February 14, 2025
I’ve written about online family trees in the past, but I think the topic is worth revisiting. Online family trees are one of my favorite sources of clues for genealogy research. These trees are readily available on paid and free genealogy websites ranging from Ancestry to Family Search to My Heritage. Anyone with U.S. ancestors is almost guaranteed to find trees featuring their ancestors.
That’s why I’m surprised that so many people never think of looking at the various online trees. They don’t consider them legitimate sources. Just this week, I recommended that someone check out the Family Search Family Tree or the Public Member Trees on Ancestry. The person was aghast at my suggestion. He looked at me and said, “I can’t believe that you’re suggesting those trees. They’re full of errors.”
It’s true that the online trees do contain errors. Each tree is only as accurate as the person who posted it. The Family Search Family Tree is a collaborative tree, so it’s a group effort, but there are still mistakes.
Despite this, I use online trees frequently. They’re my go-to resource when I’m beginning a new research project. Trees are a great one-stop source of data on an individual. Any information you find on them needs to be verified, but I have found copies of documents and photos on various trees that I would never have seen otherwise.
Family Search Family Tree is my favorite online tree. On other websites, there may be dozens of trees for a person. If you want to make sure you haven’t missed any information, you need to comb through every tree. Because Family Search Family Tree is collaborative, all the information about a person is contained in one place. This makes searching much quicker.
I have also found more sources on the Family Search Family Tree than on any of the other online trees. These sources include copies of the actual documents such as censuses, birth certificates, handwritten letters and more.
In addition, the Family Tree includes many pictures. I found photos of one set of great grandparents who I had never seen before. I wrote to the person who posted the photos and learned that they’d been handed down on a branch of the tree with whom my line had lost contact.
If you’re avoiding the online trees because you’ve heard they’re inaccurate, you’re missing a great source. If you verify the information you find, the trees are a great research shortcut. Don’t dismiss them.
Carol Stetser
Researcher
Larimer County Genealogical Society