Hello has anyone used the UHF site lately and can tell me if you purchase the forty euros worth of credits can you then look at 8 different searches meaning 8 different surnames and not just one .i was stung on one of these sights before but can't quite recall which one .
kindest regards
maggie
UHF credits
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Chris Paton
- Posts: 433
- Joined: Sun Jan 14, 2007 9:14 pm
Hi Maggie,
It's a bit of a dog's dinner just now - I posted the following on my genealogy newsletter yesterday:
"Ulster Historical Foundation records - new site and price
The Ulster Historical Foundation has made its birth, marriage and death records available at a new website, as part of its link to the Irish Family History Foundation. The new site can be accessed at http://antrimdown.brsgenealogy.com/ and is similarly constructed to the other county sites represented through the IFHF.
A key development is the drop in price, but there appears to be a discrepancy in the pricing between the two sites which give access to the society's records. On the original site at http://www.ancestryireland.com/quis.php the records have come down in price to £4.50 per record, or £3 if you are a member of the UHF; the records can be viewed for 48 hours after purchase.
However, on the new site above, the price is cheaper, at 5 Euros per look up, which is currently just under £4 Sterling, and there would appear to be more records available. So if you need to use the records, head for this site instead!
I have long been campaigning for a reduction in the price of records available through these Irish sites, so any drop in price is welcome, however, it is still my impression that for what you get, the price is still steep, and fundamentally, the search interface is still not great in helping you to narrow down to the right record that you are seeking. In issue 62 of Your Family Tree magazine, I wrote an article heavily criticising the pricing structure of these companies, and in this month's issue, Fintan Mullan, executive director of UHF, was given the right of reply. The following is his statement:
"The Foundation does not receive public funding to support its work, and exists through the sale of its goods, and through donations. While keeping costs to a minimum it has to set charges to recoup the cost of providing services to the public. As costs continue to rise for all businesses and charities, certain fees have had to be increased to take account of these increases."
The price drop was not alluded to by Mr. Mullan, and so it would seem therefore that this price drop is a very recent development, which is to be welcomed.
Chris"
My understanding is that 5 Euros allows a search for a name, and when the results come up you get five shots at getting the right one i.e. if your ancestor is William Smyth, you'll be able to access five records for a William Smyth, but five births, or five marriages or five deaths, but not across the different records as with Scotland's People, ie you can't mix and match.
Chris
UPDATE - just noticed at http://talkingscot.com/forum/viewtopic. ... 8586#88586 that the site now apparently allows you to see the father's name for each index entry. Crikey, they have been listening, haven't they?!
It's a bit of a dog's dinner just now - I posted the following on my genealogy newsletter yesterday:
"Ulster Historical Foundation records - new site and price
The Ulster Historical Foundation has made its birth, marriage and death records available at a new website, as part of its link to the Irish Family History Foundation. The new site can be accessed at http://antrimdown.brsgenealogy.com/ and is similarly constructed to the other county sites represented through the IFHF.
A key development is the drop in price, but there appears to be a discrepancy in the pricing between the two sites which give access to the society's records. On the original site at http://www.ancestryireland.com/quis.php the records have come down in price to £4.50 per record, or £3 if you are a member of the UHF; the records can be viewed for 48 hours after purchase.
However, on the new site above, the price is cheaper, at 5 Euros per look up, which is currently just under £4 Sterling, and there would appear to be more records available. So if you need to use the records, head for this site instead!
I have long been campaigning for a reduction in the price of records available through these Irish sites, so any drop in price is welcome, however, it is still my impression that for what you get, the price is still steep, and fundamentally, the search interface is still not great in helping you to narrow down to the right record that you are seeking. In issue 62 of Your Family Tree magazine, I wrote an article heavily criticising the pricing structure of these companies, and in this month's issue, Fintan Mullan, executive director of UHF, was given the right of reply. The following is his statement:
"The Foundation does not receive public funding to support its work, and exists through the sale of its goods, and through donations. While keeping costs to a minimum it has to set charges to recoup the cost of providing services to the public. As costs continue to rise for all businesses and charities, certain fees have had to be increased to take account of these increases."
The price drop was not alluded to by Mr. Mullan, and so it would seem therefore that this price drop is a very recent development, which is to be welcomed.
Chris"
My understanding is that 5 Euros allows a search for a name, and when the results come up you get five shots at getting the right one i.e. if your ancestor is William Smyth, you'll be able to access five records for a William Smyth, but five births, or five marriages or five deaths, but not across the different records as with Scotland's People, ie you can't mix and match.
Chris
UPDATE - just noticed at http://talkingscot.com/forum/viewtopic. ... 8586#88586 that the site now apparently allows you to see the father's name for each index entry. Crikey, they have been listening, haven't they?!
Tha an lasair nad anam aig meadhan do bhith
Nas làidir 's nas motha na riaghaltas no rìgh.
Nas làidir 's nas motha na riaghaltas no rìgh.
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maggie
- Posts: 448
- Joined: Wed Apr 06, 2005 1:50 pm
Hello Chris
thanks for your detailed reply it's appreciated
i phoned the UHF today in Belfast as on Rootschat one of the threads mentioned how you could research in person at their offices in Belfast for fifteen pounds .anyhow the answer i got was yes fifteen pounds gains you a half hours access on a pre booked appointment basis and twenty five pounds gives you 1 hour.So i am now considering asking my dad to go armed with the info i can find on the website to do the needfull for me .
It was on the new site that i spotted some records that really intrest me but thanks to your reply i know that i can't mix and match my searches which is what i really need to be able to do.
thanks once again
kindest regards
maggie
thanks for your detailed reply it's appreciated
i phoned the UHF today in Belfast as on Rootschat one of the threads mentioned how you could research in person at their offices in Belfast for fifteen pounds .anyhow the answer i got was yes fifteen pounds gains you a half hours access on a pre booked appointment basis and twenty five pounds gives you 1 hour.So i am now considering asking my dad to go armed with the info i can find on the website to do the needfull for me .
It was on the new site that i spotted some records that really intrest me but thanks to your reply i know that i can't mix and match my searches which is what i really need to be able to do.
thanks once again
kindest regards
maggie
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scotmum
- Posts: 67
- Joined: Wed Nov 09, 2005 11:02 pm
Another useful part of the http://antrimdown.brsgenealogy.com/ site I have stumbled on, which is not available on UHF site, is the surname search page, for example:
http://antrimdown.brsgenealogy.com/surn ... ?letter=LI
from here I can easily see names for which records are held and possible variations that I haven't thought of eg Lilley, Lile, Lillay . You can then click on the name you want and it takes you to index search results page.
Agree with Chris, the BRS site does seem to return some different results from the UHF site for some reason.
http://antrimdown.brsgenealogy.com/surn ... ?letter=LI
from here I can easily see names for which records are held and possible variations that I haven't thought of eg Lilley, Lile, Lillay . You can then click on the name you want and it takes you to index search results page.
Agree with Chris, the BRS site does seem to return some different results from the UHF site for some reason.
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Chris Paton
- Posts: 433
- Joined: Sun Jan 14, 2007 9:14 pm
Good luck in your search Maggie!maggie wrote:Hello Chris
thanks for your detailed reply it's appreciated
i phoned the UHF today in Belfast as on Rootschat one of the threads mentioned how you could research in person at their offices in Belfast for fifteen pounds .anyhow the answer i got was yes fifteen pounds gains you a half hours access on a pre booked appointment basis and twenty five pounds gives you 1 hour.So i am now considering asking my dad to go armed with the info i can find on the website to do the needfull for me .
It was on the new site that i spotted some records that really intrest me but thanks to your reply i know that i can't mix and match my searches which is what i really need to be able to do.
thanks once again
kindest regards
maggie
I still think those cost are outrageous personally - £15 for half hour's access really pales when you consider that as of today you get unlimited access to all Scottish records at the GROS for just ten pounds, reduced from £17, which you can search through for seven and half hours.
In the current issue of Your Family Tree (64), just out, there is yet another piece criticising the prices of the IFHF and the UHF. Commenting on the IFHF's websites, the Fine Gael minister for arts, sports and tourism Olivia Mitchell is quoted as saying that it is "regrettable that the new genealogy service was designed to be a commercial one... it was always envisaged that this kind of public information should be freely available to the public".
'Regrettable' is definitely one way of putting it!
Chris
Tha an lasair nad anam aig meadhan do bhith
Nas làidir 's nas motha na riaghaltas no rìgh.
Nas làidir 's nas motha na riaghaltas no rìgh.