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Top tip - using the Genes Reunited community

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Tip for newbies, re Ancestry Trees

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Rambling

Rambling Report 19 Feb 2010 11:16

It is very exciting when you see that a name you are searching for appears in half a dozen trees on Ancestry BUT please check what you find there before adding to your tree and being taken in the wrong direction entirely.

For example
I was thrilled last night to see that ,apparently, someone had found the 'missing link' a father's name appearing on 6 trees and location for birth... until I actually looked at it, 5 of them had copied from the 'main' person and they had obviouisly not even looked at the original image as they had the names mistranscribed. And they had the family dying in Rochester Delaware,USA not Rochester Kent...which shows they hadn't even bothered to ensure what they had put made sense. Now they may be right on that 'missing ' link, but when everything else is so badly researched I doubt it :(

Researching:

RutlandBelle

RutlandBelle Report 19 Feb 2010 11:26

Rose, I couldn't agree more. Many people just click and 'add to your tree' without even thinking about it or looking at the actual image.

I have seen people born in Rutland , England, married in Rutland Vermont and then die in in England and I can't understand how someone would think that a couple in 1850 would travel from England to USA to marry and then in 1815 have children born in Rutland UK.

I once pointed this out to someone and they said 'oh I did wonder why they had gone to America to marry'!!

So as Rose says always check the source.

Researching:
Please use the "ADD YOUR REPLY" box below to reply. Please DO NOT click on my username and send a private message (unless info is about living people or otherwise sensitive). Thank you.

Thelma

Thelma Report 19 Feb 2010 12:12

The Ancestry computer does not like us to put in a place name,such as Rochester,without further identification.It will automatically select an American place and it is up to the individual to correct it.
So that Rochester Delaware is the computers prefered choice,not neccessarily correct.

Rambling

Rambling Report 19 Feb 2010 12:52

not at all correct Satnav lol, also Norfolk Massachusetts...instead of Norfolk UK...I realise it is the computers' selection...but the people who have added it must surely see it at some point .

Researching:

InspectorGreenPen

InspectorGreenPen Report 19 Feb 2010 20:34

Reading this it is easy to get the impression that it is the fault of Ancestry that members enter rubbish info on their trees. It is not Ancestry's fault that someone selects Boston Mass instead of Boston Lincs.

Interestingly this is one of the downsides of having pre-set place names, something which is often cited as missing on this site as it might help toward more accurate HotMatches....!