Genealogy Chat

Very interesting reading this! I put a similar thread a few weeks back. I agree in part with you Leah, but it is a shock to find yourself as a 'Match' along with your recently deceased parents. I also felt a bit queasy about it for some unknown reason! I love to get info from others, but then I feel I should also look up any leads myself so I can be sure they are correct. This also gives me a buzz to find said rellies for myself (even though someone has put me onto them!) This serves to make sense of the relationships as well, rather than keep on referring back to my paperwork! Cheers Allie x

Hi Heather and Horatia Glad to see there are a few others who are on the same wavelength as me (although, like you, popularity on here is the least of my worries, which is why I decided to speak up.). Heather - when you say 'the side that is not related to them' what do you mean? The line that is perhaps related through a marriage? If so, then yes, but I don't find that unusual really. A relative, whether through marriage or blood line, is still a relative all the same. I don't view any of those non-blood connections as being unrelated. When you share information about your blood relatives, invariably there will be quite a bit of info on the non-blood rellies. I see all of them as important to my research. If you think of your aunts and uncles - one half will be blood, the other not. But you love them all the same. So this rule should apply no matter how far back in the tree we go (or out sideways or diagonalways haha). There are some non-blood lines in my ancestry which I have found fascinating to research. And when I discover the death of a child, who may be many branches removed from me on the tree, it still pains my heart. Like Horatia, I do find it a bit sad, though, when I come across people who are only interested in the names. I think to myself...were those ancestors so insignificant that they are only worthy of a name? To me, anyone who is connected to my tree is a relative and for that I have great respect and my aim is to give them honour even though they are not alive. It may take me a while to get around to researching their history, but I will get there eventually. Still, for those who are happy collecting names, we can't stop them if that's what pleases them. Each to his own, as they say LOL. I just find it much more interesting to research the social history of a family as well as putting their names on the tree. Horatia - yes, you do sometimes come across connections to your tree who don't actually give as much as they receive, but this is to be expected really. Some people have seen the Who Do You Think You Are programe on TV and decided they want to try researching their tree, but once they begin on it and realise just how time-consuming and costly it is, they soon give up. They may make a few connections on Genes and gather a bit of information that way, but are not willing to put in the hours or money (some just can't afford to do this - it costs money to research using the various websites and ordering certs at £7 a time soon adds up), others, as you have found, are just not computer-literate enough to take on the research, so they give up. Others cannot do as much as they'd like due to ill-health. If I know that someone definitely is a distant relation (no matter how distant and regardless of the blood-link or not) I would still keep that person up-dated on any relevant research discoveries. Maybe one day they will be in a position to give something back when I least expect it - could be a name or bit of info that I never knew about and I'll then be jumping for joy. I'm really not too bothered if I don't get back as much as I give, though. As the Bible says, there's more pleasure in giving than receiving and I have found this to be very true. Hope you all have many more happy hours of researching ahead of you! Leah x

Ooh - I have stirred up a can of worms here!!! As you say, It is just as pleasurable to give than to receive, maybe even more so. Just one question - If you start at the point where you are connected to the other person (in this case great grandparents were brother and sister) would you consider that people who are connected to the descendants of those people by marriage to be relatives of yours or not? I only really consider my ancestors to be people from which I am directly descended, not the marriage partners of all their siblings as well.

Hi Leah What we were talking about is when the side of your family unrelated to the contact is copied ie: They're related on my mothers side, but copy ancestors far back on my fathers side too (I could understand them going back one or two generations) and the very weird feeling to find yourself popping up on 'My tree matches' I don't keep anything on here that I'm not happy for anyone to view so I'm not that bothered about it. Happy ancestor hunting Heather

Leah, I accept your views on this subject, but after spending numerous hours at the local archives, money on census, birth death and marriage certificates, and subsciption fees to other websites, would you really be happy if someone distant or not completely copied your tree and posted it somewhere for all to see....would you not like to take the credit for all your own hard work? If not then you are a better woman that me lol.... luv Sara

Sorry, only just noticed some of the other replies to my points of view. Sara - Quote 'I cant see any satisfaction out of copying someone elses tree. I am proud the work that I have put into my tree and yes Leah it is MINE! My work...' - Yes, it is your work, but the tree is not exclusively yours to own. If your sister/brother/cousin decided to research their history, you wouldn't tell them they couldn't do it because it was your tree, would you? It's the same for any connecting person on your tree - they have as much right to the information as yourself, regardless of whether you decide to share it or not. Like I mentioned before, any serious researcher will eventually get around to adding non-blood lines (through marriages). I have a distant relative who has been researching our tree for about 15 years now - you reach a point when you have gone as far as you can go with blood lines so turn your attention to the non-blood lines, in-between trying to knock down some of the brick walls of blood-lines. Quote 'You are right when you say that they can get the info anyway - so let them! Would they really bother to if they are very very distant relatives? I think not, just easier to copy from others.' - Answer - yes, they can and they do. It is easy to copy from others, but not half as much fun as researching yourself. Some researchers may initially copy the info given to them, but then work their way through all the names, verifying everything, buying certs, checking census reports etc - this is the correct way to do it. I never take any info supplied to me as correct until I have actually checked it out for myself. Quote 'My tree is on GR as I love to have contact with other people who have the same relatives as me, and we can discuss that part of the tree... But to give your whole tree to someone who is going to copy it and put it on their own website sucks.' -This comment makes me feel sad - the people you are 'dissing' are your relatives. They are not evil strangers. I know...not everyone sees things the same way as me - I guess we shall just have to agree to disagree on certain things LOL. Best wishes - Leah

Well thats told me! Leah, You haven't got any Clarkes in your tree have you Im feeling a bit lazy today and could copy yours!! Only kidding! If we all thought the same the world would be a very dull place! Lol Sara xx

I also am with you Leah, to me the point of this is to share, otherwise dont put your tree on here. I also think if someone is good enough to let you view their Tree they should ask if its okay to use some of the info first, I have had some wonderful contacts with some really useful info but would not dream of using it without their permission. Incidently some have put my children on and it does not worry me I am not quite sure why people dont like that, I have mentioned it to them and they are okay about it . It seems a shame that some pople are just trying to win brownie points in how many names they have, but the majority I have found are genuine lovely people .

I should have mentioned in my post that I have made contact with several cousins and had very friendly and fruitful exchanges of information with them. Going to tea with one soon, who I didn't know existed (or he me) this time last year.

Doing my own little one name study, I am grateful to the (doubtless long dead) researcher who put some details on the CFI as the IGI was then called. I can now contact virtually anyone of the surname and prove our relationship. I would like to think that any of the distant cousins would look critically at the research and query my conclusions. Alas, that is rarely the case. In one instance, there are three possible candidates for an ancestor. Nobody else seems to have found the other two, let alone eliminated them. Each time a tree is copied, an extra error is usually incorporated. If information is replicated enough times, it gains a spurious authenticity. Personally, I like to plough my own furrow. Testing someone else's research can too easily lead you to the same false conclusions.

Valerie, I also have made contact with some nice people through this site and have shared information. But as for giving access to your personal information and that of your children, you dont know where that information is going to be posted. I would hate my name or my childrens names to appear in a google search at any time. sara

Sarah I never thought of that I suppose because I would never do it I didnt imagine anybody else putting their names where they should not be maybe i will email and ask them to remove them, funny thing is I never put others living rellies on out of courtesy.

Hehehe - Sara - I know you're joking but...yes, I do have various lines of Clark(e)'s in my tree!! If you can find a connection, you're welcome to all the info (which is not all on Genes, by the way) - but since you're an earnest researcher I know you would double-check everything and enjoy ordering certs and waiting to confirm it all for yourself in black and white. That's half the fun of it all, isn't it - so exciting when a cert arrives and you then have more info to add and more leads to work on. I love it! Take care - Leah

Any way could chat all day, but I have to go to work now and do my bit for society. Sorry to Angela for intruding on her thread.... luv Sara xxx

Is this the ''off my chest dumping ground''?? Oh dear, I have only speed-read most of this thread, so will prob get a black mark for either repetition or going off on a tangent, but............. Surely the point might be that if someone gives access to another member to view their tree and that person copies the info over onto their tree within a couple of days, how do they know that info is correct?????? Time and time again, people say on these boards that a submitted entry on the IGI is not to be trusted, so surely it can't be OK to copy info from one tree to another on here? Surely it's the same thing?? I don't give anyone access to my tree on GR, because frankly, if they are not interested in my source data, then they can't be that interested in my tree. They are more than welcome to full data from my home tree, copies of certificates, wills, photos, copies of PR info etc etc etc - I'm not bothered that it has cost me time and money, because I spent the money for me. I enjoy doing the research - if they want it on a plate that's fine. But I still won't give access to my GR tree. I see it as a way of making a connection, but that's all. *runs and hides under nearest bed*........... Merry

Merry is absolutely right about the need to check information instead of just copying it. I have found some very suspicious stuff on other people's trees. ..... And it is no good her hiding under the bed because she has told us where she is!!!!!

I did a lot of research before Internet and amassed about 1000 names including my ex-wife's side. My earliest records were about 1650. Since being on this site I have had a great deal of luck with one line of my ancestry, and received a Gedcom File from a distant cousin in Australia which has taken me back to about 1475. That particular ancestor has well over 5000 descendants who I can identify so far, and almost every day I am contacted by someone who can add more descendants. My GR Tree consists of only my Blood relatives and their spouses. My off line Tree also includes the parents of the spouses, and, on occasion a Tree of In-Laws. Anyone who can prove a bloodlink with me is welcome to the information which I have. However, I am merely the name collector and I have made it clear to my children that one day they will have the job of following up the information and proving it step by step.

hi angela, i have been a victim of this in the last few days and i don't believe you are being hypersensitive at all, i felt violated in a way that someone can be so rude and insensitive to not even ask permission from the tree holder.

It's that bloomin' default tick that causes a lot of the trouble. Half the time, people don't even realise that their tree is open! I usually take the tick out but even I slipped up the other day and someone put ME onto their tree. I asked him to remove Me and he has. I have no interest in living people. I'm only interested in people from WAY back! I can't undertand why people are obsessed with putting living people on their tree. The dead are far more interesting!!! ;-) Cheers, Horatia

I don't undersyand people who just do that. I've been tracing for about two years (only been on here about two weeks) and i couldn't imagine just copying it - part of the fun is finding a new name - a mother's maiden name and a new line to trace - what fun can it be copying?????