Replies

***I use my own genealogy tree to store all the historical research I do, and I’m always looking to connect trees to figure out who knew who and why***

One of the early faults I found in the research of others is not to record accurately sources: record, date, place, recorder. It sounds like you know how to build a 'tree'. The genealogy I overturned was a rather famous genealogist in Colonial circles; I think it never occurred to him that technology would make access to records much easier. He simply fabricated elaborate connections, of course tracing lines back to noble connections.

He claimed that the silver at the Dickinson mansion in Delaware was given to the family by King James - the one whose name is on the Bible. I showed that it was colonial silver, and I never found the ancestor in St. Andrew Holborn Parish, N London who received that Royal gift... might have happened, but I never found him.

The family DID trace back to Staffordshire apparently, and they did marry into the noble Dudley family. Unhappily, the girls were having babies every 9 months and fifteen minutes to unknown fathers - registered in the parish register as filius populii a child of the people! 😏

>>He simply fabricated elaborate connections

I’d rather think that sometimes people made sensible jumps of logic to who was most likely the progenitor. If you aren’t certain, but you’ve got good reasons behind your guess, if you DON’T guess then the connections will be lost.

But you’re quite correct that most of the old family books are sloppy because there’s nothing cross-checking them and the mistakes propagate. We’re catching them with things like WikiTree, which I’m active in.

Aren’t family stories WONDERFUL!

I've been following your genealogy conversion with fascination.
My wife is the amateur genealogist in the family. She started doing this manually (a lot of hours at the Newberry Library in Chicago) thank heavens for technology.

One of the early faults I found in the research of others is not to record accurately sources: record, date, place, recorder.

She runs across this all the time. She refuses to connect trees or give up much of her own data. What she has found and is frustrated with is, too many people take everything as gospel. She says it's not possible that everyone everywhere is related to stan laurel. :)

She does not put anything into the tree until she has provable documentation. Tons of obituaries\ship manifests\bibles\bone yard\birth certs\baptism\divorce\medical records\photos...etc...

We physically need to work our way back east on her side of the family. We need to cross the Atlantic for my side and the rest of her side.
She found she has a direct connection to "Spencer", but can't tie it to a specific one. (If she's related to royalty, there'll be no livin with her). I can't wait for the roads trips.