Genealogy Chat

This site is a very useful resource, but it is only as good as the people who submit their Trees. We have people who only have one name on here, people who think that the last two digits of a year are sufficient information, and people who have submitted Names with no other information. Forgive me for getting out the soap box, but quite frankly, that is not good enough. If you are going to use this site as a means of linking up with others, or to locate missing Relatives, at least give us a decent chance to Identify them. I for one am seriously researching my Family Tree and it is frustrating to say the least when I come across such a lack of care from others. Jim

And it bugs me when you find a match for a name in your tree, send a message to make contact and there is no reply. Why have your tree on here if you're not willing to share details with others? If these people have allowed their membership to expire why can't GR add a note to the record so we don't waste time waiting for replies from 'ghosts'. I can get off my soapbox now. Beth :)

I think Jim, as in all walks of life, there are those who are more serious, and indeed, more capable than others. I too find it frustrating when I contact people who appear to have a connection to someone in my tree but then I get no reply. I think some people just put on a few names and forget about it. Also, some may put on a name which is really a twig, rather than a branch and so have little interest in that particular name. I myself have a few non-direct line names which I really havent put a lot of effort in to. Others, like you, are tackling this in a really serious and comprehensive way. Im afraid thats life, some of us are just more determined than others to reach a satisfactory goal!

I only have a skeleton tree on here. Am I bothered about finding present day relatives? No. I did once, we sent each other an email or two, then it petered out to nothing. The second time I found someone - or was found, rather - it turned out they had assumed that two people with the same name from the same village were the same person. They hadn't realised that the one in their tree died aged two. Other people's research is sometimes more trouble than it's worth. I come here for help and advice, and if I don't ever find anyone researching my lot, who cares?

There are probably people using this site in a less serious way, however, there are also people, like me, who are struggling to find information to put in my tree due to having a complicated tree. I have been a member for some time now and have a very small tree because of adoption in our family. It is not because I want a scant tree, or because I can't be bothered to take it seriously, but information is extremely hard to find. Every additonal person in my tree comes as a result of a lot of effort and time. So please, don't assume we are not serious if we have small trees!

I am not having a go at People with small Trees. The ones I would like to kick up the bum are those who think it is enough to say that a Relly was born in 58. No reference to the Century. Or those who had a Relly called Mary. No reference at all to date or place. And, of course, those who seem to think that it doesn't matter if the names or places are spelt correctly. Surely it is not too much to ask that all entries include NAME, DATE & PLACE, even if followed by a question mark? Genealogy by necessity has to be an exact science or it is just a total waste of time. Jim

Jim, I too found all the same problems that you have. I posted messages again and again for help with my Swaffield tree, and I offered help too. Apart from one or two people most requests have gone unanswered,yet there are about 200 Swaffields registered apparently. One of them must have the answers I need. I have given up using this site as a means of Research. It is disheartening and very frustrating. I use the site like chat room., although I do find the Tips Board good and Records Office. But I no longer expect any help with research. It is sad isn't it. Rose

Jim, I too found all the same problems that you have. I posted messages again and again for help with my Swaffield tree, and I offered help too. Apart from one or two people most requests have gone unanswered,yet there are about 200 Swaffields registered apparently. One of them must have the answers I need. I have given up using this site as a means of Research. It is disheartening and very frustrating. I use the site like chat room., although I do find the Tips Board good and Records Office. But I no longer expect any help with research. It is sad isn't it. Rose

A word about people not answering. To some people Family History is a pick up, put down, pick up again hobby, so they may not be doing it at the moment. Also, a personal event such as bereavment could have caused them to stop for a while as in my case when my husband died. In the meantime, they change their email address and forget to tell the site, and wonder why nobody is contacting them. (Personal experience) They now have my new email address. Dont be too quick to pass judgment, there may be a logical explanation.

When I started on family research I hadn't a clue how it all worked or what information to put etc. Through GR and other sites where people are so helpful, I now have a family tree (only small, though!) where I have checked out all the information and entered it correctly. As far as I can see GR is not a 'scientific' site, neither is it specifically aimed at the dedicated, professional researcher. So, it seems a bit of a shame to start judging people's efforts and criticising their methods.

Natalie, There are 26881 Cooks on this site including 2 of mine. According to our members 4415 of them were born in the year 0. 161 of them between the years 1 - 100 and one each born in 175, 183, 187, 190 and 896. Is it only me who wants to scream?!!

On thing I find frustrating and I have emailed the admin people about it, is that the place of births given can be confusing, as someone may put say, Rotherhithe, London or Rotherhithe, Surrey or even just surrey or London. Im not sure a way round this, but I guess there must be as it is a bit of a pain when you are checking through thousands of names, it would be nice just to put a place in to cut down on the entries you have to check through.

So you are saying that: A) Because I choose not to put my tree onto GC, I am not serious about Genealogy? B) Because I know by way of a birth cert that the parents of Jo Bloggs is Fred Bloggs and Jane Doe, but try as I might I can find no other information on them, I cannot enter them on my tree because it is inconvenient to others not to have an exact date and place? C) Because my interest is in MY family tree and not how many living links I can find, I am not serious about Genealogy? D) Because I do not base my tree on the information that I have gleened from being given access to another persons tree, I am not serious about Genealogy? Sue:-)

I've found it really frustrating when adding birthdates for relatives. Sometimes I don't have any idea when or where they were born, all I have is their marriage date - no ages and nothing from the census to give me an approximate year. We have to give a year of birth and although we can add 'circa', to me that would mean give or take a couple, which could turn out to be totally misleading and not picked up by someone else who does have the correct year. I'd prefer to be able to put 'before XXXX' or perhaps a range of years, to show that I'm not sure. I agree with Jim that some people don't bother, but GR doesn't always make it easy for us either. Cazza

Heather, I have asked GR to try to come up with a solution to this. It is very frustrating to have to go through every letter of the alphabet because there is no standardisation. Although, to be fair, a lot of it is caused by our members. For example, there are those who believe that an ancestor was born on the Isle of White. To my mind this is sheer carelessness and very aggravating. Happy hunting, Jim

I have been trying to build a family tree, etc. since paying my membership fee at the end of July but all I get are error messages and suggestions to contact "support", I have lost count of the emails I have sent them, all to no avail. I would love to put up my family tree, and wonder if many other people have the same problem. Grace R

I have to say Sue, that you may be serious about your research, but the idea of this site is to share, isnt it?

Suzanne, Not at all, When entering names individually on a Tree GR insist on an approximate Birth date and place. Unfortunately Gedcom can bypass this which means that Baptismal dates are not recognised by the Site. I joined this Site hoping it would prove to be a resource for sharing information with people who were researching the same lines as myself, and indeed it has proved to be so. My complaint is about those members who a) Ought to be on Friends Reunited if they are looking for living Relatives, or b) are sloppy and lackadaisical about the information they put on the Site. Jim

Hi I have to admit that I am one of those who have rellies on my tree with the details as 'Mary' or 'Elizabeth' with no other information. This is because whilst researching a male in my family, I have found them on a census with their wife. Obviously census information does not include maiden names so until I find the marriage and get the certificate or a birth certificate of one of their children, I have no way of knowing 'Mary's' surname or date of birth. or even in fact place of birth, as census information differs from year to year. Basically I am trying to say that although all I may have at present is a christian name, I will not be leaving it at that, it's just that my research has not got quite far enough for me to be more specific. May be this is the same for other people and the reason there are entries with so little info (yet!) Sam

Hi Jim My tree has, where I know it, date and place of baptism. This is NOT the same as date and place of birth. I am aware of instances where birth and baptism vary by several years, not always shown in the registers. Guesswork is misleading and until GR has a facility to show baptism details I am not going to fill in the blanks. Brenda