I broke down finally and bought the Family Tree Maker software. I have wondered why people would need software when Ancestry does it all for you. Yesterday I asked another serious genealogy researcher that question. Her reasoning was... it puts your family records in your own hands in case the website goes down or they start charging exorbitant fees. It makes it possible to continue working on the family tree even when internet is not available. It keeps your information private until you are ready to post it on Ancestry, thus allowing you to do all the necessary verification first. I hadn't thought of any of that but it made sense.
The Family Tree Maker software downloaded all of my records from Ancestry, and automatically syncs with my online records. It gives a more comprehensive display of the information on one screen. It can print out a large number of different reports which may come in handy. Ancestry prints reports but is more limited.
I've found that the more ways you can look at your information, the easier it is to spot inconsistencies and inaccuracies. Right away, I was able to see that one of my links was incorrect because I could see the birth and death dates for two generations on the same page. I have had trouble seeing the media and documents that are posted on Ancestry - that might be a major limitation, but I am still working through it.
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