Find Ancestors

Hi What is the point of 'fitting' people into you tree if they don't belong? The only thing I can think of is to have numbers. It must be infuriating and very misleading for future researchers. I have some small branches of my tree that I got from someone else and included after checking. I feel it cuts down on research time and lets you get on with finding more ancestors. I always pass anything I find on to people who have helped me, as their research helped me get there. I acknowledge sources on my tree at home, but when I upload the sources don't upload. Janet

Hi sorry to hear this has happened ... it must be so galling to have it not just copied but butchered to fit! Small chunks of my tree have been copied as well but I'm not overly bothered - especially as I've not put all the information I have on here. I've also been v. careful not to post on here anything that I've not found myself and anything other people have shared with me is only on my offline family tree. It hasn't occurred to me to copy other people's info on to GR ... and it almost seems pointless if the info is already there! S:>

I've stopped allowing people access to my tree. I know the whole point of this hobby is to share information but twice recently I've opened my tree to other people, they've copied large chunks of info on anyone with the same name and I've not had so much as a word of thanks. It may sound pedantic but there's over 3yrs of hard work and expense gone into the information I have. I'll willingly exchange info with anyone if we can establish a true connection and the exchange is fair but I'm not allowing people to just copy my time and effort and pass it off as their own. Ok...rant over! Lou

No one can change your tree on this site, only you can access it. What some people have done is ask to look at other peoples trees, then copied the information onto their own. Personally it doesn't bother me and anyone who wants will be given permission to view mine. I'm only interested in my own tree and don't care what others do with theirs and where their info comes from. If they want to copy mine, that's up to them. I find most of the fun and satisfaction is discovering the information yourself. Then again, if I am given any new details I will add them to my tree after checking the sources where I can. I don't think you can copyright history can you? Surely it belongs to everyone. And if we can save each other a few quid by exchanging information surely that can't be a bad thing.

I DELETED MY TREE FROM THE SITE BECAUSE I FOUND PEOPLE ADDED ON WHO I,D NEVER EVEN HEARD OF.WHEN I WROTE TO THE SITE ASKING ABOUT IT I NEVER EVEN GOT A REPLY

Hi Peter, No mate I'm sorry but I never knew of Ian Gomm as my lot seemed to be ag labs & railway workers. Keep on diging. All the very best Phil

Hi Tracy, Thanks for your sympathy & it does make you stop & think (shall I stop passing on information) but then again we have to ride thes experiences off & put them down to inexperienced researchers who are trying to make a name for themselves at our expence. Keep up the good work. All the very best Phil

Hi Sue, She just changed the names I sent her so they wuold fit in with her own tree - she changed GOMM to GUMM even though my Goom's were backed up by certificates & she even changed my grandmothers name from HARTLAND to Harthane (goodness knows where she got that from). All the very best Phil

Gosh, how annoying, especially after all your hard work. I hadn't even occurred to me that it was possible to change someone else's relatives' details or was it done on on her tree? Best wishes to you in your future searches. Sue H

Do you know Ian Gomm, record pruducer and former guitarist with the band Brinsley Schwarz?

Hi There, I know that Wendy Becket is a member of Genes & has her tree here (the GOMM name is spelt GUMM -even when she is told she is wrong - she even changed my grandmothers name from Hartland to Harthane - gods knows why - probably to fit in with her own tree). For anyone researching the name GOMM I strongly advise you to disregard her tree as some of the information on it is suspect to say the least. A long time ago I sent her a large chunk of my GOMM tree for private study - but she promptly put it all on the web & even quoted me as her source (which I strongly deny). I have requested that the line I sent in good faith be removed from her tree - to no avail so put this warning to other Gomm researchers in case they are traped by her. All the very best to the Gomm history group Phil