Potential Disaster

Looks like Ancestry is rolling out a new feature. (Thanks to Rene for the image.)

Ancestry wants to let users know about possible connections with other users' trees. I'm sure that will work out well. *head/desk*
It's clear that Ancestry's priority is numbers, not content and definitely not accuracy. Numbers of profiles, numbers of trees. It makes no difference to them if the profiles/trees are total junk.
If they cared about accuracy they could make new users watch a short video like this one:



...before starting a tree. Or maybe a pop-up disclaimer: "Information on trees has not be validated. Respect your ancestors by researching to find out who they really are. If you instead choose to copy other trees be prepared to be mocked when you announce to other genealogists that you have your tree back to Adam & Eve or that you got back to royalty in a matter of hours." Okay, maybe something nicer.
Instead they insist on making it easier for people like these to create trees:

✿ I've gotten back to 17th century on mom's side; finally found Scottish connection on dad's side....then my free 2 wks Ancestry.com ran out. LOL. i have the names; now want some stories.
✿ Any word on how long until the search function for those born before 1000 A.D. is going to be fixed? I've got a LOT of family from way before then, and I can't get anything but some stray German school book information .... I've talked to customer service, who sent a report to the tech folks. Slowing me down !!
✿ Dear Ancestry.com; I don't want to know my real past, I think it is about time your site offered replacement histories after all America is the land of dreams
✿ I just spent 7 hours on Ancestry.com tracing my lineage to my 54th great-grandfather Fiacha Tolgrach MacMuireadhach, High King of Ireland, who was born in approximately 850 BC. Yes. That really happened.
✿ I'm so excited to be on here!!! Started my family history couple of months and wow!!! It has been a blast! I have one line of my husbands family back to adam and eve!
✿ According to my latest research on ancestry.com and other sites,
Adam and Eve are my 104th great-grandparents!

(More idiotic, but unfortunately real, comments from Facebook's Ancestry fan page can be found here.)

This new feature is slowly being rolled out. I'm hoping that those of us who have turned off tree hints won't be subjected to it.

Cherokee Woman

It's been a while but I'm back with another crazy profile.
How many errors, inconsistencies, or just plain idiotic things can you find?

Cherokee Woman

Birth  1710 in ,,North Carolina,USA
Marriage  11 Jun 1734 in Antrim, Antrim, Ireland*
Marriage  29 Jul 1740 in Fairfield, Northumberland, Virginia, United States*
Marriage  18 Oct 1744 in Fairfield, Fairfield, Connecticut, United States*
Marriage  1753*
Marriage  1783*
Death  1785 in Cherokee, Georgia, USA

*All marriages are to James Robert Adair.

PARENTS
Thomas Webb Hobson
B. 1665 in St Stephens Parish, Northumberland, Virginia, United States
D. 1714 in St Stephens Parish, Northumberland, Virginia, United States
Sarah Clark
B. 1675 in St Stephens Parish, Northumberland, Virginia, United States
D. 10 Oct 1743 in St Stephens, Northumberland, Virginia, United States

SPOUSE
James Robert Adair
Birth  1709 in County Antrim, Northern Ireland
Marriage  30 Oct 1733 in Wigtown, Wigtownshire, Scotland to Agnes Craig
Marriage  11 JUN 1734 in Antrim, Antrim, Ireland to Ann Mc Carty
Marriage  11 Jun 1734 in Antrim, Antrim, Ireland to Cherokee Woman
Marriage  11 Jun 1734 in Antrim, Antrim,, Ireland to Esther McBride
Marriage  29 Jul 1740 in Northumberland County, Virginia to Clark Hobson
Marriage  29 Jul 1740 in Fairfield, Northumberland, Virginia, United States
Marriage  03 Jun 1744 in Georgia, USA to Ann McCarty
Marriage  18 Oct 1744 in Fairfield, Fairfield, Connecticut, United States to Ann Mc Carty
Marriage  18 Oct 1744 in Fairfield, Fairfield, Connecticut, United States to Cherokee Woman
Marriage  18 Oct 1744 in Fairfield, Connecticut, USA in Esther McBride
Marriage  1753 to Cherokee Woman
Marriage  1754 to Isabella Lowery Hamilton
Marriage  1783 to Ann Mc Carty
Marriage  1783 to Cherokee Woman
Death  1783 in Robeson County, North Carolina, USA

Of course this profile only has other trees as "sources." So I took a swig, steeled myself, and took a look at the attached profiles on those trees. What I found, after the break.

Who Am I?

You've seen this disaster of a profile before in Bottomless Pit 2. That post featured the events on the profile. This one has the list of alternate names. Over 6000 of them. Six THOUSAND!
This profile has given me nightmares. What if there's a profile somewhere on all of our trees that, because of a computer glitch, has every name and every event attached to it?
There are also a couple dozen "alternate name" facts with no name on them at all. See the horror after the jump.

We Three Kings of Connecticut

Starting the new year off with the traditional crazy "Biblical" tree. Which edition of the Bible do you think this person used?
Happy New Year!

 Marcomir Sicambrian Franks Ben Joseph tm
 Born: Cologne, Koln, Nordrhein-Westfalen, Germany
 Died: 1950, Old, Sachsen, Germany

 Married: Möns, Friesland, Niedersachsen, Germany

 MARY Jesus Christ BINT HELI tm
 Born: 1966, Maluku, Indonesia
 Died: Germany

 CHILDREN

 Jesus Ben Christ
 B: Bethlehem, Litchfield, Connecticut, United States
 D: Calvary, Grady, Georgia, United States

 Jesus Nazareth
 D: Yerushalayim, Israel

 Clodemiro Penardim Franks tm
 B: Old, Sachsen, Germany
 D: 1963, Old, Sachsen, Germany

If you have a tree or profile to suggest please send the link to buwtree(at)gmail(dot)com. Thanks! 


PREVIOUS POST: Hof1stC1xrofWof11thGGNofWof3rdC19xr
NEXT POST: Coming Soon

Bottomless Pit 2

 MARY HANSON
 Birth 09 Aug 1675 in Upton, Worcester, Massachusetts, USA
 Death  in Upton, Worcester, Massachusetts, USA

 PARENTS
 John Hanson (1549-1622)
 Janet Raynor (1551- )

 SPOUSE & CHILDREN
 Walter Stanhope (1572-1661)
 ✿ Mary Stanhope (1602-1616)
 ✿ Jane Stanhope (1612-1693)
 ✿ Walter Stanhope (1612-1646)
 ✿ Edward Stanhope (1615-1675)
 ✿ Catherine Stanhope (1618-1618)
 ✿ Anne Stanhope (1623- )

If you're thinking Mary's birth year is a typo, you're an optimist. A birth year of 1575 would be better than having her parents and most of her children dying before her own birth. It would not, however, explain the births and deaths of Mary's parents, husband and children all occurring in England. Changing her birth year would also not improve the rest of the profile which is after the jump.
Here are just a few highlights (numbers in parenthesis are the number of events that are exact duplicates):

 ✿ Marriage
810 AD
Uppsala, Sweden
 ✿ Marriage
1503 7 Oct
Bernbowgale Edinburgh St. James St. Giles Toftis Manys Bernbowgale Manys Toftis Dummanyne Canongate Trinitarian Peblis Crukstoun, Midlothia, Scotland
 ✿ Christening
1847 31 Jan
Kerry, Ireland
 ✿ BURIAL
1864 15 Oct
NC
 ✿ Residence (85)
1911
Guysborough, Nova Scotia, Canada
 ✿ Arrival (12)
1913 6 Jun
Detroit, Michigan
 ✿ Residence (72)
1930
Boston, Suffolk, Massachusetts
 ✿ SSN issued
California

After the jump: The complete list of events

It Paynes Me

My apologies, this should have been Rule #1.

RULE #12  Pay attention to what you're doing!

 Harriet S. Payne

 PARENTS
 Peter I Coughnet (1793-1856)
 Catherine Wohlgemuth (1794-1881)

 SPOUSE & CHILDREN
 Lafayette Wilmarth (1811-1854)
 ✿ Harriet Ceilinda "Hattie" Wilmarth (b. 1841)
 ✿ William P Tiffany (b. 1844)
 ✿ Katherine (Kate) Tiffany (b. 1844)
 ✿ Priscilla Tiffany (b. 1845)
 ✿ Luther Scott Tiffany (b. 1867)

 Birth  April 30, 1812 in Susquehanna, Pennsylvania
 Marriage  22 Feb 1842 to Lafayette Wilmarth
 Marriage  30 Jun 1846 to Lafayette Wilmarth
 Death  March 29, 1859 in Jackson Twp, Susquehanna, Pennsylvania
 Residence  1880 in Davenport, Scott, Iowa, United States
 Burial  in Davenport, Scott, Iowa

After the jump: The records and more

Baby Love

 Alexander Love
 Birth  1690 in Northumberland, Virginia, USA
 Death 1773 in Onslow, North Carolina, USA

 PARENTS
 James Arnold Love (1681-1773)
 April Osterman (1681- )

 SPOUSE & CHILDREN
 Elishe Love (1695-1729)
 ✿ Saponey Indian Squaw Aka Honor Love (b. 1690)
 ✿ Hannah Love (b. 1702)
 ✿ Elizabeth Love (b. 1705)
 ✿ Amos Love (b. 1705)
 ✿ John Love (b. 1720)
 ✿ James Love (b. 1723)
 ✿ Judith Love (b. 1727)
 ✿ Jane Love (b. 1727)
 ✿ Jane Love (b. 1727)

 RECORDS attached to this profile

 ✿ U.S. Revolutionary War Rolls 1775-1783
     Alexander Love, Military Date: 7 Feb 1778, Rhode Island
 ✿ U.S. Civil War Soldiers, 1861-1865
     Alexander Love, Confederate, North Carolina

So Alexander was born to 9 year old parents. He then either starts his own family at birth or adopts a child later who is the same age as him. He and his wife continue to have children as children themselves. Five years after his death he fights in the Revolutionary War. Then he hangs around for 90 more years to fight in the Civil War.

 Father  Sir John LeLou ( -1308)
 Mother Amice Mauduit

 Child    Nigeli Luiff (1420-1492)

And John's parents were 100 and 70 years old when he was born.
It's never just one mistake. Clickohphiles don't pay attention to what they're doing. Ever.


Thanks to Linda for the head up about this profile and to Madelyn for the earworm of a title ;-)
If you have a tree or profile to suggest please send the link to buwtree(at)gmail(dot)com. Thanks! 


PREVIOUS POST: The Genealogy of Jesus
NEXT POST: Leaving the New Ancestry

The Genealogy of Jesus

Because it can't be repeated often enough...

Rule #4: The Bible is not a source for your family tree.

A few months ago someone made this comment on my Facebook page, "If you believe the Biblical accounts, once you got back to Joseph, the rest is done for you, back to Adam." As always I will not address religious beliefs so we'll skip over the "If you believe" part.
At the time that comment was posted I was listening to a book I read years ago. When I read it I had not yet been bitten by the genealogy bug. As I went through it this time I had a completely different perspective.

"Of all the many thousands of accidental mistakes made in our manuscripts, probably the most bizarre is one that occurs in a minuscule manuscript of the four Gospels officially numbered 109, which was produced in the fourteenth century. Its peculiar error occurs in Luke, chapter 3, in the account of Jesus's genealogy. The scribe was evidently copying a manuscript that gave the genealogy in two columns. For some reason, he did not copy one column at a time, but copied across the two columns. As a result, the names of the genealogy are thrown out of whack, with most people being called the sons of the wrong father. Worse still, the second column of the text the scribe was copying did not have as many lines as the first, so that now, in the copy he made, the father of the human race (i.e., the last one mentioned) is not God but an Israelite named Phares; and God himself is said to be the son of a man named Aram!"

Misquoting Jesus: The Story Behind Who Changed the Bible and Why by Bart D. Ehrman

The printing press wasn't invented until the 15th century. That's a few thousand years of transcriptions and translations. To use The Bible as a source you would be trusting a transcription of a transcription of a transcription of a translation of a transcription of a...you get the idea. Most were done by scribes, many of whom were copying things they could not actually read. Those who could read might add or leave out a word if they didn't agree with something.
Of course none of that matters because you cannot get "back to Joseph."
"But..." Nope.
"I saw a tree..." No!
It is just not possible to have a documented line from a living person to anyone in The Bible so please stop.


PREVIOUS POST: Switcheroo Follow-Up
NEXT POST: Baby Love

Wilder Than Your Tree

Posting *head/desk* without *head/desk* comment. *head/desk*head/desk*head/desk*

 Laura E. Ingalls  male
  Birth 7 February 1867 in Pepin County, WI,
  Death 10 February 1957 in Mansfield, Wright County, MO,

 SPOUSE & CHILDREN
 Doung Blunt (1891 - ) male
 ✿ 3 Living Male Children
 ✿ 3 Living Female Children

 SPOUSE & CHILDREN
 Mary (1889- ) female
 ✿ Gearld W Ackerman, b. 1895
 ✿ Amanda Aseneth Ackerson, b. 1907
 ✿ Amonda Ackerson, b. 1908
 ✿ Maud Ackerson, b. 1908
 ✿ Clonnie J Ackerson, b. 1910
 ✿ Clarence Ackerson, b. 1911
 ✿ Iola Rose Ackerson, b. 1913

 SPOUSE & CHILDREN
 Claire Gillette Lane (1887-1968) male
 ✿ Wilder CaClaire Lane, b. 1910

 SPOUSE & CHILDREN
 Almanzo James Wilder (1857-1949) male
 ✿ Rose Wilder Lane, b. 1886
 ✿ Wilder, b. 1889

 SPOUSE & CHILDREN
 Almanzo James Wilder (1857-1949) male
 ✿ Rose Wilder Lane, b. 1886
 ✿ Wilder, b. 1889

 SPOUSE & CHILDREN
 Bertha aka Birdie Byrd Ingalls (1878-1953) female
 ✿ 1 Living Female
 ✿ George W Ackerson, b. 1895
 ✿ Lela Pearl Ackerson, b. 1897
 ✿ Eva Maude Ackerson, b. 1899
 ✿ Clonnie J Ackerman, b. 1910

 SPOUSE & CHILDREN
 Bird V (1878-1953) female
 ✿ George W Ackerson, b. 1895
 ✿ Lela Pearl Ackerson, b. 1897
 ✿ Eva Maude Ackerson, b. 1899

 SPOUSE & CHILDREN
 Mary Caroline Buchholz (1889-1958) female
 ✿ 1 Living Female
 ✿ Gearld W Ackerman, b. 1895
 ✿ Amanda Aseneth Ackerson, b. 1907
 ✿ Maud Ackerson, b. 1908
 ✿ Clonnie J Ackersman, b. 1910
 ✿ Clarence Ackerson, b. 1911
 ✿ Iola Rose Ackerson, b. 1913

 RECORDS ATTACHED TO PROFILE

 ✿ 1880 U.S. Federal Census
     Ira Ackerson, male, b. abt 1873 in Iowa; living in Fairfield, Grundy, Iowa
 ✿ 1880 U.S. Federal Census
     Laura E. Ingalls, female, b. abt 1867 in Wisconsin; living in De Smet, Kingsbury, Dakota Territory
 ✿ 1892 New York State Census
     Ira Ackerson, male, b. abt 1872 in USA
 ✿ 1900 U.S. Federal Census
     Ira R Ackerson, male, b. Jun 1872 in Iowa; living in Beaver, Butler, Iowa
 ✿ 1910 U.S. Federal Census
     Ira Ackerson, male, b. abt 1874 in Iowa; living Iowa, Marshall, Iowa
 ✿ 1915 Iowa State Census
     Iva Ackerson, male, b. abt 1874 in Iowa
 ✿ 1920 U.S. Federal Census
     Ira Ackerson, male, b. abt 1873 in Iowa; living Albion, Butler, Iowa
 ✿ 1925 Iowa State Census
     Lela Blunt, female, b. abt 1898 in Iowa; father Ira Ackerson
 ✿ 1925 Iowa State Census
     Ira Ackerson, male, b. abt 1874 in Iowa
 ✿ 1930 U.S. Federal Census
     Ira Ackerson, male, b. abt 1874 in Iowa; living in Beaver, Butler, Iowa
 ✿ Family Data Collection
     Laura Elizabeth Ingalls, b. 7 Feb 1867, d. 10 Feb 1957
 ✿ U.S. WWI Draft Registration
     Ira Ackerson, b. 7 Jun 1873 in USA
 ✿ 10 Ancestry Member Trees
     8 for Ira Ackerson, 1 for Laura Elizabeth Ingalls, 1 for Rose Wilder

Thanks to Kristin for the link to this profile. ;-)
If you have a tree or profile to suggest please send the link to buwtree(at)gmail(dot)com. Thanks! 


PREVIOUS POST: Ancestry Tech
NEXT POST: De-lightful and De-lovely

Waste of Space

Today we have photos uploaded to a single profile. Along with the images below there are scans of a baptismal record and a marriage record. Each of those is uploaded twice.

✿

Title: seal of NJ
Uploaded: 8 times

✿

Title: seal of NY
Uploaded: 8 times

✿

Title: New_Amsterdam_1684_Visscher
Uploaded: 9 times

That's 29 uploads for 5 photos to one profile. The last image has been attached 21 times to 7 other trees. That's right, it has been attached multiple times to other trees. Not that you can tell from the image but it's a drawing of New Amsterdam from 1648.


Thanks to Kristin for the link to this profile ;-)


PREVIOUS POST: Cousins Are Not Ancestors
NEXT POST: Do Not Ancestry

Empire State

There are over 1000 Ancestry member trees with a profile for the person below. I stopped looking once I got to 1000. Too depressing. The profiles have varying amounts of detail and none of them has a record attached. I know, you're shocked, especially since there are so many records available for the time period. </sarcasm>
One tree owner posted their exciting find (Dau Asinia's spouse) on Ancestry's Facebook page. Of course Ancestry liked it. Gotta keep encouraging those clickophiles. Sigh.

 Dau V Asinia
 Birth: 0180 in Empire, Plaquemines, Louisiana, United States
 Death: 230 in Empire, Dodge, Georgia, United States

 SPOUSE
 Quintus Anicius Paulinus
 Birth: abt 180 in Rome, Roma, Lazio, Italy
 Death: in Rome, Roma, Lazio, Italy

 CHILD
 Quintus Anicius Paulinus
 Birth: 180 in France
 Death: 230 in Rome, Roma, Lazio, Italy

 Marriages (none have dates)
 To Quintus Anicius Paulinus in Empire,
 To Quintus Anicius Paulinus in Empire, Dodge,
 To Quintus Anicius Paulinus in Empire, Dodge, Georgia, United States
 To Quintus Anicius Paulinus in Empire, Plaquemines, Louisiana, United States
 To Quintus Anicius Paulinus in Rome, Roma, Lazio, Italy

 FATHER
 Ascyllius VonEastern Francs
 Birth: 0323 in , , Sachsen, Germany
 Death: 0379 in , , Sachsen, Germany

 MOTHER
 Mother VonEastern Franks
 Birth: 277 in Sachen, , , Germany
 Death: in Old, , Sachsen, Germany

PREVIOUS POST: 150th Generation
NEXT POST: Cousins Are Not Ancestors

150th Generation

It's the beginning of the year, time for an Adam & Eve post.

Title: Adam & Eve

Uploaded: Once and attached to 14 different profiles

One profile for
Adam First Man

Six profiles for
Adam Father of all mankind The First Patriarch 150TH GENERATION
Birth 4000 BC in Garden of Eden
Death 3070 BC in East of Eden

Seven profiles for
Eve Mother of all mankind The First Matriarch 150TH GENERATION
Birth 4025 BC in Garden of Eden
Death 3034 BC in Garden of Eden

Attached to: 33 other trees


PREVIOUS POST: Top Ten
NEXT POST: Empire State

Ye Gods!

Rule #9: The gods do not belong on your family tree.

There are literally thousands of trees on Ancestry.com with profiles for Gaia. Some of you may think, "None of those could possibly connect to living people." That would be the logical assumption anyway, that these are strictly mythological trees. Unfortunately that is not the case. I chose one of the crazier ones to feature here but I, and my wrist (in pain from all the clicking), can attest to the fact that some of these tree owners think they are descended from the gods of Greek mythology.
If you were going to create a tree to help you learn about the gods wouldn't you want it to be correct? If you thought, wrongly of course, you were related to them wouldn't you want your tree to be perfect? I know the relationships between the gods can get a little twisted but this is ridiculous.

Gaia of Greek Mythology Primodial goddess of the Earth

 SPOUSES, no children

 Aether Titan Primordial god of Light
 Aether Titan Primordial god of Light
 Father Sky Uranus
 Greek God Creation PHANES*
 Private
 Tartaros
 Tartarus Primordial god of the Abyss**

 CHILDREN with Unknown Spouse(s)

  ✿ Cleta Cleocharia the Naiad
  ✿ Uranus aka Sky Ouranos 1st Ruler GOD the Universe ***
  ✿ Creusa Naiad

 SPOUSES and children

 Cecrops I Athens
  ✿ Cranaus of Athens
 Draco of the Gods
  ✿ Echion of the Gods
 Oceanus God The Oceans Of Titans
  ✿ Asopus RIVER GOD
  ✿ Clymene Klymene of the Oceanides
  ✿ Creusa Naiad
  ✿ Iepatus God Titan of the West and Mortality
  ✿ Pleione Dione The Oceanide Nymph
 None as Pontus was Sea God First one born
  ✿ Phorcus Phorcys The Old Man of the Sea Titan God of The depths
  ✿ Pontus Primordial god of the Sea ***
 Pontus Primordial god of the Sea
  ✿ Eurybia The "Strong Goddess"
  ✿ Nereus Greek Mythology The Old man of the Sea
  ✿ Thaumas (the awe-striking "wonder" of the Sea, embodiment of the sea's dangerous aspects)
  ✿ Phorcus Phorcys The Old Man of the Sea Titan God of The depths
  ✿ Ceto/Keto Oceanic Deity Theoi Halioi Goddess of Sea Monsters
 Soil Primordial God
  ✿ Cecrops Athens
  ✿ Cranaus Athens
 Tethys Titan
  ✿ Iepatus God Titan of the West and Mortality
  ✿ Pleione Oceanide
 Zeus aka Zeus Jupiter OLYMPUS OLYMPIAN
  ✿ Cleocharia NAIAD
  ✿ Tethys Goddess The Ocean Of Titans
 Uranus aka Sky Ouranos 1st Ruler GOD the Universe
  ✿ Asopus RIVER GOD
  ✿ Briares Hundred Handed One, Hekatonkheiree
  ✿ Cecrops Athens
  ✿ Cecrops I Athens ***
  ✿ Ceto/Keto Oceanic Deity Theoi Halioi Goddess of Sea Monsters
  ✿ Cleocharia II the Naiad
  ✿ Clymene Klymene of the Oceanides
  ✿ Cottus Hundred Handed One, Hekatokheire
  ✿ Cranaus Athens
  ✿ Crius Krious The Ram the Titans
  ✿ Dione
  ✿ Doris The
  ✿ Eurybia
  ✿ Eurynome
  ✿ Goddess the Underworld Styx
  ✿ Gyges Hundred Handed One, Hekatonkheire
  ✿ Hiperión περίων Hyperíôn Dios de la Observación TITAN Titan of the East and Light
  ✿ Hyperion Elder God of the Titan of the East and Ligh
  ✿ Iepatus God Titan of the West and Mortality
  ✿ Koios Coeus Titan of the North and Intellec
  ✿ Kronos Cronos King of the Titans, Titan of Time and Agriculture
  ✿ Mnemosyne Titaness of Memory and Remembrance
  ✿ Oceanus God The Oceans Of Titans
  ✿ Okeanides Nymphs Springs Fountains
  ✿ Phoebe Phoibe "radiant, bright, prophetic" Titaness of Darkness and Mysteries
  ✿ Phorcus The Titan
  ✿ Pleione Dione The Oceanide Nymph
  ✿ Poyomoi River Gods
  ✿ Rhea (Rheia) the Titan Titaness of Family and Nature
  ✿ Scamander Xantus TEUCRI
  ✿ Simöeis Troy
  ✿ Theia Euryphaëssa (Theia, Aethra) Θεία Ευρυφάεσσα "Wide Shining" Titan Goddess of Sight
  ✿ Themis Titaness of Justice and Law
  ✿ Tethys Goddess The Ocean Of Titans
  ✿ Uranus stRuler God Universe

* Also Gaia's step-mother
** Also Gaia's sibling
*** Also Gaia's spouse

PREVIOUS POST: Clickophile Too
NEXT POST: A Genealogy Far, Far Away

Clickophile Too

Rule #8: Editing out blatantly erroneous data from a clickophile's tree does not make the information accurate.

Here we have part of a tree that was obviously created by a clickophile:

 Peter DeWyckhurst
 Birth 1198 in Coulsdon, Surrey, England
 Death 1220 in Surrey, England

 PARENTS & SIBLINGS
 Peter DeWyckhurst (1180-1203)
 Lady Peter De Wyckhurst (1180-1203)
 ✿ Peter DeWyckhurst (1180-1203) [female]
 ✿ Peter DeWyckhurst (1195-1220)
 ✿ WILLIAM ATTE WODE (1220-1278)
 ✿ Peter Atte Wode (1245-1313)
 HALF-SIBLINGS
 (through father Peter DeWyckhurst & step-mother Peter DeWyckhurst)
 ✿ Lady Alice DeWyckhurst (1180- )
 ✿ Peter DeWyckhurst (1180-1203) [female]
 ✿ Peter DeWyckhurst (1195-1220)

 SPOUSE & CHILDREN
 Lady Alice DeWyckhurst (1199-1220)
 ✿ Lady DeWyckhurst (1184- )
 ✿ Peter DeWyckhurst (1184-1203) [female]
 ✿ Peter DeWyckhurst (1195-1220)
 ✿ William Atte Wode (1220-1245)
 ✿ William Atwood (1224-1245)
 ✿ William Atte Wode (1224-1278)
 ✿ Peter Atte Wode (1245-1313)

The only "sources" are 16 other trees, no records. No surprise there. This person has accepted all the data from the other trees without question. The profile above is one of two trees used for the profile below. The other "source" tree only has Peter, his wife, his father, and one son, William Atte Wode.

 Peter DeWyckhurst
 Birth 1198 in Coulsdon, Surrey, England
 Death 1220 in Surrey, England

 SPOUSE & CHILDREN
 Lady Alice DeWyckhurst (1199-1220)
 Married 1219 in Coulsdon, Surrey, England
 ✿ Lady (1184- )
 ✿ Peter DeWyckhurst (1195-1220)
 ✿ William Atte Wode (1220-1245)

Again, no actual records. If you think making "corrections" while copying other trees makes your tree better than theirs stop kidding yourself. Unless you have documentation to back up those corrections you are a clickophile too.


If you have a tree or profile to suggest please send the link to buwtree(at)gmail(dot)com. Thanks! 

PREVIOUS POST: AncestryDNA News
NEXT POST: Ye Gods!

What the WHAT?

If you haven't read a "WHAT?" post before, these comments were found on various Facebook pages, message boards, and anywhere people discuss genealogy online. They were all cut and pasted, no editing. I have removed all names to protect the clueless. My comments are in red and should be taken with a heavy dose of sarcasm.

 ✿ I love the TLC show Who Do You Think You Are? last night's episode on Brooke Shields was fascinating!!! I've gotten back to 17th century on mom's side; finally found Scottish connection on dad's side....then my free 2 wks Ancestry.com ran out. LOL. i have the names; now want some stories. :-)
Two weeks to get back to the 17th century? Yeah, that's a well sourced tree.

 ✿ My paternal great grandmothers lineage goes back to the 1st high king of Ireland, Brian Boru. Now I have set to document it!
If you haven't documented it how do you know that's who your line goes back to?

 ✿ Let me on [Who Do You Think You Are?]. I heard my dad say he is a direct decent of Sir Lancelot. I want to see if its true
You need to be on a television show to find out your father is not a descendant of a fictional character? Actually, I might watch that show. It wouldn't be WDYTYA? but a show confronting people delusional about their genealogy would be highly entertaining.

 ✿ ben [surname, not capitalized] ancestry search results
Knowing the difference between posting on Facebook and using a search engine should be a requirement before doing either.

 ✿ I had a one month subscription and i cant get a refund even though I only used it for a day. I don't care what your policies are. ITS MY MONEY AND I WANT IT NOW.
"I don't care what your policies are" or that I agreed to them.
[same person about two hours later]
NVM! They actually refunded it! Yayyy
Good to know. Complain on social media and you don't have to abide by the terms of service. Ancestry.com will just refund your money.

 ✿ FIND SOMETHING ON THE RALPH [surname] FAMILY.
Apparently this person doesn't know the word 'please' and thinks a Facebook page will respond to a demand.

 ✿ I just created a new tree and evidently the hints system is down again. I just renewed my subscription less than a week ago and once again....I'm not getting what I paid for. And please don't tell me to clear my cache & cookies or give the the same link that I always get. None of those things work.
The search is working but I can't be bothered to do that. I only add records that are handed to me on a silver platter. The 90% of collections that don't show up as hints aren't of any concern to me.
This was a comment by a self-proclaimed "professional" genealogist by the way.

 ✿ Is there an easy way to find missing generations?
Research?

 ✿ I have been an Ancestry member since 2006. In all my years of looking for ancestors I have never gone an looked at other features they have. I discovered today with the help of the search button that they have free downloadable pedigree charts and family group sheets. Needless to say my printer has been running. Got on Amazon and ordered my legal binders for my family trees.
Eight years. Eight YEARS and you haven't poked around the site? SMH.

 ✿ got it pierman ,rogers. pierson ,burroughs
[a few posts later the same person continues]
Thompson , morrision,rogers,pierman,pierson, bird,murry, Johnson,moores,
And your point is?

 ✿ love hearing the stories of the different families, makes me want to search more and more into my family. thanks to ansctery i've been able to get past some road blocks and gotten back to greek myths. thanks for the education and stories
Not enough education apparently.

 ✿ Any word on how long until the search function for those born before 1000 A.D. is going to be fixed? I've got a LOT of family from way before then, and I can't get anything but some stray German school book information .... I've talked to customer service, who sent a report to the tech folks. Slowing me down !!
How am I supposed to find all those fantasy trees to copy if your search isn't working?!!? Oh and all of us have "a LOT of family from way before then" but none of us can document them.

 ✿ I love ancestry.com found my family back to 202 a.d.
Ancestry's records usually don't go back further than 1600. There are a few exceptions. None of those exceptions include records prior to the year 1200. 


AFTER THE JUMP: Adam & Eve comments, some head/desk moments and a few comments that would require an Idiot Whisperer to decipher.

Doppelgänger?

Rule #7: When researching the women on your tree pay attention to which records you need with her maiden name and which you need with her married name.

Below are the details of two records attached to one profile. The profile is for a Mary Gotshall, married to a Ross. Apparently in someone's mind these women are identical. Anyone else think Mary might not have moved, gotten a job, lost her husband and children, and reverted back to her maiden name all in the span of a day?

1900 U.S. Federal Census
Name: Mary Ross
Birth: May 1878 in Pennsylvania
Marital Status: Married (4 years)
Children: 2 (2 living, ages 3 and 1)
Relation to HoH: Wife
Occupation: (blank)
Residence: Lewisburg, Union, Pennsylvania
Enumeration Date: 11 Jun 1900

1900 U.S. Federal Census
Name: Mary Gotshall
Birth: Apr 1879 in Pennsylvania
Marital Status: Single
Children: None
Relation to HoH: Help
Occupation: Dishwasher at hotel
Residence: Canton, Stark, Ohio
Enumeration Date: 12 Jun 1900


PREVIOUS POST: Yowza!
NEXT POST: Pet Peeve: Ancestry Search Sliders

Yowza!

Rule #5: You do not get to choose your ancestors.
Genealogy is not a buffet. You cannot pick and choose which of your 4th great-grandfather's wives is in your direct line because one is more interesting or easier to research.

Rule #6: Your female ancestor did not give birth when she was 74 years old.
Men can become fathers at any point during their adult lives. The same cannot be said for women. There are a few rare cases of women getting pregnant naturally over the age of 50. There's a list here. A source for one of the births on that list is an Ancestry Member Tree so I wouldn't consider it reliable. It is Wikipedia after all. If you can document a post-50 birth in your tree, without question, then you should go buy a lottery ticket.

You'll notice that this profile breaks Rule #1 and Rule #2 too. It's just all kinds of wrong. Sigh. See what other errors you can find.

 Uploaded numerous times to this tree.
Attached to Lewis O Garner 2nd and Lewis Oliver Garner 3rd.
 Title: tree-direct ancestor

 Lewis O Garner 2nd
 Birth 1793 in Howard Mill Area, Moore, North Carolina, United States
 Death 1879 in Ryans Glade, Garrett, Maryland, United States

 SPOUSE & CHILD
 Elizabeth Rickmeyer (1762-1860)
 ✿ Lewis Oliver Garner 3rd, b. 1840

Uploaded numerous times to this tree.

 Attached to Mary Elizabeth Yow.

 Title: Female Direct Ancestor

 SPOUSE & CHILDREN
 Mary Elizabeth Yow (1799-1860)
 ✿ William Garner, b. 1791
 ✿ John Garner, b. 1794
 ✿ Phoebe Garner, b. 1798
 ✿ Hulda Garner, b. 1800
 ✿ Lewis Garner, b. 1802
 ✿ Malinda Garner, b. 1803
 ✿ Frances GARNER, b. 1820
 ✿ John H Garner, b. 1821
 ✿ Sallie Sarah Garner, b. 1823
 ✿ William Garner, b. 1826
 ✿ Elizabeth Garner, b. 1828
 ✿ Frances Frannie Garner, b. 1830
 ✿ Lydia Garner, b. 1832
 ✿ Margaret Garner, b. 1833
 ✿ William Garner, b. 1837
 ✿ John Garner, b. 1839
 ✿ Mary A Garner, b. 1858
 ✿ Richard McCorey Yow, b. 1870
 ✿ Florence J Yow, b. 1876

 SPOUSE & CHILD
 Elizabeth Yow (1799-1860)
 ✿ Sallie Sarah Garner, b. 1823

 SPOUSE
 Rebecca Spinks Yow (1835-1911)

 ONE of the RECORDS ATTACHED
 ✿ 1790 United States Federal Census
    Lewis Garner

Thanks to Kristin for the link to this profile ;-)
If you have a tree or profile to suggest please send the link to buwtree(at)gmail(dot)com. Thanks! 


PREVIOUS POST: The Biblical Rule
NEXT POST: Doppelgänger?

The Rules

Rule #3: Your family tree cannot connect living people to persons who lived during Biblical times.
"But The Bible..." No.
"But once you hit royalty..." No.
"But [whatever other reason lacking common sense you can come up with]..." No!

 Don Consobrina Verch Mathonwy
 Birth 100 BC in Arimathaea, Ramathaim Zophim, now, Israel
 Death 80 BC in Ely, Cambridgeshire, England

 PARENTS
 Joseph Saint James Armimathea
 Anna Verch Eleazor

If you have a profile to suggest please email the link to buwt(at)gmail(dot)com. Thanks!

PREVIOUS POST: The Rules
NEXT POST: The Biblical Rule

The Rules

Rule #2: Children cannot be born years after their parents have died.
There is no genetic trait that will allow for an exception. Your 5th great-grandfather wasn't born after his parents died and his children were not born after he died.
This is a rule that will have exceptions in modern times but when it comes to your ancestors...

William Moore
Birth 1767
Death 1781

PARENTS
John Moore (1675-1753)
Tabitha Pace (1714-1753)

SPOUSE & CHILDREN
Ann Nancy Lanier (1749-1833)
 Edward Moore (1769- )
 William Moore II (1775-1829)
 Aaron Moore (1781-1857)
 Moses Moore (1785- )
 Thomas Moore (1805- )

...families like this one never existed.


Thanks to Kristin for the link to this profile ;-)
If you have a profile to suggest you can email me a link at buwtree(at)gmail(dot)com.


PREVIOUS POST: The Rules
NEXT POST: The Rules

The Rules

I don't think any profile will ever top the Bottomless Pit so I'm going to simplify things for a while.

Rule #1: Children cannot be born before their parents. Ever.
There is no "may not" or "should not" or any other choice of words that could leave any room for doubt. A child being born before their parents is a physical impossibility. There are NO exceptions to this rule...until someone builds a working TARDIS, then all bets are off.

 James Ferguson
 Birth 1724 in Robeson, North Carolina, USA
 Death 1838 in Robeson, North Carolina, USA

 FATHER
 Alexander Ferguson
 Birth 1822 in Scotland
 Death 1896 in Scotland

 MOTHER
 Elizabeth Stewart
 Birth 1831 in Scotland
 Death 1881 in Scotland

Thanks to Kristin for the link to this tree ;-)
If you have a tree or profile to suggest please send the link to buwtree(at)gmail(dot)com. Thanks! 


PREVIOUS POST: Polyandry
NEXT POST: The Rules