Having been researching my family history since the late 1960s I have used a variety of research sites. However, this year is the first that I have used FindMyPast which, through access to the 1939 Register has allowed me to find and contact relatives in England of whom I new little about. Through these contacts I have been able to add further to my family history; and, I have been able to provide them with all the information I have found about the family in England and Australia. Historical photographs have also been exchanged which has further enhanced the experience of family history. There are times where I find getting rid of unwanted hints a little frustrating but overall FindMyPast has been well worth the investment.

We are now in our second year with FMP and have been pleased with the ease and speed in which we have been able to progress. Everything is so easy to understand and there are so many avenues to explore, we have no regrets whatsoever, plus we are learning so much about our ancestors.

I love the fact that you can find your ancestors who were around in 1939 and the occupations they had at that stage. After 1911 it can be so difficult to trace some people and it's certainly helped me solve problems. I also love the newspapers that I've found invaluable. I only have the Uk subscription but as most of my family were born and remained in the area that's enough for me. All the other regular records are available, all the censuses which we all need. Sometimes other sites have records which are not so accurate.

FindMyPast is an easy program to use. If anything, they throw too much information, too quickly at you for novices. But, if you have the time, inclination, and dedication to organize and follow it all, it is a GREAT site. Like any program, the more proficient you are with a computer, the more you'll get out of this site. Study a good book about ancestry research and how to organize it, then get plenty of the recommended forms ready before you begin. As with any ancestry program, absolute accuracy is nearly impossible to verify - especially once you get into the 1700's or older. However, if you want as much information as possible, with the least effort, FINDMYPAST IS THE PLACE FOR YOU!

The search mechanics are efficient and, compared to some family histoty sites, easy to navigate. I have been able te extract a huge amount of data for the families that I am researching, using official records such as the Gro index, to validate my findings. Census returns are well transcribed. The 1939 register is indispensable, even if the transcription quality is sometimes poor. However, a bit of intelligent thought and lateral thinking allows you to get round even that. The family tree maker is esy to use and navigate, with the possibility to export a gedcom file. All in all I thoroughly recommend Find my Past.

As a newcomer I found the site easy to navigate. I love the way the family tree is presented and the amount of detail that can be attached to it. I am always impressed by the availability of census forms and the images of birth, marriage, death and military information which contain details that often lead me down another route. Since I subscribed the amount of records available has increased and I have discovered new facts that I had not previously known.

Find my past is a fantastic back up website for researchers. I always use this website when I can’t find records elsewhere as its search engine is not as broad and unnecessary. From the 1939 register point of view, nobody can beat it. They need to improve search facilities, especially on marriage searches, to easily include spouse’s name. You can put this name under “key words”, but it’s not obvious to a newbie.

Worth it for the records alone. List of people on your site could be better. It is a bit of a nuisance . Still a good site to be for research, especially Ireland. I would recommend Find my past to anyone. There is no perfect programme but this is close.

I have been an amateur genealogist for many years compiling not only my own tree but also those of friends. I find this site excellent for diverse information not available on other sites, cross referencing information from various sources and also its vast quantity of online documents. I only use it for UK records at the moment but am thinking about updating my subscription to world wide records. This site, like most others sites, is easy to use once you have spent a few hours finding your way around. I would strongly recommend this site to both seasoned genealogist and those just starting out. But a word of warning - once you get started the bug bites you and be prepared to spend hours just trying to find one more thing before bedtime!

great site for family historians. would like to see when time allows for earlier records that are still and microfilm to be listed and if possible transcribed.

Find my past is a great resource. Census information, wills and inventories, and newspapers, are particularly valuable to me. My only gripe is that it's geared to finding out about people rather than places. I am signed up to Find my Past to assist in my professional research into sites and buildings. Obviously, people come into that as well, but I look at places first and the people next. While I appreciate that Find my Past has been evolved for geneologists, the way records are accessed could perhaps bear local historians more in mind.

On the whole I like Findmypast, and I feel I can trust the results that come up. They have more and more original images which is brilliant, and the monthly subscription price is good for what I want (Britain before 1900). I find the new site less easy to use and a bit slower as you have to uncheck one search criterion (e.g. parish baptism), wait for the site to reload and then check another criterion (e.g. parish marriage) when you want to swap from one to another. Also I would REALLY like to have search fields for father's christian name and mother's christian name when searching for baptism records ... at the moment I put a father's or mother's christian name into the optional keywords field, which of course doesn't give the option of an alternative spelling, and you can only put a father OR a mother's name, not both. Having said all that, I still like FMP better than other sites - much less confusing and I trust it more. Love the newspapers too, have found loads of stuff I couldn't have found elsewhere.

I use FMP only because they give access to the 1939 register and also Irish records that (they claim) are not available elsewhere online. I can afford the full yearly membership but I don't find it cheap as I do need other memberships. The main reason for that is that FMP does not provide software for offline use on my PC - they only have the website. Also they do not do DNA matching. Therefore my main tool is MyHeritage and their Family Tree Builder software. Both sites offer 'hints' or record matches but My heritage is much more detailed and integration of data is better automated. It is a real hassle having to maintain both in parallel and transferring info from one to the other is a real chore.

They advertise access to census record and 1939 etc but dont tell u until you have paid that u have to upgrade to access these...I do not want to pay for one year. All info on one month membership is available free and in much more detail elsewhere. yet again disappointed with the dishonesty of online sites.

I use this site and another that is dedicated to only Scottish people. This site is good because you can view hundreds of transcripts before you decide which ones to follow up. The newspaper articles are good. I found the transcript of a court case where my ancestor was giving evidence at a murder trial! I like that they give you ideas to follow up on your family tree. I like that there is only one button to click if you want to use a more open spelling or derivative of a name. I would like it if all these sites were cheaper though because I’ve been doing a lot of research and it has cost me a lot of money.

I find Find My Past very easy to use and the search engine is much more responsive to my search terms than that of the best known company, where I usually find myself ploughing through loads of irrelevant and unasked for records. It has been particularly helpful in finding my Berkshire family, providing information that just hasn't been available elsewhere.

I found the site very easy to navigate and the information available sometime exceeded that of its current rivals. The only downside that I can find is that of scrolling through the displayed tree and having to use the scroll bars at the edge of the screen. It would be much better is you could just grab the screen anywhere and move it.

Old family papers are the best starting point. Diaries, letters, even from one old lady in Victorian times to another. Names, addresses. write them all down. Then: go to the census, find out whole families, where they lived. From there backtrack to parents, seek children, aunts, uncles, etc. getting answers to your questions is fun, like reading a thriller! I was rather disappointed in the 1939 register though.

Love seeing the images of Censuses, as well as transcripts. 1939 is very interesting but can be somewhat daunting if you are searching Wales in particular Teams are very very helpful and always there for you, and send you emails of their results. I am registered with the Findmypast.co.uk and because I am viewing from Australia the list keeps referring to World, with excess and not required sites, which can be annoying at times.

Census, birth, death & Marriage records - all tell a story of family history. But then there are newspapers that bring that history to life. All are easy to use and your searches aren't restricted. The fee paid is well worth the information that you may uncover and it is all so fascinating to discover. Basic website that is not confusing to follow or find certain links. A lot of fun and well worth the time and effort to research what I wanted to.