register. 

Note family trees online only report people who are deceased, so if your parents are alive, they won't appear in other people's trees. Their parents probably will. 

The GRO indexes are free to search and birth records before 1934 usually include the mother's maiden name. After that date you need to search using Ancestry or findmypast. Also try FreeBMD.

For Scottish records use the scotlandspeople website.

Just don't assume that what you've been told is correct. It's not unusual for John William to become William John, or Bill or even Stephen. Or for a child born before marriage to acquire the father or step-father's surname.

I agre. When researching my family tree, I discovered that my uncle Ben (long deceased) was not Benjamin as I and my brother had assumed, but Bernard.

pseudodox

Find your nearest Family History Society & ask if they can give you some initial guidance.  My local one runs beginner courses - does not matter where your ancestors lived, or where any current relatives may be located.  Some societies have research rooms where you can access Ancestry etc without a big financial layout.  Or ask at your local library - many have Ancestry access & there should be someone to get you started.

Start with paper trails, not DNA.  Your DNA relies on other unknown to you relatives also testing, but it can usually only verify paper trails, not create an instant family tree unless all your unknown cousins, aunts & uncles, grandparents etc also happen to have been tested & put their results online.

It is relatively straightforward to trace back your direct line to great grandparents using birth, marriage & death records in the public domain, and someone with expertise can get you on the right track.  TV programmes & DNA tests make it all look like magic, but it takes patience, attention to details & persistence to get anywhere.  I just spent 3 days proving who was NOT the father of a 4 x great grandparent.  After 20 years I have some lines back to 1350-1400, but 95% of my work is research on documents, not DNA matches.

marcia_

 Yes it is. I knew very little about my family having not grown up around them. If you find your parents it is easy to find out their parents names and later siblings by looking at the birth certificate and finding out their parents names. Also I found multiple relatives I didn't know Who had created trees that matched what I found so I could build my tree by looking at theirs. 

 Start with your local library and see if you can do your immediate family you know of and then decide if your own subscription is worth it. 

Grumpelstiltskin

The main rule with family history is to start with yourself and work backwards, so asking any family members who are older than you what they know.

The big problem is as RAS said what you are told is not always true.

It is not worthwhile spending money on Ancestry until you have some idea of what you are doing. The public library is a good idea to start with. The first time you look at Ancestry you will wonder what you are doing so getting used to it before you spend any money on it is a good idea.

There is always the free online site Family Search  Search Historical Records. This is run by the Mormon church but it is not a religious site.

The problem with late 20th century family history is you ay find a birth record in say 1970s but after that you are not suddenly going to find out where they are today.