Find A Grave biographies

[bevj]

After having found a lot of really good information on Find a Grave over the years, I've had a rather galling experience with a biography entry today.
I found the entries for my great-great grandparents, whom I have researched very carefully over the years and for whom I have a lot of information backed up by official records.  The biographies included several errors so I suggested editions to correct them.  To my surprise today I received a notification that my suggestions have all been rejected  by the biographer because 'they do not coincide with the information that I have'.
So I checked the profile of the biographer and she is no relation, just a well-meaning person who has uploaded literally hundreds of entries from the Australian cemetery where my g-g-grandmother is buried and has gone with a couple of Ancestry hints to invent the biography of g-g-grandfather who is actually buried in London.
I've politely contacted her explaining that I can back up my suggestions with hard facts, but I fear that she's going to take no notice.  It's rather sad to find out that this site like many others can't be relied upon.
Bev

[Jebber]

I regard any website that contains user input with scepticism If it contains an entry  I think may  contain information relating to someone with whom I have an interest, I use it as guide rand esearch the information myself, that way I can either confirm or refute the facts, whichever is appropriate.

[larkspur]

"Imagine being born at the very strike of midnight on the dot."
Happened with my niece, the midwife asked my brother what day he wanted her birthday-the 10th or the 11th. He went for the 11th as it would make her a day younger!!

[candleflame]

Bevj, it’s very frustrating. I have found similar issues on fag. However my main issue is with a certain site where folk put online trees. Errors that one person has made, get repeated by others into their trees. When you are the direct relative and have handed down family photos and certificates to prove that what you know is correct, it’s frustrating but sometimes you have to pick your battles. 

[Blue70]

FAG is not a resource I think to use they're like the tree sites they are at the back of my mind when I'm researching they are part of the wild west of genealogy 


C

[PaulineJ]

After having found a lot of really good information on Find a Grave over the years, I've had a rather galling experience with a biography entry today.
I found the entries for my great-great grandparents, whom I have researched very carefully over the years and for whom I have a lot of information backed up by official records.  The biographies included several errors so I suggested editions to correct them.  To my surprise today I received a notification that my suggestions have all been rejected  by the biographer because 'they do not coincide with the information that I have'.
So I checked the profile of the biographer and she is no relation
Bev

Simple thing is to ask that the memorial is transferred to yourself. You can escalate it to FAG if she declines.

[Enumerated]

FAG is not a resource I think to use they're like the tree sites they are at the back of my mind when I'm researching they are part of the wild west of genealogy 

C

What, you're not interested in seeing photos of your ancestors' gravestones?

Gravestones can be valuable sources of information. The Victorian gravestones I am adding to findagrave often have useful extra information such as occupations and addresses. There are often infant children listed who were born and died between the census which you wouldn't otherwise know about. It might save you buying the death certificate since the full death date is usually on the stone.

The bios are another matter. I only add verifiable data to the bio, such as info from the burial register or probate calendar, when creating memorials. The problem is that other people can edit the memorial and add info that I am unable to verify. This puts me in a quandary as I don't want to be uncooperative, but I have had little success when asking for sources.

[Blue70]

FAG is not a resource I think to use they're like the tree sites they are at the back of my mind when I'm researching they are part of the wild west of genealogy 

C

What, you're not interested in seeing photos of your ancestors' gravestones?

Gravestones can be valuable sources of information. The Victorian gravestones I am adding to findagrave often have useful extra information such as occupations and addresses. There are often infant children listed who were born and died between the census which you wouldn't otherwise know about. It might save you buying the death certificate since the full death date is usually on the stone.

The bios are another matter. I only add verifiable data to the bio, such as info from the burial register or probate calendar, when creating memorials. The problem is that other people can edit the memorial and add info that I am unable to verify. This puts me in a quandary as I don't want to be uncooperative, but I have had little success when asking for sources.

Only a few of my great grandparents and backwards have gravestones. A quarter of my tree is people from an Irish background and none of them have gravestones. I suppose that's part of the reason why the facts about them are more important to me. It's not rocket science the source records are available to view online so when someone comes along and makes a right pig's ear of your ancestors it doesn't half put you off sites like FAG.


C 

[Isabel H]

I have contributed photos to Findagrave but have been put off by being asked to approve/reject changes to bios that I am unable to check.
On the positive side, I have had a mystery solved by a kind person who photographed a stone for me, in a cemetery I would never have been able to visit. 
However I have also come across a bio of one of my relatives attached to the wrong person. Same name, different person, place and dates. I offered proof and asked for it to be corrected but was ignored.