Signing up and Starting the Search
It’s important to note, before anything else, that GenealogyBank does not offer a free trial. While the word “free” is not expressly used in the signup process, the steps you take do mirror what you need to go through to avail of free trials in similar services. It can be confusing, so don’t forget to read the fine print. That aside, the signing up can be completed with the provision of the usual basic details: name, email and billing information.
GenealogyBank Learning Center
Before moving on to browsing and searching through GenealogyBank’s archive, you may want to go through the site’s myriad guides and resources. These include a Learning Center section that puts together links to video tutorials, the GenealogyBank blog, the Genealogy newsletter archive and signup form, and even a free downloadable ebook; as well as a separate page containing a Genealogist Q&A. The latter two are courtesy of seasoned genealogist Thomas Jay Kemp; he addresses commonly-asked genealogy research questions on the Q&A, and provides a step-by-step guide to building your family tree via his ebook–complete with a free chart you can fill in with your own information.
10th Place3.8 out of 10Lacking in Features
While GenealogyBank is rich in research guides and tips for using the site, it lacks many other features that are considered basic offerings by its competitors. Along with a dated-looking interface, there is a noticeable absence of a built-in family tree builder; in its place is the ebook discussed above, which has you go through the motions manually and outside the site’s main functions, without the help of standard quality-of-life improvements like hint notifications and smart record matching.
There is no basis for strong community-building, either; rather, the focus seems to be on solo research. No online family trees doesn’t just mean no GEDCOM (Genealogical Data Communication) file support; it also means having no easy way to search for and match with fellow subscribers who may be distant relatives. There isn’t even a site forum that brings its members together.
Because of the lack of a family tree builder and a community center, it is no surprise that GenealogyBank doesn’t offer a mobile app. Without those, everything you can potentially manage with a hypothetical app can just as easily be done using a mobile site browser.
Newspapers, My Folder and Other Resources
GenealogyBank does have books, military records and other government documents in its archive, but the bulk of what it offers is newspaper content. Going back to at least the 17th century, there are available collections from different towns, cities and states; in multiple languages and varying levels of representation. What the archive contains in terms of newspapers is so comprehensive that there is a portion of the site where you can look at US newspaper title
listings available for each of the 50 states.
The search functions you can employ once you’re done browsing are nothing special; typical search by name, keyword, date range fare, with exclusion and sort features thrown in. Of note is the focus on the use of phrases, operators and wildcards in GenealogyBank’s advanced search techniques; it’s user-friendly, but not without a learning curve. Beginners may find it confusing, but this way of refining searches is familiar and almost comforting to seasoned researchers of a certain age.
Save and Print
My Folder is a GenealogyBank feature that gives subscribers the capability to not only save their searches–and even their places within searches that turn up a huge number of results–but also save records of interest to a personal area on the site. This personal area syncs to a downloadable program you can install on your computer; which allows you to keep copies of relevant records on your hard drive for later perusal, and even print them if needed.
Online Store
GenealogyBank also has a well-curated online store with a catalog of over 150 physical books and other items that include genealogy research resources, guides, indexes, dictionaries, and more. You can sort the inventory by name and price, or search through it using keywords.
GenealogyBank Premium Service
GenealogyBank offers a 30-day trial at a reduced, introductory price of $9.95; during initial signup you will be asked to choose between starting with the trial or immediately paying for a regular subscription fee. The month on month fee is $19.95, but the annual fee is a steal at $69.95–that comes out to only $5.83 per month.
What's the Verdict on GenealogyBank?
GenealogyBank Review 2020 – Conclusion
When it comes to specializing, GenealogyBank is a prime example. It may have a small archive and only the most basic of standard genealogy research site features; but if you happen to need what they offer, you won’t find it anywhere else. GenealogyBank has exclusive content in spades if you’re tracing a mostly American lineage through mentions in newspaper collections; that’s its main strength. The subscription fee is a little steep, but in keeping with the law of supply and demand. Overall, GenealogyBank seems to target seasoned family historians and genealogists, and budding hobbyists that are older–and likely more experienced with solo research and not too keen on letting technology do the bulk of the work. It shows in everything, from the dated interface, to the way the service presents family tree building, and particularly in the way it gives importance to having physical copies of records and books. The lack of smart functions and intuitive searching may turn off younger, more tech-savvy would-be subscribers; and, with the wealth of other options available online, you can’t really blame them if they don’t give GenealogyBank a chance.
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