Gransnet forums

Ask a gran

Is anyone on Ancestry I need some help

(70 Posts)
Gwyllt Tue 30-Jan-24 10:57:12

Has any one used ancestry’s DNA testing
Least I think they have one

Callistemon21 Tue 30-Jan-24 10:45:28

I find the Americans usually put all and sundry on their tree.

Apparently, according to an American site, I'm descended from Anne Boleyn 😂😂😂

Callistemon21 Tue 30-Jan-24 10:44:10

Bluebelle if you can afford it, send for birth, marriage and death certificates which will reinforce your research.

It is much cheaper to do that through the General Register Office rather than ordering through Ancestry.

Sometimes, if you Google, you can find trees online and whole websites about families but beware. It was one of those who had my Great-great-Grandmother in an online family history but I know it wasn't her! Although I contacted him and even found the correct person for him, he refused to change it.

Callistemon21 Tue 30-Jan-24 10:37:34

Bluebelle I'm on Ancestry and yes, it is very frustrating to find an ancestor in someone else's tree when it is wrong, completely inaccurate with a load of misinformation attached to them just because some people are not meticulous in their research.
They find a name and think "Must be him/her" and add them to their tree, right or wrong. It then gets copied into other trees by people too lazy to research properly.

You can message them but you may find that they are insistent it is correct when you know it is not!!

My advice would be to make your tree private so people have to request to see it and can't just copy yours. Double and triple check everything and ignore other people's research or thoroughly check it.

Apart from that, enjoy, you might be very surprised what you find out!

Bella23 Tue 30-Jan-24 10:29:29

I agree with what everyone else has said. Someone has given my family a Scottish Lord with a castle and another was best pals with Charles2.
Please don't take any notice of the through lines either I have people with the same sername on both sides of my family and Ancestry have amalgamated them. I have phoned and they do nothing about it.
I find the Americans usually put all and sundry on their tree.
I was annoyed at Christmas when a photo of my grandparent's grave popped up and someone remarked that it looked unkempt. My cousin had not got there to do her pre-Christmas tidy.
Use it for your research and my tree is now such a mess I keep paper copies.
Still a fascinating hobby though.smile

Cabbie21 Tue 30-Jan-24 10:09:15

Is there a way of stopping hints on certain people? Eg on the non-blood relatives

MaizieD Tue 30-Jan-24 09:33:29

There's a woman in Canada who is sure she is distantly related to me. I couldn't convince her she was wrong so I just shrugged my shoulders and let her get on with it.

I'd echo everyone else's advice. Never add anything to your tree without thoroughly checking that it's correct. Definitely not if it has no source to verify it by.

Always cite your own sources, even if it's just 'family knowledge' because that is so helpful for other people who might have someone from your tree in their hints.

And don't get carried away by those flipping hints. You can end up with a massive tree full of people who have no blood relationship to you at all grin

Chardy Tue 30-Jan-24 09:21:38

eddiecat78

Some people are happy to import information from other trees without checking - this is how mistakes are duplicated many times. This person may be pleased to receive correct information from you - but they may not!
As you go further back it really is essential to see documentary evidence. This might involve buying certificates which some people see as an unnecessary expense but you'll get a lot of additional information from them

Definitely

Cabbie21 Tue 30-Jan-24 09:19:19

There are thousands of errors! So if you get a hint, check, follow through all the sources.
It is hard to be sure you only have 100% accurate information on your own tree if you have imported Hints, so always distrust, but following up hints is the way to get information on more distant ancestors and grow your tree.
For example, through doing so I was able to be certain which of three people of the same name in the same village was my gt gt gt grandfather.

Primrose53 Tue 30-Jan-24 09:13:46

Someone in the USA had loads of mistakes on a family tree. She was the wife of a distant cousin but insisted she was a very experienced genealogist. She had even attached incorrect photos to trees. She said my grandmother was one of 2 but she was one of 3.

I nearly died laughing when I saw she had named an extremely famous man as my father’s Dad. I emailed her and said that was crazy because he had Italian blood and my father’s DNA had none. Also he would have been about 13 when he fathered my Dad. She grudgingly accepted she got that wrong. 🤣

NotSpaghetti Tue 30-Jan-24 08:52:01

Have you contacted them M0nica?

M0nica Tue 30-Jan-24 08:47:53

I have this problem. A great-aunt of mine appears on someone's tree in the USA as married with children.

Since my mother grew up in a household that included her aunt and the aunt died when my mother was 15. I know without a shadow of a doubt that she never went to the US, never married, nor had children.

Cabbie21 Tue 30-Jan-24 08:33:35

I messaged someone about an error on her tree but although she thanked me, she did not update the details.
You can click through to the profile of the person you are working on and view the sources of information used. If there are none, I don’t import the information.

eddiecat78 Tue 30-Jan-24 08:16:13

Some people are happy to import information from other trees without checking - this is how mistakes are duplicated many times. This person may be pleased to receive correct information from you - but they may not!
As you go further back it really is essential to see documentary evidence. This might involve buying certificates which some people see as an unnecessary expense but you'll get a lot of additional information from them

BlueBelle Tue 30-Jan-24 08:02:45

Oh thanks it’s just they have my Nan on their tree with a different husband and a son she never had and of course descendants
Poor nan would turn in her grave
Thanks I ll try and connect with them
I knew someone would know

Chardy Tue 30-Jan-24 07:46:19

Yes to all the above. I'm not sure it's worth the effort. I've found mistakes in trees, ridiculously obvious mistakes. I used to DM the tree owner, but nowadays...
Never take other people's trees as accurate. Always check records for accuracy.

fiorentina51 Tue 30-Jan-24 07:04:12

Open a page and look for the id of the creator of the tree. Click on the name and it will open to show a page where you can message.
Hope that makes sense?!

nanna8 Tue 30-Jan-24 07:03:39

You can contact the tree owner via ancestry. It is private. They may or may not reply of course ! I once had someone with an old auntie I knew well married off with a couple of kids. I know she never married. Hate to say it but many of the trees on there are pretty inaccurate and you need to check everything yourself!

fiorentina51 Tue 30-Jan-24 06:55:36

I've come across this on some of the public trees I've viewed on Ancestry. On a couple of occasions I've been compelled to correct the person who created the tree. You can send a private message, a bit like here on Gransnet.

BlueBelle Tue 30-Jan-24 06:30:24

Hi all I ve recently joined ancestry after years of dipping in and out of my family trees and having extensive trees already
I ve recently viewed someone else tree and find my gran is on their tree with completely inaccurate information (a child that she certainly never had plus an incorrect husband)
My question as a newby is how can I change this or make them aware it’s incorrect
Thanks in advance