Ancestry and personal family trees

[ankerdine]

I suspect this has been mentioned before - maybe many times.

During lockdown my local library has allowed online access to Ancestry Library Edition. I've not bothered with A much before, always preferring FindMyPast. Noticing a family tree with my members in it I was shocked to see all the errors the person had quoted. Also, nowhere could I find how they linked these into their tree anyway. Just saddened to realised this person must have accessed my tree somehow and scrambled it all up! I didn't delve too deeply into it in case I also featured therein too!

Why do people do this.? The family tree was called Cobham Family Tree and I've never heard of anyone with that name on my tree.

Judy

[Girl Guide]

Unfortunately there are a lot of people who are just name collectors rather than true family historians.  This is one of the reasons why I have never put any of my family trees on the internet.

Not very pleasant to find that someone has lifted your research and plonked it willy nilly into theirs with no checks whatsoever. 

[Caw1]

I agree... it’s very frustrating to find that everything you put in your tree is filched by someone without a by your leave...
I’ve had one particular person who has copied everything I’ve put despite me trying to say ‘it’s not yours’... in the end I made my tree private just to stop him doing it...
I flinch when I see people who have thousands of names in their trees...
Not sure how you can sort it ankerdine it just makes your blood boil!

Caroline

[Rosinish]

You're not alone & unfortunately there's nothing we can do about it.

I've sent messages in the past, been thanked for pointing out the error but they're still there years later!

One of those has a marriage cert. attached to my relative who happened to have the same name & surname born circa the same year & same area as her chap who clearly has 2 different parents, visible on his marriage cert. yet the parents of my chap have been added along with his siblings, further generations et al 

"Chobham" is in Surrey, England

Annie

[ankerdine]

Annie and all other kind contributors
As you can see I made an error in copying the name! Ha Ha, we must be all guilty of a little mistake but this family tree business is intriguing.
It seems this person added this tree quite recently, during the past few months, and in his gallery of ancestor's connections there is a painting of Robert the Bruce. Wow, to think I might be related to him! Pity, I should have preferred Mary Queen of Scots but maybe she is there somewhere too?

At the end of the day it's just so sad to read your deceased brother's details along with other deceased close family members, when this person does not have my permission or even know me. I noticed that this part of his family tree had been imported from a Boyd family tree so he must be collecting trees, as has been stated before.

Judy

[Creasegirl]

I been using the ancestry library edition and noticed how many trees there are that are wrong.  I think though that it's just that people start it and pick up bits from other trees and then put 2 and 2 together and get 5.  I also think this as got my dna done and there lots of through lines that just dont add up.  Someone had a supposed shared 5 times great grandmother linked to my tree that they had put photo of gypsy caravan next to but looking at their tree and mine there was nothing linking that person to me or that they were a gypsy.

[Milliepede]

I've sent messages too with correct information and received short shrift for doing it which is very sad.

[ankerdine]

Milliepede, that's so sad and annoying._
Creasegirl, I DO have gypsies (tinklers) in my tree but that hasn't popped up yet!

I'm so glad I've never paid for Ancestry subscription and never will do now after hearing about the cheats out there.

[Pheno]

I really don't let it bother me unless it is a case of living relatives being added to trees.

I really don't care if others have incorrect trees - I do my own research anyway.  The effect it has on thrulines though is frustrating and I have contacted people in this scenario, usually with advantageous results.

I really don't consider people who just add details directly from hints or copying portions of trees as genealogists.

Pheno

PS Sorry, an awful lot of 'I really don't's there on re-reading.