Researching your family history alone can be difficult. “Member Connect” is one of Ancestry’s most powerful (yet often overlooked) collaboration tools. It allows you to find other active researchers who are working on the exact sameancestors as you.
Unlike a general search, Member Connect links you directly to specific profiles in other members’ trees. This lets you receive automatic updates when they add new facts, photos, or sources to that person.
Here is how to use Member Connect to collaborate and expand your tree.
How to Use Member Connect on Ancestry
This tool is located on the specific profile of an ancestor you want to research.
- Open the Profile: Go to your family tree and click on the person you want to investigate (e.g., your great-grandfather). Click Profile to open their full details page.
- Open Tools: Look for the Tools button (usually a wrench icon or “Edit” menu) in the top-right corner of their profile.
- Select Member Connect: From the dropdown menu, click Member Connect.
- Find Connections: You will be taken to a new page. Click the tab labeled “Suggested Connections.”
- Review & Connect: Ancestry will show you a list of other members who have this same person in their tree.
- Click Compare to see exactly what info they have that you don’t.
- Click Connect to link your tree to theirs for this specific ancestor.
Once connected, these other researchers will appear in your “Connections” list, and you will be notified in your activity feed when they update this ancestor’s profile.
How to Disconnect a Member Connect Connection
If a user you connected with is adding incorrect information or “junk” data to their tree, you might want to sever the link to stop receiving their updates.
- Go to the Profile: Navigate back to the ancestor’s profile page in your tree.
- Open Member Connect: Click Tools > Member Connect.
- View Connections: Click on the “Connections” tab (instead of Suggested Connections).
- Remove: Find the user you want to disconnect from and click the Remove button next to their name.
Why Use Member Connect for Genealogy Research?
- Breaking Brick Walls: If you are stuck on an ancestor, finding someone else who has already solved that mystery can save you years of work.
- Sharing Photos: Often, distant cousins have physical photos of ancestors that you have never seen.
- Syncing Facts: It alerts you if a fellow researcher finds a new birth certificate or census record, so you can add the record to your source list immediately.
Frequently Asked Questions
Ancestry typically notifies users when someone follows their tree or connects to a specific ancestor. This is a good thing—it often prompts them to share their family tree or send you a message to collaborate.
If you don’t see this option, it is likely because:
Your tree is set to “Private” (which limits collaboration).
You are viewing a living person (Ancestry hides tools for living individuals for privacy).
You have a “Guest” account without an active subscription (some collaboration features are paid-only).
No. You can only connect to Public Member Trees. If you find a private tree match, you must message the owner and ask them to invite you to view it.
Conclusion
Member Connect is the bridge between “my tree” and “our history.” By linking your ancestors to active researchers, you turn genealogy from a solo hobby into a collaborative effort, increasing the accuracy of your tree with every new connection.
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