Ancestry.com started out as an American company targeted to Americans. But the fact of the matter is this: the entire English-speaking world is connected by more than just language—our roots are all connected, even our DNA. And it expands to beyond just the Anglophonic world as well. That’s why Ancestry.com now has extensive databases and even specific sites geared toward Great Britain, Canada, Australia, Sweden, Italy, France, Germany, and even China. Want to investigate your British roots by checking out your ancestors’ births and deaths in parish records? There are records. Want to see where your ancestors split paths with their siblings who went to Australia? It’s there. As long as you have a World Membership, you can see every record that Ancestry.com has available—and that’s a lot!
Some people actually want to access the individual country sites when investigating their roots. Of course, you can just type in Ancestry.co.uk, Ancestry.ca, Ancestry.com.au, and the likes. But Ancestry.com’s system is smart enough that it will probably take you back to the American site. There is nothing wrong with this because if you search properly you will have full access anyways. England’s parish records of your British ancestors’ births and deaths are just as accessible on the American site as they are on the U.K. site. Nevertheless, if you are insistent on using one of the country-specific sites, simply scroll down to the bottom and select a new country site. You can see how in the video below.
Click on the full screen button to watch the video using your entire computer screen. You can also double-click the video to watch it full screen.
Oh, and some people want to sign up on the different country sites as well. It is advised that you do not take this course of action. Why? Because all of the records that you will use to seek out your roots and discover your ancestors are available with the World Membership on the American site. Plus, there are several complications that arise in paying for things that aren’t in your own currency and different tax laws end up changing the amount that you thought you were going to get charged. You can look for your ancestors in the countries they came from, but your budget will appreciate paying in your own currency according to your country of residence. Of course, if you don’t reside in the United States, you don’t want to sign up on the American site for the same reasons. The only time it is advisable to subscribe outside of your country of residence is if you live in a country that doesn’t yet host its own Ancestry site.