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

I Just Can't Wait to Be King

“Trust me, Wilbur. People are very gullible. They'll believe anything they see in print.”
― E.B. White, Charlotte's Web

From surname books that have little to nothing to do with genealogy to flat out lies like "family coats of arms" there will always be people trying to make a quick buck from genealogy. There always have been. The easiest prey are those who want fame, a royal connection.
Royal wannabes can buy fake coats of arms (most sites are not as upfront about the fake part as that one), their own royal portrait or their own royal title. I can't believe how many people have fallen for the latter one. They are easy to find because once someone is titled they need a website and/or a Facebook fan page to tout their importance and communicate with the little people.
The entire front page of the Royal Titles site focuses on impressing those who are, obviously, beneath you, and giving you a sense of self-importance.

"Sense of Grandeur and Historical Belonging, Social Status and Prestige, Instantly Perceived Glamour, Power and sense of difference and Privilege, Preferential treatment Everywhere, An incredible Source of Joy, Happiness and Amusement." 

The capitalization of random words really emphasizes the professionalism and trustworthiness of the site. (My kingdom for a sarcasm font!)

"We can offer a number of Royal Titles to choose." 

Because everyone knows if the King/Queen wants to knight you you can say, "Um, I'd rather be a Baron." Check out their disclaimer page. The site "does not sell noble titles." Yet a "Single Royal and Noble Title and Royal Medal is EUR €199." If you want to see what that gets you click here.
There are free sites that feed the royal wannabes need for these things. Most of the information on these sites has been copied to numerous Ancestry Member Trees (AMTs). At least Ancestry does its part to keep information on living people private. These other sites usually have no privacy boundaries but like a majority of AMTs, they have no credible sources. This one has profiles copied from a handful of books. From the "sources" section of the FAQ page:

"About half way through this exercise, I acquired a copy of S&N’s Royalty database, and merged this with my own database. Given I already had around 20,000 quite detailed records at this point, and the S&N was around 106,6000 separate records (with little detail given and absolutely no sources), this merging process took me a considerable period of time." 

No sources? No SOURCES! And you want to merge with it, why?
Then there's this one. Go to one of the indices and click through to a random entry. Chances are the only "source" you'll see is WorldRoots.com, a website that no longer exists. The only way to view it is with the WayBack Machine.
You might be thinking, "Well, no one would take those unsourced profiles as fact." I hate to burst your bubble but I didn't search for these sites. They were posted to Facebook threads by people encouraging others to use them.
What will it take to get these people to search for a record?


ADDITIONAL READING:
Genealogy as a Fraud from Genealogy's Star
Genealogy Scams: What You Need to Know About Generic Surname Histories and Coats of Arms from Price & Associates Genealogical Services
Myths, Hoaxes & Scams from Cyndi's List


PREVIOUS POST: To Complicate Matters
NEXT POST: Cousin Mary

I'm Older Than My Grandpa

There are variations of this profile on numerous trees. Some even appear, in the search results, to have records attached but I couldn't find any that had more than other trees.

 Sarah Jane Blansingame
 Birth 1695
 Death 1737

 PARENTS
 Larkin Venable (1771-1835)
 Molly Ann Roundtree (1771-1856)

 SPOUSE & CHILDREN
 Francis Bearden (1690-1759)
 ✿ Thomas b. 1717
 ✿ William b. 1717
 ✿ Humphrey b. 1722
 ✿ Benjamin b. 1736
 ✿ Edmund b. 1737
 ✿ Ambrose b. 1739
 ✿ John b. 1744

Thanks to JoAnn for the heads up about this profile ;-)
If you have a profile or photo to suggest you can email me at buwtree(at)gmail(dot)com.

PREVIOUS POST: Jesus, Mary and Joseph!
NEXT POST: King Charlie II

Don't Know Much About History

Title: Ferguson, John
Uploaded to: John Ferguson
Born 23 Mar 1650 in Gargunnock, Stirlingshire, ,Scotland,
Died 19 Mar 1717 in Cherry Walk, Essex, Virginia, United States,
Buried Elmwood Cemetery, Waterloo, Black Hawk, Iowa
Attached to: 65 other trees
Looking through the first 20 trees that had this photo attached 3 were private. Of the other 17 only one had a different John Ferguson who might actually be the person buried in this plot.

JNO. FERGUSON
CO. F
12TH ILL. INF.

What conflict prior to 1717 would warrant a U.S. military gravestone and an American flag?

Thanks to Kristin for the link to the gravestone photo ;-)
If you have a photo to suggest please send a link to buwtree(at)gmail(dot)com.


PREVIOUS POST: A Young Crabbe II
NEXT POST: Civil War Zombie Corps 4

Dead and Married

Comments after the jump.

 Robert Knollys
 B: 1451 in North Mimms, Hertfordshire, England OR Mimms, North, Hertfordshire, England OR North, Hertfordshire, England
 D: 1458 in North Mimms, Hertfordshire, England

 SPOUSE & CHILD
 Elizabeth Troutbeck (1452-1458)
 ✿ Robert Knollys (1481-1520)

Photo Friday: Quaker Oats

This tree has 97 photos.
44 of them are the photo below.
Each photo is attached to only one profile.
Those profiles are for various men and women across three centuries.
The most recent person with this photo died a year before the Quaker Oats Company was founded.
The photo has been attached to dozens of other trees.



The first sentence for the Quaker Oats Company page on Wikipedia:

"Not to be confused with Quakers."

Thanks to Jeri for the heads up about this photo ;-)
If you have a photo to suggest please send a link to buwtree(at)gmail(dot)com. 

PREVIOUS POST: What's in a name?
NEXT POST: Civil War Zombie Corps 2

Jesus of Connecticut

Comments after the jump.

 Joseph ( Father Of Jesus)
 B: Bethelehem,Palestine
 D: Nazareth,Palestine

 FATHER
 Heli Ben Matthat
 B: Luke, Allegany, Maryland, United States
 D: July, Ad Abbey Glais, Glastonbury, Wales

 SPOUSE
 Mary The Virgin
 B: Nazareth, Northampton, Pennsylvania, United States
 D: France
 CHILDREN
 James Arimathea Brother the Lord
 B: Arimathea, Judea, Israel
 D: Glastonbury, Somerset, England
 Jesus Christ
 B: Bethlehem, Litchfield, Connecticut, United States
 D: Golgatha, Yerushalayim, Israel
 Joseph Of Arimathaea
 B: Bc Arimathea, Judea, Israel
 D: Abbey Glais, Glastonbury, Wales
 Joseph Of Arimathaea
 B: 0001 in Arimathea, Judea, Israel
 D: 0101 in Abbey Glais, Glastonbury, Wales

 SPOUSE
 Unknown
 CHILDREN
 Jesus Christ
 B: Israel
 D: Israel

It's Online So It Must Be True

This week I ran into someone who had Roman emperors on his tree. He invited others to look at his tree and when people pointed out a few of the numerous errors he claimed it was "all from Ancestry" and "I didn't make that stuff up." No, other people made stuff up and you mindlessly copied it. 
I had initially started this post with the 900+ Nefertiti trees found while writing last Friday's post. But after this run in I decided to switch to Roman emperors instead. The point is the same: It's all online so it must be true. 
So here's the profile that started this. Of course there's more after the jump ;-)

AUGUSTUS GAIUS OCTAVIUS V CAESAR Roman Emperor

B: 23 Sep 1963

D: 19 Aug 1914

Spouse: Scribonia Libo Octavian Augustus 

              B: 25 Jul 1968

Child:     Julia Augusta 

              B: 39 - D: 15

Father:  GAIUS IV, Praetor of Rome, Governor of Macedonia, OCTAVIUS Rufus

              B: 25 JUN 85 BC - D: 27 JUL 59 BC

Mother:  Atia Balba, of Rome, Caesonia

               B: 85 BC - Aug-Sept 43 BC

Coming or Going

Comments after the jump.

 Relationship to NEFERTITI                                           BIRTH                 DEATH

 FATHER             Amenhotep III Nubmaatre               ABT 1425 BC        ABT 1367 BC

 MOTHER            Gilukhipa                                       ABT 1415 BC
 SISTER              Mery-Khiba Mery-Amon                   ABT 1560 BC

 SPOUSE             Moses Ben Amram                                1597 BC         ABT 1451 BC

 CHILD                Merytaten Bas Moses                            1743 BC

 OCCUPATION    "Queen or Egypt" [sic]

Clickophile

Comments after the jump.

ANN WILMOT

B. 1614, Evesham, Worcestershire, England

D. 1654, New Haven, New Haven, Connecticut

SPOUSES &

     CHILDREN

Joseph Sperry (1709-1788)

Joseph Sperry (1709-1788)

William Bonnell (1600-1654) married 1640 in Connecticut

William Bonnell/Bunnell (1600-1654) married 1640 in Connecticut

     Samuel Bunnell Bonnel (1637-1708)

     Nathaniel Bonnel (1640-1696)

     Benjamin Bonnel (1642-1696)

     Mary Bonnel (1650-1724)

     Ebenezer Bunnell Bonnel (1653-1654)

     Elizabeth Bunnell Bonnel (1653-????)

William Bunnell (1610-1669) married 1640 in Connecticut

     Lydia Bonnell (1629-1666)

     Benjamin Bunnell (1631-1690)

     Nathaniel Bunnell (1633-1711)

     Nathaniel Bunnell (1633-1711)

     Samuel Bunnell (1637-1708)

     Nathaniel Bunnell (1640-1711)

     Benjamin Bunnell (1642-1697)

     Lydia Bunnell (1644-1708)

     Lydia (1644-1708)

     Lydia (1644-1708) 

     Mary Bunnell (1650-1724)

     Nathaniel Bunnell (1650-1696)

     Ebenezer Bunnell (1653-1654)

     Elizabeth Bunnell (1653-1654)

     Hezekiah Bunnell (1658-1659)

     Judith Bunnell (1672-1746)

     Nathaniel Bunnell (1692-????)

     Mary Bonnell (1840-????)

Time Warp

Comments after the jump.

 ANNA ENYGEUS BAS JOSEPH
 married to Joachim (Heli) Ben Levi
 - - PARENTS OF - - 
 MARY BAS LEVI
 married to Joseph Ben (Joseph of Arimathea) Jacob
 - - PARENTS OF - -  
 ANNA ENYGEUS BAS JOSEPH
 married to Joachim (Heli) Ben Levi
 - - PARENTS OF - - 
 MARY BAS LEVI
 married to Joseph Ben (Joseph of Arimathea) Jacob
 - - PARENTS OF - -  
 ANNA ENYGEUS BAS JOSEPH
 married to Joachim (Heli) Ben Levi

Geneatheology

My first post was on Adam & Eve trees. 

For the 6-month anniversary of this blog 

I thought I'd feature another "Biblical" tree.

Comments after the jump.

Jesus (Yeshua) "the Nazarene," Yehoshua ha Mashaiach/Notzri ben Joseph

B. 1 Mar 7 BC, Bethelem, Nazareth, Judea, Israel

Note on birth: Officially 15 September 7 BC AD to comply with dynastic regulation. Emperor Constantine subsequently designated December 25 to co-inside with the Pagan Sun Festival.

D. Friday, 3 Apr 33, Golgatha, Calvary, Judea, Israel

Note on death: Also the year 74 in Masada, Israel or Rone, Italy

Mary Miriam Magdala, "Beloved Disciple" ha-Benjamin (ha David?) Magdalene Saint

B. 3, Magdala, Judea, Israel

D. 63, Marseille, Bouches-du-Rhone, Provence-Alpes-Cote d'Azur, France

* Marriage 30 Sep ?? *

Note on marriage: This was the First Marriage ceremony. Consummation of the marriage would wait until December, as per custom and tradition, assuring any child would be born in September, the holiest month of the year.

CHILDREN

Tamar "the Sarah," of Jerusalem

B. Sep 33, Alexandria, Egypt

D. ?

Jesus II (Yeshua II) "the Righteous One" of the House of David Justus

B. 1 Jun 37, Jerusalem, Judea

D. 58, Jerusalem, Judea

Josephes (Jesus Justus) "Grail Child," Bishop of Saraz (Sarras) Desposyni

B. Sep 44 Provence, France

D. 82, England

You did WHAT?!!? - The Sequel

"They haven't got brains, any of them,
only grey fluff that's blown into their head by mistake,
and they don't Think."
- The House at the Pooh Corner by A. A. Milne

The first You did WHAT?!!? post was in late March.
At the time I thought, "This could be a once a year post."
Little did I know that just three months later I would have more
than enough material for another post.

Quotes are after the jump.
I have not corrected spelling or grammar.
You have been warned. My comments are in red.

Robbing the Cradle

TWO trees today.
Comments after the jump.

TREE #1

 SARAH LAYNE

 Born in 1720

 Married WILLIAM SHANNON (b. 1845) in ????

   One child
   William, b. 1772

 Married JAMES SHANNON (b. 1773) in 1778

   Three children
   Elizabeth, b. 1780

   Jane, b. 1782

   Nancy, b. 1783

TREE #2

 SARAH LAYNE

 Born in 1720

 Married THOMAS SHANNON (b. 1760) in ????

   One child
   Layne, b. 1784

 Married JAMES SHANNON (b. 1773) in 1778

   Nine children
   Nancy, b. 1747

   William, b. 1773

   Elizabeth, b. 1779

   Jane, b. 1782

   Nancy, b. 1783

   James, b. 1787

   Layne, b. 1789

   John, b. 1792

   Cornelius, b. 1799

They told 2 friends and so on...

Comments after the jump.

Richard Theron Williams

1890 Apr 5      Born

1900 Dec 26    Married to Mary Jane Dawson

1902 Mar 23    Birth of son, Theron Frank Williams

1948 Apr 30    Death

Note: There are more children but I've only included the eldest.

My Mother, The Zombie

Events with just a name are children's births.
Comments after the jump.

SUSANNAH HYLTON
1795                  Susannah's birth
1816 Nov 11       Marriage to Leonard Dickerson (b. 1805 - d. 1864)
1818                  Uriah
1819 Sep 12       Absalom
1822 Aug 21       Henry H
1822 Aug 21     Susannah Dies
1826 Mar 16       Susannah's husband marries Susannah Hylton (b. 1805 - d. 1879)*
These children are all born to the Susannah who is deceased.
1828 Apr 12        Archeloas Hylton
1829 Aug 18        Eli
1832 Jul 11         Mahulda
1835 Feb 1          Charlotte
1836 Nov 13        John B
1838 Sep 2          Ira
1840 Jul 18          Micharah
1842 Sep 23        Martha
1844 Aug 31        Bethany
1846 Jul 24          Modilla

All children have the Dickerson surname.

*The second Susannah has one child attached, Uriah.
Details for the second Uriah are the same as the first Uriah.

You've Got It All Wrong

Comments after the jump.

 JAMES BRADY (1831-1880)

 Marriage #1: In 1849 to Margaret Curry

 Marriage #2: In 1853 to Ann Torney

 Marriage #3: In 1859 to Mary Ann Feeney

 Marriage #4: In 1867 to Mary Jane Hagerty

 CHILDREN

 1818  Honora (Ireland)

 1850  Anna (Pennsylvania)

 1852  Mary (PA), Robert (Scotland)
 1853  Annie (PA)

 1855  John (England)

 1856  Michael (June), Margaret (November), Catherine (Wisconsin)
 1858  Thomas (England), John (PA)
 1859  Owen
 1860  John, James (Scotland)
 1861  Thomas (PA)
 1862  Mary
 1866  James (PA), Bridget
 1868  Teresa (WI)
 1870  Francis (WI)
 1871  Catherine (PA)
 1872  Francis (PA), James (Ireland)
 1873  Margaret (WI)
 1875  Rosanna (WI)
 1876  David Bridge (October in New York), Anne (December)
 1877  Hugh (PA)
 1878  William (PA)
 1879  John (WI)
 1880  Tommie Bridge (NY)
 1882  Louisa (WI)
 1883  Edward (WI)
 No date given: Agnes, JJ, Madame, Terrence

A Female Bigamist?

Comments after the jump.

 LYDIA NARCISSUS ANSLEY (1855-1938)

 1880 Marriage #1 to Jackson Hayes

 1882 Marriage #2 to Elisa W. B. Hayes

 Born       M#1     M#2   Unknown Spouse

 1882     William Hayes         

 1883     Annie Hayse

 1884     Damascus Hayse, Iona Edenfield (married name)

 1886     Allen Hayes, Nannie Pearl Hayes, Naurice Hayse

 1888     Mattie L Hayse, Mattie L Hayse

 1890     Elam G Hayse

 1892     Rosa Tom Edward Hayes, Georgia Hayse, Rosa F Hayse

 1893     Cletis Hayes, Cletis Hayes

 1894     Kittie G W Hayes, Rosa T Hayes

 1898     Jas F Hayse, James F Hayes

 All names are as they are spelled on this tree (i.e. Elisa instead of Elias, Hayse and Hayes used interchangeably, etc.). 

You did WHAT?!!?

Today's post isn't about a specific tree but about the people
who create the messed up trees I usually post about on Tuesdays.
People with no understanding of how to research but
a burning desire to be connected to someone important.
Hope reading these doesn't give you a migraine.
I debated correcting spelling, grammar, etc. but thought
I should keep the posts as I found them for the full effect.
Each of these quotes is real.
They were found on various Facebook fan pages.
Names have been withheld to protect the clueless.

What's the craziest claim you've ever heard?

Quotes are after the jump. My comments are in red.

The Time Travelers Part II

I've only included death dates when they are absolutely ridiculous.
Comments after the jump.

 JOSE MIGUEL ALANIS

 TIMELINE
 1747 Birth in Mexico
 1797 Death in Mexico
 1897 Arrival
 1910 Residence in Karnes, TX
 1915 Arrival
 1920 Residence in Cambria, PA
 1930 Residence in Hidalgo, TX

 CHILDREN
 With Maria Antonia Vela (b. 1740)
 Jose Daniel
 Jose Maria
 Jose Maria
 Ramon
 Tadeo
 Joseph Miguel b. 1747
 Esteban b. 1750
 Jose Miguel b. 1750
 Damian b. 1758
 Jose Estan b. 1768
 Jose Salvador b. 1770
 Jose Vicente b. 1776
 Jose Damian b. 1777
 Vicenta b. 1779
 Antonio Jesus b. 1784
 Esteban b. 1790
 Jose Maria b. 1792
 Jose Maria b. 1792
 Jose Maria b. 1873 d. 1850
 Jose Joaquin b. 1905 d. 1812

 With Maria Antonia Vela (b. 1763)
 Tadeo
 Jose Miguel b. 1750

 With Andrea Alanis
 Jose Joaquin b. 1905 d. 1812
 Chisanta b. 1907
 Amado b. 1909
 With Juana Alanis (b. 1903)
 3 Living children