Genealogy–Ancestry dot com

Hello all, today I am going to talk about genealogy.  now this is a subject I could go on and on about and as much as I know there is still that much more to learn.  I love learning about my family history as well as my friends families histories.  one of the most used genealogy resources is Ancestry.com.  And I use it as well as several other resources and programs.  I absolutely love ancestry just for it’s ease of use, however, I don’t like that by clicking the cute little shaking leaves and adding what seems to make sense to you to your tree can invite people to then message you and tell you how wrong you are.  it is supposed to be a tool, and I, like many others, use it as a quick start point.  yes, I go through and add info from the shaking leaves without really verifying any of it.  yes, I now know that is not the right way to be working on my tree.  so I have a new tree, that is on my computer only, where I have started over and am adding all info and verification as I go.  but it is still fun to go play with the shaking leaves!!  because you never know what you might find – photos, stories, new family members, new news articles and the list goes on and on and on.  do I think ancestry charges too much?  yes I do, and I have to be very careful on my limited income so there are months that I have to cancel and then reinstate it when I can afford it for a month or two again.  I would think that with as many people using it and with it’s ever growing popularity due to the series “Who do you Think you Are?” that they could afford to cut their prices some, but it is not my business to run and therefore I pay it when I can and love it while I have it.  the biggest thing I think I have learned in this process of learning about genealogy is to never assume that what someone else states is a fact.  always take the time to verify things for yourself.  that way when others come to you and disagree with what you have you will be able to say to them, yeah I get where you are coming from as that is the family story, however, blah blah blah…….. they might not like it but if you have the proof to back it up it is hard to keep arguing about it.  with that said, I will let you all go (and hopefully find out one new fact about your family).
peace and luv to all,
laura