Growing Global Interest in Family History Spurs New French and Italian-Language Websites; Number of Ancestry Sites Climbs to Seven
PROVO, UTAH – June 27, 2007 – The Generations Network, parent company of Ancestry.com, the world’s largest online family history resource, today announced two new additions to the Ancestry network of sites in France and Italy – Ancestry.fr and Ancestry.it.
At launch, Ancestry.fr and Ancestry.it will offer access to Ancestry’s unrivaled global collection of more than 5 billion names and 24,000 databases and titles. The new sites will also provide a networking platform for users to collaborate and connect with other site users globally, build an online family tree and upload irreplaceable content from personal archives such as photographs, stories and shoebox keepsakes.
“We’re pleased to expand our global vision to connect families and drive family collaboration worldwide with the launch of Ancestry.fr and Ancestry.it,†said Tim Sullivan, CEO of The Generations Network, parent company of Ancestry.com. “The new sites and the addition of more international content on Ancestry.com are a significant step forward in connecting families across continents. We’re continually mining the globe for key record-sets to digitize and make easily accessible and searchable online. As more international content becomes available, users will be able to break through dead-ends and take their family histories beyond borders.â€
The launch of Ancestry.fr and Ancestry.it brings the tally of the Ancestry suite of sites owned by The Generations Network to seven. Other international sites include:
- Ancestry.co.uk in the United Kingdom, which features the only complete online collection of England, Wales and Scotland census records (1841-1901); and England and Wales birth, marriage, and death records (1837-2005)Â
- Ancestry.ca in Canada, which recently announced a deal with the Library and Archives Canada (LAC) to digitize Canadian passenger lists from 1865-1935, and hosts the complete Drouin collection of French-Canadian vital records (1621-1940s) and Canada census records from 1851, 1901, 1906 and 1911
- Ancestry.de in Germany, which features Hamburg Passenger Lists, 1850-1934 and the Mecklenburg-Schwerin Census, 1867
- Ancestry.com.au in Australia, which just launched New South Wales Sands Directories, 1861-1933 and The Anzac Memorial, 1914-1918
On average, Ancestry site users create more than 80,000 family trees and upload some 65,000 photographs each week. With more than 15.7 million Americans claiming Italian heritage and some 8.3 million with French roots, the combination of user-uploaded content and historical records available on the new sites will be particularly relevant to Ancestry.com’s U.S. subscribers, the company’s largest user base.
“Ancestry’s expansion is a major development for French and Italian people and descendents everywhere interested in researching their roots,†said Josh Hanna, Managing Director, Ancestry Europe. “France and Italy have always celebrated and explored their rich histories through art, food and culture. Now, by bringing previously hard-to-access records online, they will be able to weave in their own personal stories to better understand the role their families played in shaping this storied legacy.â€
The Generations Network has been working with archives in Italy and is looking forward to building similar relationships with archives in France to bring historical records from repositories in both countries online. Currently, the company is digitizing pre-1930’s civil registration records from throughout Italy with the first of these records expected to be available online later this summer.
“As far as we’ve come over the past decade with the digitization of key U.S. historical documents such as census, military and passenger list records, only now have we started to really do more than scratch the surface in terms of digitizing international content,” said Curt Witcher, Manager, Genealogy Center, Allen County Public Library. “There are countless untold stories yet to be uncovered and with Europe’s rich history, deep treasure troves of historical records can now see the light of day. Bringing these amazing pieces of our past online will unlock a tremendous opportunity for many researchers to make new discoveries.”
About Ancestry.com
With 24,000 searchable databases and titles, Ancestry.com is the No. 1 online source for family history information. Since its launch in 1997, Ancestry.com has been the premier resource for family history, simplifying genealogical research for millions of people by providing them with many easy-to-use tools and resources to build their own unique family trees. The site is home to the only complete online U.S. Federal Census collection, 1790-1930; the largest online collection of U.S. military records dating back from the 1600s through Vietnam; and the most comprehensive online collection of readily available U.S. ship passenger list records featuring more than 100 million names from 1820-1960. Ancestry.com is part of The Generations Network, Inc., a leading network of family-focused interactive properties, including MyFamily.com, Rootsweb.com, Genealogy.com and Family Tree Maker. In total, The Generations Network properties receive 10.4 million unique visitors worldwide and over 450 million page views a month (© comScore Media Metrix, March 2007).
Media Contact
Julia Burgon
Coltrin & Associates for Ancestry.com
212-221-1616 ext. 124
[email protected]
Tola St. Matthew-Daniel
Coltrin & Associates for Ancestry.com
212-221-1616 ext. 101
[email protected]
I sincerely hope with this Network getting all these genealogy websites there will always be free ones available. I cannot afford the price they cost a year. I am low income and genealogy is my favorite hobby. It’s fun finding info on my ancesters. And it is also part of our history.
I just went into the Ancestry.it site but I find it is only written in Italian. I am of Italian ancestry but do not speak or read the language, will they have it where you can see the site in English as well so we can view information we might need?
Also I would hope there would be a discount for Ancestry.com users so they could further continue their research.
Family research is my passion I would love to beable to go further into my Italian roots. Thank you for continuing the additions for those of us who are unable to travel to distant places or get out to places to do our research.
I’m so pleased that you are obtaining data from France. I note that the initial Ancestry.fr cite is in the French language, and I would hope that at least a rough English translation would be available to help those with no language skills. Thanks for the start!
Disappointed that there was no way to translate into English. I do not speak/read/write Italian. I have many family members that originaded from there.
Let me know if you add the English version.
I subscribe to Ancestry-complete version. I was thrilled to see the new site for searching French ancestors. Please add a translator to English. I speak no French, so site is unusable for me now. Will this be included in my current Ancestry subscription without additional cost? Where can we find a list of what information the site provides. Vital statistics, census etc? Thanks.
Like others have commented: a website in a foreign language is unuseable to those of us who don’t speak that language. It’s all about tracing your roots, so how about giving us the tools to do that by translating the site into English?
I am thrilled with the new Ancestry.fr since I have French ancestors. My French is passible, but I fear without any type of translation available, I will make many mistakes.
I am pleased that French and Italian sites are offered, of course I would expect they would be in French and Italian languages. To those that can’t read foreign languages I suggest a site translator, you can find free ones. Or better yet, learn to read the language of your ancestors, again, there are free web sites.
I think this would be excellent, as i mt grandfarther & his farther were born in Caen France.
But like others it’s not a lot of good in french as i’m English & do not speak french, so if there was a link to english it would be great.
Thanks
Pete
P Villion
Yes, I think it’s a great thing; however, the information regarding Italy is very limited. When do you think you will be getting more information?
Thank you
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