Genealogy Chat

I know this is probably a matter of personal choice but I wondered what others thought.

If I find a 'fifth cousin, three times removed' or similar via hot matches or searching, and I am happy there is a genuine connection but I havent's found any information beyond that person's grandfather, would I take their word for their own information and their parents and add it to my tree? This happens to me frequently that someone kindly 'fills me in' with their own and their immediate family's details but is it right for me to just add it without verifying it as some are abroad and I haven't access to their records

nooooooooooo only ever use other peoples info as a guide, make a note of who told you, but there is always a chance they could be wrong.

But is that likely if it's themselves, partners, siblings and parents?

So does that mean I should check my own birth and marriage (obviously not death yet) details including my full name etc? Has anyone had the experience of doing this and found a surprise?

But Jonesey, I'm not sure I would want to send birth/marriage certs to a stranger and I wouldn't feel right about asking someone else.
#

Hi,

Here's an example of why everything needs double-checking ...

Yesterday a GR member contacted me saying that his grandfather was the brother of one of my rellies. I got very excited, as I would love to know more about my relly.

Sure enough, the fathers' names matched, most of the siblings' names matched, and the dates of birth matched - give or take a couple of years.

But ... amazingly, it is as if there were two different families living in parallel universes! The mothers' names are different, and there are also very subtle differences with things like birth places.

I myself had been totally confused about these families on the census returns until GR helpers unravelled the mystery for me about a year ago.

So ... always check everything yourself (I find it's more fun to do it that way, anyway!).

Liz

There is no right or wrong way, do what you feel comfortable with.

Obviously for current living persons it would be a bit cheeky to ask them to send you the relevant documentation to prove that they are who they say they are, or that the person they married is the one they wake up next to every morning. ......!

I have no problems making use of research that has been done by others, but will not add it to my own tree unless I am satisfied beyond reasonable doubt that it is correct. In most cases, as a minimum, that involves tracing the person / family through the census returns and identifying all relevant BMD records. If I can't pass that test then it doesn't get added.

Hi everyone

Thanks for all your replies. I also have a 'mirror' family but, unfortuntely they only lived about 15 miles away from the original. Same childrens names, dob's and even death dates are close but different mothers. Causes a lot of confusion but I'm quietly confident they will fit in somewhere (a long way to go before I know for certain).

My main problem is that most of these contacts are in Oz or Canada and, without spending lots of money on subs I don't see how they can be verified. That and the fact they are living. I agree IGP that it seems a tad insensitive to ask people to prove they are who they say they are but take the points mentioned on the board.

Thanks for your inputs

Beverley

When I first started which is less than two years ago, I got a lot of information from an uncles public tree on Ancestry and re-newed contact with him after many years.

I met up with him again a couple of months ago and we discussed our findings. I told him I had found a couple of discrepancies in his tree as dates did not tally with what I had found. He told me had had done that deliberately as people should check any information they are given, a bit unfair I thought.

Fortunately I'm one who won't add to my tree unless I've corroborated the info for myself, so no harm done.

Always corroborate any information given, after all what's the point in doing this if our trees are not accurate.

If someone saw a baptism entry on my tree they would think it's a mistake, 30th Feb 1879 but it's not I got it from parish records and also got a member of staff to check it.

Chris

Jonesey

Thanks for clarifying your thoughts. I suppose my main concern was that someone from - say - Australia tells me his name is Joe Bloggs and his parents were Jane and Bill Bloggs. I am happy that Bill Blogg's father is the person on my tree but didn't know about Joe. Joe also tells me he is married to Sally and has two children, Lucy and David. The thought of asking Joe to provide copies of certs for Jane (his mother) Sally (his wife) and Lucy and David (his children) seemed a bit cheeky to me. To verify these people I would need to subscribe to another site to find out their details. I wouldn't want to send certs of my husband or children or myself to someone I barely knew (for obvious security reasons) and felt it was too much to ask them. Anyway, I appreciate all your thoughts.

The above names have been changed to protect the innocent - lol

I think that Jonesey is being very kind and respectful in his explanation of certification requirement.
Obviously living people would not be expected to send documents but they can be checked at records offices if required.
We are generally dealing with ancestors who have passed on and it is nice to see any available certification in relation to their lives.

My great grandfather is Francis born c1844 but I found him on a very poor Scottish OPR scan with the correct parents as born 1842, christened 1843 which meant the census reports etc always seemed a couple of years out.
A recent slightly better scan from SP showed the birth as Frances, lawful daughter.........

She must have died young without being registered and Francis was born without being registered or the registrar had very poor eyesight.

Of course this meant that all the dates then fell into place so it really is certification whenever possible and yes, some people may get upset at requests for paper confirmation but given that we all share the same goal, I fail to see why.

I answered a request from a distant family member and was quite happy to send her the relevant certificates of her and my wifes great grandmother.
She had done some digging and was stuck and I was able to pass on the family skeletons which resulted in name changing etc...........saved her some hair pulling, time and money.

Personally I would never ask anyone to prove that they or their ancestor is related by sending me documents. If someone offers, however, then I will usually take them up on the offer, and try to provide something in return.

But then that's just my way. As I said earlier, do what you feel comfortable with and enjoy your hobby.

Of course - if you want REAL verification you'd need DNA tests!
You never can tell about the milkman. I guess that it's easier to accept some statements than others.
B

Oh boy Bernie!! Can you imagine this hobby in a couple of hundred years time? It will involve digging up our ancestors and all sorts. I'm glad I'm doing this now in that case - lol.

Beverley

There is another school of thought which says that you can never be 100% certain who the father was, even if his name appears on the birth certificate.

For this reason, some researchers are only interested in the maternal line as this is more likely to be accurate. But even then how many births to young girls were registered in the grandmothers name, especially if she was still of child bearing age?

I have a grandfather who may have changed his name somewhere in the last century and just to muddy the water further in the 1891 census there were two couples of the same names, both wives were born in Dover both had fathers as builders called George and both lived in close proximity to each other in the same town

If that's the case then IGP, what are we all doing and why??

How true Budgie. I have no contact with my brother but he has a 'tree' on GR with just our parents, myself and himself - not even his wife and kids. On that he has my dob wrong. What hopes have the rest of us got?