Internet Pedigrees

[stanmapstone]

There is an article by Matthew Connolly in Saturday’s Daily Telegraph about his research into his family history. In it he says that he inherited a manuscript pedigree of the Vernons, which was made in the early Victorian period, and bears the seal of one of the heralds of the day, but over the years he has identified a large number of errors in it. It was evidently used as the source for several printed accounts of the family, which in turn have been faithfully reproduced on the internet.

Stan

[Ruskie]

I have heard before about inaccuracies in family trees originating in Victorian times. Once one has been published on the internet they spread like wildfire. I think the Victorians were very keen to trace their lineage to royalty and genealogy was a fairly popular pastime. They were obsessed with interested in the past and this was also reflected in their art and architecture with styles borrowed from earlier eras. Maybe this is why they took such an interest in their own family histories.
It makes sense to be cautious. The problem is that if we find several trees on the internet, all of which have the same information, we may believe they are correct as so many have the same information, without realising that they may all have originated from a single (incorrect) source.

[msallen]

A good reminder, especially to anyone relatively new to the hobby.

It cannot be stressed too often - never believe anything that a third party says about a family link. Always strive where possible to confirm it with primary (or at least good non-partisan secondary) sources.

Pedigrees by heralds, such as from the visitations, are not guaranteed just because they were "official". Without further evidence my rough rule of thumb is to place some degree of trust in any information on people that were alive during, or very soon before, the lifetime of the claimant (i.e. usually back to grandparents or sometimes great grandparents). Anything earlier than that is simply a potential lead to further research.

[Whipby]

And of course it's much more fun to do it yourself than to just lift information from other people's trees, whether it's correct or not!

[coombs]

If I find info on an Ancestry tree about ancestors I always, always, always double check it and never, ever take their word for it. If I was handed a family tree done by a great grandparent then it would take me just a few minutes to find any errors in them.

I was in Mautby Church in Norfolk and there is a pedigree of the Mawbey family of Mautby back to 1066 to Simon De Mautbey. I wonder how accurate it is.

[Lola5]

I have Mautby ancestors from Mautby Hall and wondered if you still have the info you found at Mautby Church. St Peter and Paul's. I should be most grateful if you could let me have this infoas I want to check the validity of the info I already have and I can no longer travel.
Many thanks.

[sharonmx5]

I agree with everything already said.

I am interested in a marriage referred to in an antiquarian book but cannot find a single source for that information.  Of course the marriage is very suspect and much as I would like to, I simply can't rely on it at all.  I can't help thinking though that that information must have come from somewhere.  My next move is to hopefully visit the Parish Church in the village in which they lived and see if the woman's maiden name is mentioned on a stone in the Church.  I have come across maiden names on Church stones before.  If not, then it will always remain a frustrating, unproven and unprovable.

[jbml]

It cannot be stressed too often - never believe anything that a third party says about a family link. Always strive where possible to confirm it with primary (or at least good non-partisan secondary) sources.

I could not agree more.

I would also add a necessarily corollary - when you share information with somebody who is researching a common ancestor, and they ask you for your sources, do not be offended! They are simply wanting to do what we always say you should do - i.e. check it for themselves!!!