Connecting with those Present and Past
Family history is about connecting people—those who have passed on and those who are living. For years you’ve trusted Ancestry.com to connect you with your past. Now Ancestry.com is able to connect you to a community, so that you can better connect to your dead and your living family members. The new connection service at Ancestry allows you to find Ancestry members with research objectives similar to yours and to then connect with them in a safe, anonymous, and comfortable way.

What is the connection service?
Ancestry.com uses searching and matching technology to introduce you to other members who may be looking for the same people you are or have similar names. The connection service provides you with the power to connect with these people, while protecting your identity until you feel comfortable sharing it.

How will the connection service help me?
Ancestry members are spread throughout the United States, Canada, the United Kingdom, and many other countries. The connection service allows you to link up with those who may be searching the same lines you are searching and who may have family information that you lack. It also provides a way for you to connect with Ancestry members who have interests to similar yours, creating a community of Ancestry members who can support and encourage each other in the important endeavor of connecting family historians. The connection service is yet another tool that Ancestry is providing to help you achieve the vitally important connections you are seeking. It is all a part of our mission to connect families wherever they may be.

How can I participate in this community?
Log on to Ancestry.com and click on the Ancestry Community tab. You will see a button that says “Create Profile Now.” A profile may contain basic personal information, family history experience, and research interests that help other researchers find you. Click on this button and follow the instructions to enter as much or as little information about yourself as you want. Remember that the more information you enter, the easier it will be for other researchers to decide whether to contact you. Once you have entered this information, you are ready to take full advantage of the connection service.

As you search on the Ancestry.com website, you will notice links that say “Contact Ancestry members interested in this person,” or “View Ancestry members with research interests similar to yours,” or “Find other people looking for (name of person you are searching).” Click these links, and you will be presented with a list of (and a way to contact) Ancestry members who are researching names similar to ones you are searching.

If an Ancestry member has not created a profile, he or she will be listed as a New Member. You can invite this person to create a profile by clicking on the “Invite” link The New Member will receive an e-mail from Ancestry.com inviting them to log on and create a profile. The e-mail will not include any of your profile information. If an Ancestry member has created a profile, you will see his or her username in the list of possible research connections. You can click on the username and view the information that the person has included in his or her profile, and, if you choose, you may also contact this person by e-mail. Be assured that nothing but your username will be shared in the communication process, unless you decide to include more information in the body of the e-mail.

If you receive an e-mail through the Ancestry.com connection service, you can respond as you would to any other e-mail. Ancestry will pass your response onto the correct member, and your identity will be protected.

Join the Community
At some point every family historian hits the proverbial “brick wall,” becomes discouraged, or would just like to share his or her discoveries with someone that shares the same passion for family history. The connection service on Ancestry.com is available to meet your needs in all these situations. So log on to Ancestry.com and make a connection today.