Mobile Changes for Ancestry.com



With the rapid advancements in communication methods, the fee-based subscription database of Ancestry.com is keeping up in the latest technical devices that people are using today.  It now has available a mobile app (application) for use with the iPad, iPhone and Android tablets and phones.

The new enhanced version has the universal support for iPad and iPhone allowing users to view your family tree as well as access shared family trees. A user will also be able to view any attached historical documents and sources already part of the tree.


Also those using the Android tablets (myself included) also can have the app for Ancestry. Com with the full family tree, going back generations. The special ‘shaky leaves’ are also part of the view on the family branches. Those ‘leaves’ offer hints that can possibly lead you to other sources or documents relating to a family ancestor.

This offers the family historian the opportunity to always have their family tree available wherever they go at anytime. Spending some time at a library, attending a genealogical society program, visiting with your grandmother, all the information along with attached photos  is right there at your finger tips.  The app for Ancestry.com has made it easier to upload new photos, make any connections to information and add notes relating to individuals.

The Android app on the tablet or phone allows the user to even start a new family tree as well as display a previously created tree and all its information. If any editing is needed, such as learning a great grandmother’s maiden name that can be done right on the Android tablet or phone. The simple touch screens makes enlarging each family branch or individual very easy for clear viewing.  One of the newest touches is also adding the location information using a GPS.

To demonstrate the ease of locating the information on a family tree, when I double-click my own family up which is on an easy icon for the main tablet page, right away I have who is related to whom — father and mother and their parents, etc.  Next one light touch on an individual and up comes the information such as birth, marriage, death with dates and locations.  Also occupations the ancestor held, their residences and any military service, all right there to view.

I also have several different family trees, especially with family groups which date back to the 1700s and then the ones from England who came to America in the late 1890s.  I can call up which ever group I want to view.   One set has nearly 4,000 names, and all are available to view.

One tap on an ancestor I can also full their full family, especially their children.  Normally on the tree you see just your direct lineage.  This way of the full family you can view the great aunts and uncles. There is a symbol to tap just to see an individual’s information and then a group of individuals to see the full family (parents, spouse, and children). Each of those persons can then be tapped on for any photos or information. So you can see all the extended and direct ancestors at any time plus see how they are related.

Want to search for any new documents, the app allows you to tap on the search box ’Search Ancestry.com’ in the upper right corner for a certain person and all the census, tax records, military, vital records available on that person will be listed.  The ancestor’s birth and death date and residence are already listed so locating the right person’s records is easier. NOTE: to fully access the additional new databases on Ancestry.com you do have to have a subscription with Ancestry.com.  Even without a current subscription you will still have an index that certain items are available.

Ancestry.com has been one of the leaders in offering for family researchers the widest collection of records in digital format with over 8 million records.  The collections contain census information, ship manifests, births, deaths, marriages and military records.

A free 14-day trial is offered by Ancestry.com allowing you to try out the databases. The subscription fees range from $13 to $35 a month based on either monthly or six-month memberships and whether you have the U.S. Discovery (all records in the U.S.) or World Explorer (unlimited access, including records from other countries) access.

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