How do I tell them?

[Josephine]

Great research and an interesting write-up, julianb -- I enjoyed reading it!

[davierj]

For my own amusement I followed a number of trees posted on the internet back in time.   They appeared to be linked to some of my Welsh family members.   They inevitably went back to Welsh nobility, princes and even royalty as far back as the second century AD.   A similar phenomenon occurred with an American in law's tree.  The family emigrated to the USA from the London and south east England region but purported to have their origins as Welsh and indeed Scottish royalty in early Medieval times.
One can only conclude that the population must have been extremely small and virile or there has been some very imaginative research.
Comments please

[coombs]

I have even come across a few cousins who earnestly believe other trees or "best fit" such as a marriage in London in 1710 for a couple who lived in Suffolk, and while it is possible, if the original London marriage record does not give any Suffolk parish of residence or even mention Suffolk, then you would need some compelling evidence to convince me it is the right marriage. Especially if I myself found a marrige in, for example 1713, locally in Suffolk.

Same for someone who according to an Ancestry tree was said to be born in Cumberland in 1655 who had married in rural Suffolk in 1680. Unless you have a will, poor law record or other piece of compelling evidence to prove it is the same person, I'd check local Suffolk records for a baptism.

[Drayke]

For my own amusement I followed a number of trees posted on the internet back in time.   They appeared to be linked to some of my Welsh family members.   They inevitably went back to Welsh nobility, princes and even royalty as far back as the second century AD.   A similar phenomenon occurred with an American in law's tree.  The family emigrated to the USA from the London and south east England region but purported to have their origins as Welsh and indeed Scottish royalty in early Medieval times.
One can only conclude that the population must have been extremely small and virile or there has been some very imaginative research.
Comments please

I think the problem with welsh genealogy is when you get back to pre-parish records, at least in my experience, is the surnames. People just take a David ap David as being the same as the other David ap David in the same town not understanding that they both could be and probably are the sons of two entirely different David's and entirely separate families.

From there they go down the rabbit hole taking their research on an entirely different tangent.

That said, the Welsh, like the Irish kept very detailed genealogical records pre-parish registers and naming conventions (son/daughter of) helped immensely not to mention the Bards. Other cultures are the same like Asian cultures with their records such as jokbo's. There certainly are many manuscripts, wills, pedigrees, odes, Elegies, etc., that if you have the correct names (and are from prominent families similar to English nobility) do take you back to a reasonable pre Norman date and in general can be backed up by land records, wills and other documentation.

That said, just like English genealogy, you have to have the link to the nobility to have such breakthroughs and most people just try to tack on a person to link into such persons despite there being no evidence.

I gave up mentioning to people on Ancestry that they have a wrong link as, like others in here have mentioned, it either falls on deaf ears or they get offended.

[coombs]

I have an ancestor who I 100% know died in 1849, and had previously said "not born in county" (Oxfordshire) in the 1841 census so I have no clue as to his birthplace, yet an Ancestry tree user says he was born in Cheddleston Staffordshire in 1794, and married the right spouse in Oxford and the right children, however they have him on the 1851 census, 2 years after he died. I guess on the tree users part, ignorance is bliss. So I shall probably not tell them.

I have tried for years to find the origin of the aforementioned ancestor to no avail, not helped by the fact he was a Smith. I think I have come to a point where I may never know where he was born, or his parents.

[Ayashi]

You reminded me, Coombs, one of mine also died in the 1840s in Northumberland (Newcastle area). Common surname (of course, of course...). 1841 census does say "Born in county- S" and one singular christening of one of his children notes "father native of Dumfarling, Scotland" (Dunfermline). Without that tidbit, I'm sure there would have been any number of christenings for a man of that name in the area he lived.

[coombs]

You reminded me, Coombs, one of mine also died in the 1840s in Northumberland (Newcastle area). Common surname (of course, of course...). 1841 census does say "Born in county- S" and one singular christening of one of his children notes "father native of Dumfarling, Scotland" (Dunfermline). Without that tidbit, I'm sure there would have been any number of christenings for a man of that name in the area he lived.

Such extra info can pay dividends. I have an ancestor who had a son in 1800 in County Durham and it says the father was of Selkirk, Scotland.

I am sure with my James Smith, died 1849 in Oxford, he may have been from a surrounding county such as Berks, Bucks of Gloucestershire but while the vast majority of Oxford city residents were from those counties, several were from further afield, from London to Cornwall and Norfolk. He was a tin plate worker. Never say never but I have practically admitted defeat on him, if his surname was Bracegirdle or Marmaduke it would be easier. 

[Ayashi]

I have JONES in Wales  I attribute most of my success to the family line of Walter son of Theophilus son of Walter son of Theophilus but then his father had the poor form to be called William, so there it ended 

[coombs]

I have JONES in Wales  I attribute most of my success to the family line of Walter son of Theophilus son of Walter son of Theophilus but then his father had the poor form to be called William, so there it ended 

Advances in DNA science may give us hope in the future.

I have some relatives who have found an ancestors sibling or cousin on the US census, when my research shows it is a different person who immigrated from England, with the same name and age range. US Censuses never given where about in the immigrant country they were born. And as we know the US censuses have just the problems the UK ones have, missing people, mistranscribed etc.