Ancestry.com Says Content is King - a 2015 Retrospective

I received this information from Ancestry.com last week and want to pass it along:

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INSIDE SCOOP 700 Million Reasons to Love 2015 We have a saying here at Ancestry: Content is king. Ancestry has 30,000+ databases and more than 16 billion records available already, but we all know what we want—we want more. 2015 has been a good year for more. The U.S. Probates Collection was our most anticipated U.S. records launch since the 1940 census, with wills and probate files from all 50 states. We made huge additions to two international record sets that are also important to many Americans’ research with 67 million new German records and 200 million civil registrations from Mexico. And that’s just for starters. You’ll find 150 years of Virginia vital records, the Social Security Applications and Claims Index, and 137 million more reasons to get excited in our Best of 2015 highlights below.

MUST-SEARCH COLLECTIONS U.S., Social Security Applications and Claims Index, 1936–2007 Uncover birthplace, parents’ names, & other details taken from SSA documents.

German Phone Directories, 1915–1981 These telephone books cover 5 major cities: Berlin, Frankfurt am Main, Hamburg, Leipzig, and Munich.

Australia, Electoral Rolls, 1903–1980 Along with eligibility to vote, these records list name, gender, address & occupation.

Virginia, Birth Records, 1864–2014 Search details from Virginia birth records for the years 1864–2014, with images for 1864–1913.

Virginia, Marriage Records, 1936–2014 Search an index of marriage details for the years 1989–2014, with images for 1936–1988.

Kansas, City and County Census Records, 1919–1961 Beginning in 1953, schedules list all members of a household and ages.

North Carolina Marriage Records, 1741–2011 Search marriage records from 87 counties and records of cohabitation for recently emancipated slaves.

Michigan, Marriage Records, 1867–1952 Search marriage registers, licenses & certificates for brides, grooms, parents, occupations & more.

Gloucestershire, England, Baptisms, Marriages and Burials, 1538–1813 Trace vital events in your Gloucestershire family back almost 5 centuries.

U.S., Evangelical Lutheran Church of America, Records, 1875–1940 Search baptism, confirmation, marriage, and burial records from 2,000+ congregations.

U.S. Wills and Probates Find a wealth of family stories among 170 million documents from all 50 states.

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I have used the U.S. Social Security Applications and Claims Index, 1936-2007 extensively - they are very useful especially for late 19th century birth dates and alternate names. 

I was happy to be able to search the U.S. Wills and Probates collection (although my excitement was tempered by the removal of the pre-1804 New Jersey wills!).  However, the Ancestry collection is not as extensive for some states as the FamilySearch un-indexed state probate record collections.  

I don't have North Carolina, Virginia, or Michigan ancestry, so I haven't used those collections much to date.  I don't have a World subscription, so I can't search the English, German, Australian and Mexican records.

What's coming in early 2016?  I don't know for sure, but the Recently Added and Updated page has these items in the right-hand margin:

*  Freemason Membership Registers from the UK and Ireland - November 2015
Freemasonry is a fraternal order that traces its roots back to the Middle Ages. Look for membership registers for Masonic lodges across the UK and Ireland. Registers typically list name, vocation, registry date, and “observations,” which can include a death date. They may also note the dates a man advanced through the degrees of Freemasonry: E.A. (Entered Apprentice), F.C. (Fellowcraft), and M.M. (Master Mason).

*  German Vital Records - December 2015
Look for new collections to be added to the Ancestry collection of German births, marriages, and deaths for several locations. 

Hmm, a check of the Card Catalog indicates that these are already available.  I hope that there is more coming in 2016!

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Copyright (c) 2015, Randall J. Seaver

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