Monday Mailbox: Ancestry.com Access to FamilySearch

Dear Ancestry Insider,

So, does Ancestry.com have access to the information I contribute to FamilySearch.org, like photos, stories, and FamilySearch Family Tree data?

I hope that in the negotiations between FamilySearch and Ancestry that Dennis Brimhall did not allow Ancestry access to FamilySearch Memories!!  This is a big deal to me.

Does it make a difference if I have an LDS account with Ancestry?

Thanks,
Larry

Dear Larry,

I’ve noticed that My Heritage has FamilySearch Family Tree on MyHeritage.com. I’ve not seen it on Ancestry.com, but, apparently, giving another vendor a copy of Family Tree is not out of the question.

To the best of my knowledge, I don’t recall FamilySearch giving away the totality of FamilySearch Memories (the photos, stories, documents, and so forth attached to Family Tree) to other vendors. However, FamilySearch allows any third party app to access Memories attached to a person in the Tree. (See instructions to developers from the FamilySearch website.) I suppose if Ancestry wanted to, it could add the ability for Ancestry users to copy FamilySearch Memories from Family Tree to an Ancestry Member Tree.

You mentioned Dennis Brimhall. Don Anderson’s name is often mentioned in connection with the Ancestry agreement. At last year’s RootsTech, Don Anderson is the one who announced the Ancestry agreement to bloggers and members of the media. (See “LDS Church Members Will Get Free Access to More Family History Records” in the Deseret News.) He was introduced as senior vice president of patron and partner services. Don Anderson’s LinkedIn page indicates he left FamilySearch last month after almost 13 years with the company.

Thanks for the questions,
---The Ancestry Insider