Ancestry.com and National Archives Announce New Partnership

The following announcement was written by The Generations Network, the parent company of Ancestry.com:

Ancestry.com and National Archives Join Forces to Make Millions of Historical Documents Available Online to Americans Wanting to Research Family History This Memorial Day and Beyond

New Agreement Features On-Site Ancestry.com Technicians and Scanners at National Archives For Ongoing Digitization of Historical Content

WASHINGTON and PROVO, Utah, May 20 -- The National Archives and Records Administration (NARA) and The Generations Network, Inc., parent company of Ancestry.com, today announced an agreement that makes millions of historical records more easily available to the American public. The agreement, which will be signed today at the NARA headquarters in Washington, D.C. and celebrated with a military theme in honor of this Memorial Day, allows for the ongoing digitization of a wealth of historical content, including immigration, birth, marriage, death and military records.

The new agreement provides critical access to these important historical records at a faster rate than ever before due to the placement of Ancestry.com technicians and scanning machines at NARA to continually digitize content for online access. The initial NARA collections to be digitized under the new agreement include INS Passenger and Crew Arrival and Departure Lists from 1897-1958 and Death Notices of U.S. Citizens Abroad from 1835-1974, which have not been available to the public outside of NARA research rooms before now.

"The mission of the National Archives and Records Administration is to provide access to the nation's historical records, and we are proud to have The Generations Network among our valued partners," said Professor Allen Weinstein, Archivist of the United States. "With this new agreement, citizens can discover and learn from these records in remote locations faster than ever before."

For more than a decade, Ancestry.com and NARA have collaborated to make important historical records available to the public, demonstrating their dovetailing commitment to preserving America's heritage. Ancestry.com currently has the largest online collection of digitized and indexed NARA content, including the complete U.S. Federal Census Collection, 1790-1930, passenger lists from 1820-1960 and WWI and WWII draft registration cards. Through this new agreement, Ancestry.com and NARA have greatly enhanced their working relationship. More on the agreement and the long-term relationship between Ancestry.com and NARA can be found at http://www.ancestry.com/nara.

"We are honored to be a part of NARA's progressive vision to provide access to our nation's historical records through this kind of public-private partnership," said Tim Sullivan, Chief Executive Officer of The Generations Network, Inc. "We hope the Ancestry.com-NARA relationship can help millions more Americans learn about their own family's history and then pass these stories to their children and grandchildren."

Formal Signing Ceremony at NARA

Ancestry.com and NARA will celebrate their new agreement with a formal signing ceremony at NARA headquarters at 10 a.m. today. In keeping with the Memorial Day theme, veterans as well as Ancestry.com members who have made important family discoveries in the NARA military documents already digitized and available on Ancestry.com will also be in attendance and on hand to share their stories.

Free Public Access on Ancestry.com

To commemorate the NARA-Ancestry.com agreement on the eve of Memorial Day, Ancestry.com is making its entire U.S. Military Collection -- the largest online collection of American military records -- available for free to the public. From May 20 through May 31, people can log on to http://www.ancestry.com/military to view more than 100 million names and 700 titles and databases of military records, the majority of which come from NARA, from all 50 U.S. states.

About the National Archives

The National Archives and Records Administration, an independent federal agency, is the nation's record keeper. Founded in 1934, its mission is unique -- to serve American democracy by safeguarding and preserving the records of our Government, ensuring that the people can discover, use, and learn from this documentary heritage. The National Archives ensures continuing access to the essential documentation of the rights of American citizens and the actions of their government. It supports democracy, promotes civic education, and facilitates historical understanding of our national experience. The National Archives meets a wide range of information needs, among them helping people to trace their families' history, making it possible for veterans to prove their entitlement to medical and other benefits, and preserving original White House records. The National Archives carries out its mission through a nationwide network of archives, records centers, and Presidential Libraries, and on the Internet at http://www.archives.gov/.

About Ancestry.com

With 25,000 searchable databases and titles and nearly 3 million active users, Ancestry.com is the No. 1 online source for family history information. Since its launch in 1997, Ancestry.com has been the premier resource for family history, simplifying genealogical research for millions of people by providing them with many easy-to-use tools and resources to build their own unique family trees. Ancestry.com is part of The Generations Network, Inc., a leading network of family-focused interactive properties, including http://www.myfamily.com/, http://www.rootsweb.com/, http://www.genealogy.com/ and Family Tree Maker. In total, The Generations Network properties receive nearly 8.5 million unique visitors worldwide. (© comScore Media Metrix, March 2008). To easily begin researching your family history, visit http://www.ancestry.com/.

Comments

[Denise Wells]

Think these will be free to access? LOL

[Judy C]

I went to the link http://www.ancestry.com/military and got a "Sorry this page is no longer available." Where does that leave Footenote in copying old documents to put online?
Judy C

[Dee M]

I went to the link http://www.ancestry.com/military and got a "Sorry this page is no longer available." I know every date and place where my "military" relatives were and I still got no relative hits when I searched direct thru Ancestry.com military records. What's the big whoopee if site can't be accessed?

[Cyndi H.]

The url listed above is not the correct url to get to the military collection. [Sub-pages for ancestry do not beging with www.] Instead, trying copying and pasting this url into your browser. It should take you right to the Military collections search engine. http://landing.ancestry.com/military/collections.aspx

Incidentally, I have found some WONDERFUL info regarding my uncles, grandfather, and even my great-great-grandfather [Rev. records] utilizing ancestrys military pages. What I couldn't find in actual records, I was able to find on indexes and get from NARA very quickly, because I was able to tell them exactly where the info was located. Never had to wait more than 4 days for the hard copy to be in hand!

[Ed D]

What is the big deal? Sounds like a "no-bid" contract. The information information is public and should remain free to all of us and not be the private propery of Ancestry and those who can afford Ancestry membership. Unless access is free this is a bad deal for all. I am contacting my congressman and senators on this one.

[Mariann]

I agree with Ed D. As I understand it, taxpayers support NARA which collects information for the public use and then GIVES IT to Ancestry.com which then SELLS IT back to the taxpayer who paid for having it gathered in the first place!!! If Ancestry.com wants to put this information on its site then it should have to buy it from us, the taxpayers, and then if we want to "buy" it back through a subscription to Ancestry.com so be it.

[Nancy]

Yes, the information at the National Archives is free for us to use. However, it costs money for taxpayers to travel to the Archives. It costs Ancestry money to digitize this information and make it available to us in our homes or local libraries. Ancestry is providing a service that some of us are willing to pay for. The government can not afford to provide this service, and if they did we would all be paying for it with our tax dollars. I do not understand why some folks are so negative about Ancestry. They provide a service to genealogists that I couldn't even have dreamed about 25 years ago when I began my family research. My membership costs me no more a week than my friend spends on her fancy coffee at Starbucks!

[Lynn]

Ditto what Nancy said! In addition, Ed D. and Mariann, "...the private property of Ancestry and those who can afford Ancestry membership..." What?! The records aren't being given to Ancestry. They will still be at NARA and still free to public access for those who can go there. "The agreement...allows for the ongoing digitization of a wealth of historical content, including immigration, birth, marriage, death and military records." It's the digitization we pay Ancestry for, not the records.

[Maggie]

I paid for two years of Ancestry when I could afford it, and I will pay cash again when I have a major need for it. I simply do no like being force to "create" some sort of family tree that will be harvested with unlikely relationships in order to see what is billed as "free" access. It isn't free. We must pay them by putting relationships that may not yet be proved into a database that will be used to create "trees" to "help" others find their ancestors. I hate this philosophy. I wish they would just charge $5 or $10 bucks for access and be done with it. Maggie

[Maggie]

I paid for two years of Ancestry when I could afford it, and I will pay cash again when I have a major need for it. I simply do no like being force to "create" some sort of family tree that will be harvested with unlikely relationships in order to see what is billed as "free" access. It isn't free. We must pay them by putting relationships that may not yet be proved into a database that will be used to create "trees" to "help" others find their ancestors. I hate this philosophy. I wish they would just charge $5 or $10 bucks for access and be done with it. Maggie

[Nancy]

I have paid for an Ancestry.com subscription for years and have never been forced to create anything. I have not put my family trees on their site, nor have I been asked to do so, nor have they "harvested" any of my files or information. Sending Ancestry your information is voluntary! There are lots of options, and it is very easy to use the data bases and give nothing in return but the price of the membership. I think there maybe some confusion because I believe Family Tree Maker allows the easy submission of trees and of course it is encouraged.

[Dick Eastman]

---> The information information is public and should remain free to all of us and not be the private propery of Ancestry and those who can afford Ancestry membership.

That is true now, it has always been true, and it will always be true. That is the way it always has been and it is the way it always will be, dictated by Federal law. There is no option to change that. The information will always remain free to all of us in the same manner that it always has been.

By Federal law, that information has always been available to all of us free of charge. All we ever had to do was to travel to the location where the information was available, be it in Washington, D.C. or some other archive. That is not changing. By Federal law, that information will continue to be available free of charge to anyone and everyone who wishes to travel to the location where that information is available. There is no change.

What *IS* changing is that we now have additional methods of obtaining that information. While we can continue to access it at no charge in the old-fashioned way, we now have new avenues. Specifically, online. Those companies that obtain this free information and then invest a few hundred thousand dollars in scanners, servers, data centers, high speed (and expensive) connections to the Internet backbones, programmers, support personnel and all the other expenses are allowed to charge a fee for that access. However, the old-fashioned free access remains exactly the same as before: free.

Water is free. If I want water, I can go to the local river or lake with a bucket and get all I want. But if elect to use a more convenient method, the local water company spends money laying pipes under the street and to my house. I then have to pay for that service. The same is true here: the information is free but we expect to pay a fee for the expensive "pipes" that deliver that information conveniently to our homes at our convenience.

For me and most other Americans, it is cheaper to "pay the piper" (in this case, Ancestry) than it is to take a trip to Washington, D.C. like I used to do. Using Ancestry.com or other online services REDUCES my expenses.

The local residents in the Washington, D.C. might report different financial results. If so, they still have the option of going in person. Either way, we all win. In my case, my expenses are REDUCED significantly.

- Dick Eastman

[Nancy Davis]

I wrote to the Natl Archives a number of years ago inquiring about the military service, if any, of my gggrandfather. Came back a zero. Recently, I went to the military records on Ancestry and up he popped. I asked a friend to go over to the Archives and print out the whole file. There wasn't one other than what was available on Ancestry. I don't know much more about him than I did before but I do know he died in a military uniform somewhere around 1838. Thank you Ancestry!

[Lindsey]

--> We must pay them by putting relationships that may not yet be proved into a database.

What the heck are you talking about? Ancestry provides a wealth of information, facts and data for the price of a monthly or yearly subscription. There is no requirement to put anything into a database.

[Mary]

No one is ever forced to post their tree on Ancestry or probably any other website.
That is a (poor) choice that naive people make because they actually think that is "how you do genealogy" -- gather meaningless names either to brag about or, Heaven forbid, to "help others"!

The "social networks" are compounding the problem by capitalizing on the situation big-time!!!

Most trained researchers know what APPROPRIATE records to search and have spent much time and money obtaining EVIDENCE to support their data, and, therefore, have no reason to put it online for the multitudes of name-gatherers to mutilate.

I have never put ANY of my data online, and I never will. And I certainly don't need the "help" of Ancestry's HINTS!!! No need to confuse the troops any further.

If you do your research correctly you can find cousins who also are doing actual research and perhaps work together. That is a far cry from the churning of erroneous information that goes on though among the uninformed, naive, name collectors.

If you want meaningful information, then you HAVE to learn how to research one step at a time. SOMEONE has to do the work and find EVIDENCE to piece it all together. It can't just magically fall in place. Is that so hard to understand?

RESEARCH HAS NEVER BEEN EASIER THAN IT IS TODAY!!!!

Mary

[S D Holland]

WOW!!!!!what a service. This information just might save me from my many drives to the National and State Archives to secure information about military service or other information. I am blest that I only live 25miles from both. I consider the fee that Ancestry.com charges marginal for what they offer. You get-census records thru 1930-birth,death,marriage records, SS death records, One world tree, United Kingdom and other countries, immigration, ship list for membership. The time that it would take me to search on site for all the information that I have found for myself and others has been worth it. The assistance that I offer to others on where and how to secure certain information thru mail has been also made possible by Ancestry.com. We also get rootsweb and grnforum along with the package.

I do not place my data on line as this is not me. I do not work to place on line. I have a personal family webpage that is supported by mindspring that if anyone wishes to research they may do so and request further information from them. All information is still free you just have to make the trip to a physical facility. Shirley Holland

[Marcia Murray Holstrom]

Dick, just to let you know...I sent out the free military records information to all of my genealogy students - three classes, about 10 separate lists. I'm sure you can imagine the responses I have been receiving.

I tried to flame Ancestry for mis-information, but couldn't figure out how to do that. If you think that would be an appropriate action, let me know.

Marcia

[Gloria]

Too bad Ancestry doesn't have a soundex option. My grandfather is in the 1910, 1920 census and on the NYC passenger lists. He doesn't show up anywhere in Ancestry. Also, I have an uncle's WWII "old man's draft" record but he can't be found on Ancestry. What gives?

[Henrietta]

Yes, this is good news but it is not the complete answer. If you are seeking membership in organizations such as; DAR, Colonial Dames, Jamestown Society, Order of the Crown of Charlemagne, etc. they will not accept anything from Ancestors.com or anything with their name (Ancestry.com) printed on it. You must obtain a copy of the document that you are seeking from the original source, accepted printed material, etc. However, the good news is that Ancestry.com usually gives you enough information (indexes, etc.) so that when you do contact the original sources you will be able to tell them exactly where it can be found.

Ancestry.com’s “Trees” program is their biggest problem. They have allowed and encouraged people to create a tree and post information that has not been documented on to their site and do nothing to correct it. Also, they allow their customers to use another customers information, which they have posted in good faith with documentation, before obtaining permission and when you complain to them about it they do nothing.