Using Ancestry hints

[RDRaitt]

One thing that I have found using Ancestry and the hints is that is too easy to perpetuate an error in a tree.

Using the hints is a great tool, do not get me wrong.  The issue comes with using hints from other members trees.  When I look at other members Family trees I (now) always vet the information that they suggest is correct.

As an example, when you look up your Grand Mother, Jane Doe, and the hints show 3 public member trees and seven records, vetting the records is sometimes easy but can be more complex if there her name is common (Jane Doe) and birthdates are close together.  Often the transcribed dates can be off by a year due to her actual birthdate and the time of year that the Census was taken.

To vet the public member trees information I click on the "tools" icon on the top right of the screen and select "print friendly".  Once you have this screen loaded you and now click "customize" on the top left and select which information you would like to print, I click everything and ensure that all records are shown as well as parents, spouses and children are printed.  You may choose to just do a screenshot of this information to save on ink and paper and . file in a folder in your computer.

You now have a record of what others have considered important research information about that individual and you can go through each piece of information and see if it is correct for your Family member.  Once you are convinced that the information is correct you can then add it to your tree with confidence.

No one said that researching your Family tree was easy or quick.  This takes time and effort along with a great deal of patience.

There are two individuals who are not related to me that insist that one of my Uncles had passed away at the young age of 7.  I have a copy of his Marriage Certificate with his Parents (my Grand Parents) names on it as well.  I will always follow the paper trail.  The boy who passed away had the same name as my Uncle and the age at the time looked correct but it was the wrong person.

Please be wary of misleading information.

I trust that this information helps your research become less frustrating.  It is always more difficult to find and correct mistakes that were a waste of time in the first place.  Doing the vetting of information may seem like a waste of time but it will actually save you a trip down that rabbit hole of adding someone else's Family tree in to yours by researching the wrong Jane Doe.

Robert   

[sandiep]

thank you Robert
I agree checking the info is very important. I think sometimes people just copy another tree without checking..........I have sometimes asked about a person only to be told they hadn't checked at least they were honest but its like Chinese whispers!
I have found the print tool useful I often use it on my own tree to save me keep looking back and to pass to family members.
sandie

[carolineasb]

A bit off topic, but Robert do you happen to be related to James Raitt (c.1835-1892) who married a Helen/Eleanor Deuchars (c.1836-1928)?

[diplodicus]

I immediately discard all hints to other trees. I prefer to work from either a sound paper trail or at least strong circumstantial evidence. Only if I'm stuck do I then see if there is a tree hint in the discarded pile for a particular individual.

There are four of us with a common great-great-great-grandfather. We are all in occasional communication and all four of us have different information at some point in the tree for his descendants.

I made a catastrophic mistake early on in my tree and pursued the wrong William Vincent as my grandfather. Several hundred "non' relatives later, I found my error.  Nevertheless, my errors remain perpetuated on some trees despite my writing to their authors to explain my mistake (and never once receiving the courtesy of a reply)!

They are a mixed blessing but can occasionally be rewarding if treated with caution.

[mrcakey]

When Ancestry's hints work well they're a great boon. When they go wrong they're at best annoying, e.g. hints for marriage records after someone's death date or presenting a birth record for someone two generations back.

Other people's trees work the same way for me - where someone has done the research already, it's a great pointer and "all" you need to do is verify their research. Where someone has skipped into Ancestry and tried to build a tree by accepting all possible hints without thought they can really muddy the waters.

As for people ignoring your messages - I think sometimes people like to persist in their ignorance. For others it might just be too much work to undo. And for others still they may have moved on or the error is less important from their perspective than from yours.