Genealogy Chat

Sue is absolutely correct and sums up the situation very well. This does come up with almost monotonous regularity, and there generally ends up with three camps. Those who share everything, those who share nothing and, those of us who share with discretion. My advise is to do what you feel comfortable with. It is no good giving someone access and then complaining that they have added information to their tree. If you don't want them to use your information then don't let them see it, or do like many of us, establish a relationship with them then send edited extracts of your tree by personal email. Finally just because someone has used the information you provided why should there be an ulterior motive? I myself do add related lines, but only after verifying the details first, but then that is the way I do things.

Most of my stolen trees, are from people whose ancestors have emigrated, to Australia, Canada and America, and it seems they want to have as many contacts in the 'old country' as possible. One even helped me to find a half brother of my grandfather. I am just careful, who I give access to my tree, if they are not connected, I do not tick the box, or I say No relation. Maureen

This is a thread which reappears regularly and someone or other is complaining about this every few days or so. It really surprises me that anyone uses this site as their main family tree. I have always assumed that as it is called Genesreunited (I have belonged since it started as Genesconnected) then the whole point of belonging is to share information. My tree on here is the one I am happy to share. It has no living people in it and I write no personal notes which might cause any grief to any family member. I am careful to check that someone is really connected with me before I open my tree and, when I do, I normally tell them they are welcome to take those ancestors we share. If they were to go on and take other branches unconnected with them then really it doesn't worry me much. It seems pointless to me but it doesn't take anything from my tree or from anyone else I might want to share with. There are parts of my tree about which I know a great deal more than is here on GR and, if someone is proven to be a descendant of one of those, then I am happy to send them files and even printouts of trees and ahnentafels. They can go on and buy their own certificates for the recent ancestors to double check for their own peace of mind if they wish but if my information means they don't waste time and money looking in the wrong places then I think that is a good thing. My ancestors don't belong to me. I enjoy meeting distant relations online......some of whom have become friends. One group of over 50 of us are researching one surname and sharing everything we find. Most of us met on here and we've formed our own group. I've been sent research including copies of original documents from Australia and photographs of my own ancestors from a distant relation in Canada. Maybe I've just been lucky but so far I've gained at least as much information as I have given. So I think the moral of the story is......keep most of your information in some other form than on this site and let what is on here be what you'd like to share. Some people on here (not me) seem to be trying to link as many family groups as possible........perhaps that is all their 'name gathering' really is. We've all of us got some ancestors for whom we know nothing much but a name and a date if we are lucky. A large tree doesn't necessarily mean one which has been taken from someone else or had names added carelessly. Sue

Sad to say but this is the reason why so many of the long-term members of GR never open their trees - they have lived and learned! OC

I have just found myself on 'One World Tree' on Ancestry. This information has been put there by someone who lifted my whole tree from this site and used all the information elsewhere without my say-so. I have also found my parents' details on other internet sites where they have been put by this same person. To say that I am cross about this is an understatement.

Sylvia, left click on the persons' name............ Sylvia Date Tree Created : 30/11/2002 08:29:13 Number of people in tree : 779 Bob

How do you find out how many people a contact has in their tree please?....I've been caught too.

That's a good point, OC. I was going over my research as I was adding it to Reunion (got it at Christmas and two months later I'm still adding bits!) and I've confused myself totally. I have an ancestor called John Dennis or Dinnis from Lincolnshire and his wife Eliza is a bit hard to trace. I could swear I found them marrying on the Ancestry BMD index, but I wanted to verify it and put it down on my 'certificates to buy' list. I spent all last night hunting for this marriage and it's just not showing up so I don't want to try to trace her any further back until I work out what her maiden name is. This is why it baffles me that people are happy just to take information and not check it. I'm particularly precious about my Hurst line - I have often held back from adding to Hurst branches until I'm sure beyond reasonable doubt that I've got the right one. Incidentally the contact who copied my tree on here had 15,700 in their tree the last time I viewed it. I would get utterly confused if I had so many people (and potential for so many messages to be received). I have enough relations with identical names in my tree as it is.

There are people who ask for access and I don't think they are even concerned with the facts....it's just numbers they want. I had a tree 'taken' and as soon as I realised what was happening I withdrew consent. He e-mail me and said he hadn't finished with it !!! and what he had taken now appears twice as a 'personal' tree (by the same person) on Ancestry, His tree seems to have gone from GR and he does not come up as a Hot Match anymore. So I now find out which people the contacts are interested in and tell them what is relevant, suggesting they back up my findings with the proof. What's the point of doing this if you don't know the whole story ? I withdrew my large tree from GR and replaced it with something much smaller and basic and with no notes.

The person who nicked my tree and put it on ancestry now has over 100,000 names on his tree. That's one hundred thousand, folks. Would anyone like to hazard a guess as to how much of that tree is accurate, and how many certs etc, he has? The problem is of course - some newbie will find it and think it is gospel and then spend months wondering why they cannot find the marriage of Joe Bloggs to Fanny Smith. OC

Hi Danuella This happened to me twice just a few weeks ago, all of my family tree was copied into someone else's, typing errors and all. The first time it happened I closed my tree to her and she sent me three requests asking for permission to view my tree. I ignored her requests and she closed down my access to her tree (ah! shame) as she had been working on for THREE months and had managed to accumulate over 2000 names but 500 and odd of them mine. The second culprit asked me to open my tree - which I did and he sent the simple reply ' thanks I'll look at it later'. A VERY short time later - he'd copied the whole thing. I closed his access to mine but he has never closed his tree to me so I think he's forgotton about me but I keep an eye on his progress. He's gone from over 5000 names to 10,500 names in a matter of weeks so he must trawl this site over and over on a regular basis looking for the gullible - like me and obviously there must be a lot of us trusting folk out there for him to have gathered so many names after I'd been 'had'. Now, when anyone asks for information about my family I give them the bare bones info and add a warning that there are two people - (and I name and shame them both )- that will probably be in contact VERY soon asking to view their tree. Both of them are still true to form. Sure enough four people were contacted and they let me know straight away and sadly two more were caught out and had all of their research nicked. The really weird part is that none of us knows or can work out how they are connected. The most annoying thing is that they take the both branches of the tree, father and mother and there has to be one branch that is of no relevance whatsoever. Now, Danuella - I hope your'e happy - I'm venting now !!!!!

I know what you mean Danuella. I have given my information to several people, who have just copied it all into their trees. One of them is my cousin, who doesn't seem to want to talk to me, just wants my family tree, so of it he has even copied wrong! I have just come to the conclusion that it is there problem. I'm sure that I have a lot more satisfaction knowing that I have done the research myself. I also have a little smile to myself when they have copied mistakes that I have made straight into their own trees! P.S. I have sent you a personal message

No one has ever used my tree like this, so I can't really comment on that, although I can understand how it can be frustrating. But what always puzzles me is why people want to copy someone else's tree? For me the best bit of tracing my ancestors is to find things out for myself. I like making contacts with people who share common ancestors, and a few of us on here share the research. It is also quite helpful if someone is able to point me in the right direction if I have an ancestor who is giving me a headache. But to have generations of my tree handed to me on a plate seems to defeat the purpose. Copying someone else's tree is like going to the gym but getting another person to do the exercising for you.

iam new to this,so i dont know what you mean by someone coping your tree, the best thing is that you know your tree and info is correct, just ignore these people who wind you up,

Thanks guys,its nice to know i'm not the only and in future i will be very careful on who i give out info to.Its just so frustrating. Hugs xx

Danuella Oh, how I WISH someone would argue my findings with me! It would at least show some interest and I could tell them how I had done it. I have passed on loads of info over the years and not one person has ever questioned, or even commented on, my findings - even when I have made typos etc. They have swallowed my information whole and then shown not the slightest further interest. No one ever says to me 'I see you havent found Joe Bloggs, tell me where you have looked, and I will have a go' or 'I see you don't have a marrriage cert for so and so - shall we go halves?' As for copying my notes - I never open my tree, and do not pass on detailed notes until the person shows a bit more interest - which of course they never do. After seeing MY notes on Ancestry One World Tree, including my statement that 'I have a letter from Lancashire Records Office....' I was so incensed that I now dole out information bit by bit. OC

Hi I have had the exactly the same thing happen to me as Chris. I have spent 25 years researching my quite unusual surname by going to record offices, buying certificates, copies of wills, marriage licences,etc,etc. Several years ago I passed on a family tree to someone in N.Z. I made the mistake of including a William and his descendants because he 'fitted' into this family although I did not have the necessary proof i.e baptism, and I did point this out at the time. This whole tree first turned up on Kindredconnections? and against this William's name it says he is 100% well documented. Certainly not documented by her in N.Z !!! .Later research has proved that he was not connected to the family.This tree+ William and descendants is now on Ancestry and 2 people on GR also have him listed. I have never contacted either of them because I know by the way some of their entries are worded that this is research done by me, be it right or wrong. Sometimes I feel mean about not contacting them and correcting my mistake and other times I think 'what the He!!!ll ' If they had done their own research instead of poaching mine then they would have found out for themselves. Maureen

Hi Danuella I think this is an ongoing problem that has affected us all at some point. It is very frustrating and annoying, my tree is currently on Rootsweb with all my notes attached, I don't even recognise the person's name who has uploaded it as their tree......obviously 'half 'inched from here at some point. I have had people question me about the research sources in my tree only to realise a few conversations later that they have never been to a Record Office.............! luckily I have had some very good contacts as well and have 'vented steam' in pm's. Gail. x

Danuella *Take Deep Breathes*......*In, Out, In, Out* lol But seriously.... It has probably happened to all of us who have been researching for some time........And will happen, without doubt, to those who are just starting out. My best is some research I did when I was very new to it all and I added stuff that turned out to be incorrect so I had to drasticaly amend my tree a couple of years ago. I happily gave access to my tree to a contact (during the 'wrong' tree time) and they copied it lock, stock and barrell......Now roll forward to a year ago, well after I had corrected my tree with documented proof..... I have had a contact argueing with me that X (my original contact) has the right info as he 'had it from someone who knows'....(errrr me actually who obviously didn't) and the fact that I have BMD certificates, parish records, settlement examinations, wills et al count for nothing.......Sometimes you just have to roll over and play dead :( Another one is an up to date tree that I had made a few input errors on...My typing skills are not great...That info is now available to all through someones website. Still wonder if he gets queries as to why X's father is younger than X? Slip of the finger......But then again as he didn't notice would anyone else? Or is he blaming me to others??????? :((( Chris

Drives me mad, too. I shared information quite freely with several contacts on here, not suspecting for a moment that they would use it on other sites with member trees. In particular, it included information about myself that I consider personal and did not give to them, they had made assumptions that happened to be true and what you might call sensitive information. If I make a contact, I would not put their information on my tree here or on my Ancestry tree. Now I am incredibly wary. If giving information now, I just go forwards down my direct line to the relevant grandparent. I also have a webpage up and running and, bearing in mind that anyone can see that, I don't mention names, dates or places of birth of anyone living at all. It astounds me, though, that people don't seem to think anything of copying your information. Particularly when we are all aware of identity fraud, I think people will become very conscious about sharing information, which is a huge shame because that's what genuine genealogy should be about. And as you say, on top of that, people seem to insist, even after you share information you know to be right, in putting incorrect information on their trees.