I'm gobsmacked and don't know what to do!

[spison]

All the best Lizzy,
Everyone's advice above beats anything that I can say except that I feel for you and hope you get the tree owner to remove the wrong family.
Jane

[Lizzy9]

Thanks Jane,

I have sent a message this evening, and await a reply.

If/when I hear back, I'll keep you all informed.

Lizzy

[Mutley]

I had a similar problem with a tree on Ancestry. He stuck my nan where he thought she may be but not where she really was. He did not know anymore than I did, it was only recently that a BG member found her. Lizzy, you were involved in the search and probably know more about my nan than the Ancestry member. He refused to verify his wrong information and was just a collector of names. It is so distressing when someone does this to your close family.

After a few days, I calmed down and vowed to get even. I had access to his tree and so snuck in late at night and changed things around. I became a gremlin and made a right mess of his family. I am not proud of what I did but it changed my distress to giggles as I decided what havoc I would cause that night.

Of course, he soon sussed me out and banned me but it did enable me to look on some of these trees as fairy stories and not the real thing. When I think back now it is with a grin, he has still got it wrong but hey ho, I and my family know better.

[Lizzy9]

How funny, Mutley;

I love your action, your attitude and your wit. I think I shall follow your lead and become a gremlin

I'll go in there with abandon and won't care if I'm banned from the tree, at least, I'll have for a moment, removed Wilfred (my dad) from a Lancashire family (no insult intended to Lancastians) but my dad was (I've done the research) Yorkshire through and through. He, dad, was very proud of his Yorkshire roots.

As an aside; why do Yorkshire folks and Lancashire folks feel rivalry? Surely it can't go back to the war of the roses? I am proud of the Yorkshire white rose, as Lancastrians are proud of the red rose, but why is there still competition between the two counties today? I suppose, it does go back to war of the roses and the prejudices formed then. It's time we moved on! And time I, like Mutley, moved on from worrying about an uncorroborated, misinformed diseased tree.

There, I feel better already All you guys here are great; each putting a different, but valid input.

Thanks, everyone.

Lizzy

[raineshoe]

Unfortunately, if you don't want information splashed around everywhere then don't share it with anybody at all, and don't put it on the web. Anything entered on the web can more or less be copied if you have the know how.

I'm happy to share everything, although I can understand when you've spent a lot of time and efffort and pennies on research it is annoying. However, I always think it could be you asking for help when stuck and wanting information from someone else and where would we be if no one ever shared. I am sure a lot with brickwalls have been glad other people have shared on occasions.

[raineshoe]

Ps - if they've got wrong information as someone earlier said its their loss, and if they want to look at their tree through unrealistic rose tinted specales let them. They are only fooling themselves and if others are stupid enough to blindly copy the tree without doing the correct research they are fools also. I just can't see the point in having an incorrect tree otherwise what is the point of doing the research.

I always say to people who ask me about doing the family tree only do it if you want to know absolutely everything good and bad as you will get the good and the bad. If you are someone who doesn't like babies born out of wedlock, affairs, criminals etc in their background forget it as there is no good doing a tree that only has the good bits in.

[Geoffers]

Lizzy - thanks for sharing this problem with us. I hope that some who are new to research read this thread and learn an important lesson from it - namely that not everything posted on the inter-webby-thingy is accurate.

One person gets something wrong and passes it onto someone else who is equally slack in verifying information - now there are two incorrect sets of records. It keeps going and eventually it becomes difficult to distinguish fact from fiction.

Those new to research please do not accept that all on published family trees is correct.

Lizzy, if nothing else, you may be able to take some comfort that by sharing this tale of woe - someone may just pause and ask for proof and so avoid making a basic mistake.

[Lizzy9]

Unfortunately, if you don't want information splashed around everywhere then don't share it with anybody at all, and don't put it on the web. Anything entered on the web can more or less be copied if you have the know how.

I'm happy to share everything, although I can understand when you've spent a lot of time and efffort and pennies on research it is annoying. However, I always think it could be you asking for help when stuck and wanting information from someone else and where would we be if no one ever shared. I am sure a lot with brickwalls have been glad other people have shared on occasions.

Hi Rainshoe,

Maybe you are missing the point of my distress. It is my own father who has been attached to the wrong ancestral line. I don't have my tree on the web, but a private tree on Ancestry. Unfortunately, a few years ago I opened my GR tree to a fellow member and it is she who has passed on my family research. I don't object at all to helping others' with their research and am happy to share cert's etc; however, I am now very cautious and only pass on info after I've established there's a definite link. Recently, I have spent hours over a few evenings, emailing attachments of gedcom files, images of cert's and photographs, plus other documents to assist two others' with their family history.

Ps - if they've got wrong information as someone earlier said its their loss, and if they want to look at their tree through unrealistic rose tinted specales let them. They are only fooling themselves and if others are stupid enough to blindly copy the tree without doing the correct research they are fools also. I just can't see the point in having an incorrect tree otherwise what is the point of doing the research. .

In essence, I agree with your above quotes; but it's not only their loss it's mine too.

Those new to research please do not accept that all on published family trees is correct.

Lizzy, if nothing else, you may be able to take some comfort that by sharing this tale of woe - someone may just pause and ask for proof and so avoid making a basic mistake.

Hi Geoffers,

Thanks for your contribution to my thread. I hope people new to research heed your advice; to not accept all published family trees have correct information.

I truly hope my experience does encourage fellow researchers to ask for proof before adding names to their family files; yes, I can take some comfort from the belief that a few will now be cautious.

Thanks again, I appreciate your sensible comments.

To update everyone, I did recontact the tree owner but haven't had a reply.

Lizzy

[Lizzy9]

I was rather hoping that the person concerned would respond more favourably, Lizzy. There's still time I suppose so fingers crossed that they'll respond in time

Thanks, Graham. I live in hope! I have decided to give them another week and if they've not responded by then I shall leave a comment on dad's name, on their tree.

[raineshoe]

Hi Rainshoe,

Maybe you are missing the point of my distress. It is my own father who has been attached to the wrong ancestral line. I don't have my tree on the web, but a private tree on Ancestry. Unfortunately, a few years ago I opened my GR tree to a fellow member and it is she who has passed on my family research. I don't object at all to helping others' with their research and am happy to share cert's etc; however, I am now very cautious and only pass on info after I've established there's a definite link. Recently, I have spent hours over a few evenings, emailing attachments of gedcom files, images of cert's and photographs, plus other documents to assist two others' with their family history.


Lizzy

Unfortunately, as you admit above you "opened" your tree to make it available to someone and once that is done the genie is out of the bottle so to speak. It still boils down to the fact that if you don't want information printed wrongly or otherwise do not share it with anyone at all, not ever, as you risk this happening. People today (not all I hasten to add) are in my opinion generally selfish, self centred and greedy and don't care, and while those kind of attitudes persist, although many such as those that frequent this board are what I'd say are probably most decent people, you will get those who won't care a jot what you think about their correct or incorrect tree which is probably why you have not had a reply. I wouldn't hold your breath.

I think programmes such as "Who Do You Think You Are?" and "Heir Hunters" have encouraged a lot of people who would not otherwise be bothered to do trees to start and make it look easy to research them ie its all gonna fall in your lap. Those that do it properly know otherwise. When I started in the late 70s early 80s it wasn't as popular and certainly not within my age group at that time and the people involved were of a more caring and sharing nature. Not only that people that did it then were the really serious researchers who understood the effort and were more open to changing errors etc. Now its a hobby "anyone can do" you get people from all walks of life at it and if you don't want information copied everywhere the only way to safeguard it is to never share it.

Sorry if it sounds hard and you are not happy with my comments, but I think its the nature of the times we live in.