Ancestry and FamilySearch use same records but different approaches

Genealogists know that two of the most important websites for researching original records covering all the United States are Ancestry.com and FamilySearch.org.

The microfilmed and now digitized materials appearing on those websites are from the same sources — courthouses and the microfilm of those records by the Mormons. But the way they are accessed, identified and made available differs considerably.

Take, for example, the vital records of greater New York City. On Ancestry, I found the remarriage of a cousin’s ancestor from 1916 in the Marriages of the Bronx. The same information is on FamilySearch, but they also had the marriage license application abstracted (not scanned) on their site (it listed the parents of both parties). There was no reference, until I did further searching, to the fact that a digitized view of the license was available and that the original is available if you visit a Family History Center and access it there. Same for death certificates. Ancestry may just list the deaths in a database, while FamilySearch had an abstract of the data, again with no cross reference that the original could be viewed if you went to a Family History Center. FamilySearch does not have “one stop shopping” when looking for any state’s records. You have to realize that often they divide their records between indexed and non-indexed and label the same type of record in different ways. I have found it easier to search for a record group/type of record via Google to get a link. FamilySearch quit loaning microfilm to their international system of Family History Centers. But, to learn what is viewable, there is the key symbol over the camera icon on the far right of a digitized record. Clicking the camera icon informs you where to view the record.