Genealogy Chat

Not found anyone on Ancestry EVER with my personal rellies on the direct line. My family must be unique!!! Found a few related to sidelines, and really, if they get it wrong, I tell them and if they choose to ignore me well, more fool them.

Madmeg

Funny reading this thread when I have just this minute finished looking at a tree on Ancestry that contains information that can only have been made up. This tree has my 2 x greatgrandfather marrying his first wife at the age of 10 and having a family of 6 children by the time they were 19 y.o. Then he remarries and has another 4 children one of whom is my great grandfather who goes on to marry someone I've never heard of and has a number of children with about 3 of them accurate including my grandfather who marries a woman from Shropshire who we have never heard of but who gave birth to my father:-)) I have sent a message but I don't think I'll hear anything.

Sue

I too have my family tree on Ancestry and find that Ancestry suggest 'hints' for matches of a name that is in a persons tree......including census records and other family trees, which is good if they are the same family!

However many people just accept these 'hints' and add them to their tree.

One distant relative had actually copied census records for an America family and added the family to their tree. I pointed out that the American family is not ours......

if they just looked at the census record properly and then at the children of the family which they already had, they would see that they were actually living in Ireland when the children were born and the American census record couldn't possibly be the same family!

Took a while for that person to twig, but they did eventually correct their tree.

It does make me cross though, especially as I had previously sent copies of my Irish BDM's to them as proof!

I wonder how many other people now have added our Irish family to their American family because of one person's error!

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Thank you all for your replies...... I am sitting on the fence because in the past I have twice contacted people about great aunts who I had actually known well in my childhood about things they had wrong like husbands names & vital event dates.... v ery tactfully suggested their mistakes but was completely ignored both times... So wondered if it really was worth the effort.
Think I will give one more go & if no response forget in future.
Thank you for your input.
Margaret

I have contacted two people on Ancestry who have my ggg grandfather married to the wrong person. Neither replied and neither has changed their trees. I have also contacted the owner of a web-site which has completely wrong parents details for another gg grandfather. Once again, no reply and no changes made.

I always approach people nicely and offer to send certificates/sources if they need them, but it's a bit frustrating when they continue to publish the wrong information. Like the rest of you, I would want someone to let me know if I am on the wrong track - I've got enough relatives without claiming any who aren't actually mine!

I would say contact them, but don't be surprised if they don't respond.

Lynn

Agree with you all, there are six trees on Ancestry regarding my ancestors that are incorrect, it is obvious that they have all copied the wrong tree. I hope that no one else will copy mistakes like husband b. 1731 wife b. 1867 died 1869, then went on to have 6 children after her death lol. Found that when I have contacted most ignore. I don't bother now and just comment on tree that the information is wrong, and put correct details.
Carol

There a few trees on Ancestry which have my Grandparents listed, mostly the info they have is correct, with my 100% confimed info.

However there is one tree which has the name of my Grandfather with the correct death detail place and date, and the correct marriage to my grandmother,and birth of my father in 1934 in Nottingham. However they have my Grandfather born in Lincolnshire, when i know its Nottingham, and they have him with totally different parents/ ancestors going back to the 1600s none of which are correct.

Should i tell them they are incorrect?,i did send a message about a year ago but no response so i dont bother anymore,that includes other trees which have followed the same line
This particular tree has 66,388 people in it, to me how many more are incorrect, just let them get on with it.

George

Having spent a considerable amount on certificates I believe my tree to be 100% accurate but I would not object to being contacted by someone who thought some of my info was wrong. I would ask them to show me why they thought I was wrong and go through what they had.

I have contacted two members on here as they had a child down as a son to a particular couple when infact it was the husbands nephew. One blatantly ignored what I told her, the other was very grateful for letting her know.

Personally if I was you I would be making contact. If they choose to ignore you or they read your message and don't amend their tree then it's their loss, but you will have done your bit in trying to help a fellow researcher who is researching the same family.

Chris

I have found 'connections' on ancestry where I know the people have just copied each other and gone off on a total different line to theirs only 1 or 2 generations back.
I found the marriage they should have had and gone on from and let them know so they could continue their line correctly - but made no difference so far - they still have 'my' rellies on their tree.
I personally would like somebody to put me wise as you run out of lines so quick in this addictive hobby that I would welcome another branch to track down!


B

Have just been perusing Ancestry family trees to see if there is anyone out there I could perhaps make a connection to.....

Found 2/3, different sides of the family............ My first reaction was that I will not be making contact........ There were so many huge differences in our research results.... I have researched in depth & know my lines to be correct..... at least 3 sources for each person.......

Then I thought.... hmmm.. if someone thought that I was wrong , would I want some kind soul to put me on the right track even though it may mean a lot of work........

Am really sitting on the fence on this one......

Thoughts anyone.