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The risks of copying unchecked information!

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Michael

Michael Report 21 Aug 2010 15:30

Time again to advise people to check and check again if you want an accurate and true family history.
I have just accessed the Ancestry Probate records to check on the will of an ancestor in Durham in 1868. I was staggered to see that one of his sons granted Letters of Administration was my supposed great great grandfather John Stephenson who I believed to have died in 1851!
I checked for years on this family, dates and places of marriages etc all fitted nicely, all my own work I have to add! Many folk have lifted or borrowed lots of this information and one cheeky beggar added it as a submission on the IGI records, egg on face time for him as it was all wrong!
My new research has turned up the right chap now for sure (under my nose in my notes all the time) but I am keeping him under wraps for a bit.
So my tip is to check,check again and not be surprised if things are not always as they appear to be!

Mike S

Researching:
Stephenson,Boggon,Gilroy, Newcastle,Coxlodge,North Shields

InspectorGreenPen

InspectorGreenPen Report 21 Aug 2010 15:45

How true, and well done with your research in finding out.

What I also find amusing is the no of requests on here trying to make some piece of information fit, when clearly it does not, on the basis that there must have been a mistake on the census, the birth or marriage cert etc - with even seasoned researchers falling for the bait too.

Sadly far to many don't check the info that they get from others, I must admit I wasn't that particular when I started out ten years ago but now will not consider anything unless I can find at least one, preferably more, pieces of corroborating information.

~~~Secret Red ^^ Squirrel~~~ **007 1/2**

~~~Secret Red ^^ Squirrel~~~ **007 1/2** Report 21 Aug 2010 22:17

My GR tree (when it's published - it's not at the moment) can be very misleading as I have put on my FTM tree after 1851 after/before 1861 etc (eg after /before the census) This is just to help me with my research. When I upload my tree to GR, unfortunately I have found the after/before disappears and people who are not checking properly sometimes take it as gospel so i have to explain again what has happened.

Good advice Mike.

Georgygirl

Georgygirl Report 22 Aug 2010 19:00

Excellent advice Mike,
I have recently found one of my ancesters married to a different person (same first name but wrong surname) i know i'm correct because i have birth/marriage certificates loaned to me from a living decendent.
There are now three trees with the wrong info on, it looks as though they are copying each other without do their own checks..................