Genealogy Chat

There was a thread recently on William Pince publishers, and this outfit was a con. So beware. Brenda

Many years ago I heard about this scheme. Basically it was just listing everyone they could find with the same surname - probably taken from telephone book or electors roll. I don't even think they had the addresses in if I recall correctly. As a fount of information not very good I would have thought but interesting perhaps to those who would like to see a wide world of people with the same name.

My brother received a letter like this once. His christian name is Stephen, they spelt it Steven. He decided there and then that if they could not even manage to spell his name correctly- what else would they have got wrong????

I've seen one of these ages ago. From what I can remember, the information about the names is general, and basically listed people with the same name as yours - usually in America!! The coat of arms is one cobbled together, you can see the sort of thing on a heraldry site - you know 'How to create you own coat of arms'. The irony is, this was sent to my mother, for my father's fairly unusual surname. Unfortunalety for them, we knew more about our surname than they did!

Ther's no such thing as a "free coat of arms". If your family is entitled to a coat of arms you would know about it. I wouldn't touch it with a bargepole. As I said previously, never agree to buy anything you can't return if you aren't happy with it. nell

Thanks for the input everyone. I too am dubious about this. My wife recently received one. It seems odd that they've traced her and not me (it's my surname they're offering the book on!). We're ex-directory so I presume they're using old electoral registers. From the wording of the letter it does seem a tempting offer (there's a free "coat of arms" if you take up the offer before 12th September), but it all seems too vague to me to be genuine. If anyone has had a good experience please post on this forum.

I have heard of a scam similar to this a few years ago. It appeared that what they were selling was names taken from phone books. Don't waste your money on something that you have not seen. If they had researched the names they are selling, it would cost a great deal more than they are asking for. Mary

I'd be very dubious about buying anything "non-returnable". Why pay £35 for a book about a name that applies to lots of people when you can write your own about your family?

Hi Helen, I've just posted a similar message my father has received a similar offer (he's been dead for 1 and half years).Was it from William Pince Publishers?I'm hoping someone else has brought the book to find out whether it's worth buying. Sandra

Our family has received 2 circulars offering family chronicles for 2 different surnames. These are for sale at around £35 and are non-returnable. The older members of our family are those who have received this information and "offer"".