Ancestry to Delete WorldConnect Trees and Shut Down RootsWeb Mailing Lists – Prepare NOW

This is a dark day indeed. Ancestry, who acquired RootsWeb, including the mailing lists and WorldConnect Trees back in the year 2000 is going to delete both. The original purchase agreement reportedly included the provision to keep both free, but … Continue reading

How to Share DNA Results and Tree Access at Ancestry

There are two types of access you may want to share with other users at Ancestry, and specific times when you’ll want to do each. If you have set your privacy selections to allow DNA matching, and tree sharing, your … Continue reading

Find a Grave (Owned by Ancestry), Seriously, JUST STOP Incentivizing the Creation of Memorials of the Recently Deceased

I’ve been horrified, as has any sentient being, about the massacre in Uvalde, Texas. I’ve also been increasingly furious these past few days because the practice of awarding “points” by Find a Grave, owned by Ancestry, to people who create … Continue reading

Ancestry’s SideView™ – Dividing Your Ethnicity in Two

Recently, Ancestry introduced a new view of your ethnicity called SideView™. In a nutshell, AncestryDNA uses your DNA matches to attempt to divide your ethnicity into regions inherited from Parent 1 and Parent 2. Based on your matches and the … Continue reading

Ancestry Only Shows Shared Matches of 20 cM and Greater – What That Means & Why It Matters

Recently, I’ve noticed an uptick in confused people who’ve taken Ancestry’s DNA test. They are using shared matches, which is a great tool and exactly what they should be doing, but they become confused when no shared matches appear with … Continue reading

DNA Beginnings: Matching at Ancestry and What It Means

This is the fourth in the series of “DNA Beginnings” articles. Previous articles you might enjoy include: Announcing DNA Beginnings – A New Series DNA Beginnings: What is a Match? DNA Beginnings: How Many Matches Do I Have? Why Is … Continue reading

Clock is Ticking: In 28 Days, Ancestry CAN DO ANYTHING THEY WANT With Every Image In Your Tree

See all these photos I’ve uploaded to Ancestry? According to Ancestry’s new updated Terms of Service dated August 3, 2021, Ancestry will be able to use these photos, and anything else I’ve ever uploaded or saved, in any way they … Continue reading

Yes, Ancestry is Glitchy Right Now – Here’s What TO and NOT TO DO

Public Service Announcement – Ancestry has been a bit glitchy for a few days/weeks and remains so. All vendors have issues from time to time, and it seems to be Ancestry’s turn right now. I wasn’t affected at first, but … Continue reading

Ancestry’s “Your DNA Sample Has Been Destroyed” Email

Many AncestryDNA customers received an email from Ancestry stating that their DNA sample has been destroyed, as requested – but they did not make any request. This email is generating a significant amount of confusion and angst. These customers did … Continue reading