Genealogy Chat

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I followed with interest the thread “Is this a real Tree”. Thinking about it I realised that there is one possible benefit to collecting Trees to which you have a link. Suppose I come across the Tree of my Matilda McTanglyteeth’s Husband Wilberforce O’Crickey. I would normally make the assumption that this is the end of the link, but what if…. I can import that Tree to PAF, make the link, and then run Match/Merge. Maybe I might find that Matilda and her husband‘s families were linked in the past and that they were, in fact, 6th cousins twice removed, and that most of Wilberforce’s ancestors are also blood relatives of mine. Particularly in a small village. It seems a pity to miss the opportunity to benefit from research which others have done only to have to do it all again myself later when the prior link is found. I realise that this does not exonerate 'C' for making up a Tree with Australian Deaths, but it became a part of the discussion.

I can see exactly where you're coming from Jim. I haven't a particularly big tree - 700-odd each in mine and hubbys but in my tree there are 3 families that are linked more than once - one is linked 3 times, and one line of my husband's tree has so many multiple links its a wonder they didn't kill themselves off through inbreeding! Bev x

I found that my daughter and her fiance are 'half 7th cousins'. Margaret

I have more than one set of ancestors who came from small villages where the families intermarried numerous times, over a number of generations. When I took the trouble to research all of the families over a 100 year period, I was amazed at how many were distant blood relatives of mine. Carole

Gosh Grampa Matilda McTanglyteeth and Wilberforce O’Crickey never married, as you know. Just because you found a banns record doesn't mean the wedding took place. I think you are jumping to conclusions. Remember the thread which suggested Matilda was really called Maud? :-) nell

I am with you Jim. As I have said before. Someone has done a wonderful job on my grandmother's village of transcribing the censusus and parish records and working out the relationships for the whole village as part of a project on the Somerset coalfield. Not only do I know which George Blackers were mine. I also know who the other ones married and what they did for a living. I have recently been corresponding with another member about a relative. She was one of three born in that village with the same name within a couple of years. The GR member is related to one of the others but at least we both know to be wary when looking at records and we may find a connection a couple of generations back. It is worth knowing how common a surname is in the area you are searching.

Well, it all really depends on what you think the purpose of this Site is. I 'name collect' - I simply CANNOT pass any reference to a surname in my tree, even if they are not related to my tree. However, I don't put them on here - on here I have only my proven relatives. I may indeed have misunderstood the purpose of this site, which I thought originally was a serious Genealogical Site, dedicated to careful researchers contacting each other with a fairly concrete assurance that any information exchanged would be correct. I have realised that is not the case - GR is a Commercially-biased site and the emphasis is on CONTACTS, not on Genealogical facts. In view of this, I am very tempted to create a false link to several trees I have created from my own data-base, which are (so far) nothing to do with me, but are surely something to do with someone else on here! I have been doing some intensive research in the small village where three main lines of my tree originate. I now have over a thousand people on this village tree, some are mine, some aren't - and dangerously, some I just don't know. Should I put them on here, for someone else's benefit, or, purist that I am, should I wait until I can prove EVERY connection? Olde Crone

I don't think it matters which way you prefer to go for your tree on here.......nice fully researched 99.9% correct bloodline ancestry or ''work in progress'' like Grampa Jim....... The important bit is to EXPLAIN things should you choose to share the data with someone else...... Some would always do that (myself included, I hope) and some would just let the recipient of the info work it out for themselves (or not.....) Merry

I am all for adding a link to your tree no matter how small or distant. I made a contact through 4 generations back and our families were connected by marriage and his link was actually through a half brother of my groom. Anyway we talked for a while and it turned out he grew up in the village next door to my mother's family and knew them quite well, but it was not until a couple of months later that my mum was talking to an elderly aunt of her's in relation to some individuals we knew as 'aunt and uncle' but were in fact my Great Grandmother's cousins. Anyhow, cut a long story short, the 'aunt and uncle' were in fact the uncle and aunt of my contact - small world. In relation to a previous message about small villages I am now also collating a separate tree on the villages of Great and Little Ryburgh as 8 of my direct lines have gone back to these villages at some point, but also the village families are so entwined into my tree keeps backing up on itself.... least to say my family tree programme cannot cope with all the links when it comes to tree printing - so lots of notes are called for. for example, my Great Grandparents I have found out were actually 2nd cousins and descend from the same man in Great Ryburgh born in 1760. Regards Sue p.s. Happy New Year to all

I totally agree - follow ALL links, no-matter how small. Add your in-laws and their parents, , brothers living with a great aunt!!! etc. However, keep track of them and don't just upload hundreds of gedcoms because they all contain the name 'smith' ...etc. Happy New Year .......hicc nhicc.. Deax

In the mid 1970s I searched the PRs of Askrigg in Wensleydale and extracted all the Weatherall Names. Unfortunately, as the earliest Record was 1676, there were several distinct families which may or may not be connected a generation or two further back. Recently, while searching the on-line Censuses for Wensleydale I started separate Family Trees for each of the Families I had found. I discovered that a number of the individuals whose names I had extracted 30 years ago were starting to fit in and I was able to add several to my Tree with a degree of confidence in their accuracy. By the way I have dropped 'Grampa' as it was starting to make me feel old!

However, it is not nice if someone adds you to their tree when there is no connection whatsoever! :-)