Entering same man with two names and two families at same time

[edmac]

I have a man who used two different names whilst maintaining two families at the same time. Must admire his stamina but it is a pain not knowing what to do with him on an ancestry tree.  I have no problem with recording this on my PC but wonder what to do with him on the ancestry tree which is public.  Joe lived with my grand aunt at weekends and fathered three boys with no living descendants at this time.  However, his weekday family under his real name appears on several trees on ancestry so presumably there are descendants who are unaware of their weekend relatives. If I include his real name on my anc tree as an alternative then this could be picked up by a descendant.  Personally this would not matter to me, it was over a century ago, but others could see it differently even after all this time.  Might add at this stage I am the sole custodian of this information, with no written evidence and as I am approaching my use by date then I need to decide what to do.

Cheers. Ed

[Guy Etchells]

I have a man who used two different names whilst maintaining two families at the same time. Must admire his stamina but it is a pain not knowing what to do with him on an ancestry tree.  I have no problem with recording this on my PC but wonder what to do with him on the ancestry tree which is public.  Joe lived with my grand aunt at weekends and fathered three boys with no living descendants at this time.  However, his weekday family under his real name appears on several trees on ancestry so presumably there are descendants who are unaware of their weekend relatives. If I include his real name on my anc tree as an alternative then this could be picked up by a descendant.  Personally this would not matter to me, it was over a century ago, but others could see it differently even after all this time.  Might add at this stage I am the sole custodian of this information, with no written evidence and as I am approaching my use by date then I need to decide what to do.

Cheers. Ed

That depends if you want to record a true family history or whether you are content in falsifying the circumstances.

Your tree your choice.

The truth will come out the amount of hurt it will cause depends on how long the lie is maintained.
Cheers
Guy

[Kiltpin]

I agree with Guy - truth is truth and fact is fact.

There is an argument to be made that the feelings of the living should be spared wherever possible and that they should not be hurt or held to ridicule just for our entertainment.

In law, you cannot slander the dead, nor can you hurt their feelings. If you can prove your claims, I would publish. It is up to the owners of other trees whether they want to include the information or not.

Regards

Chas

[edmac]

Thank you both for your thoughts.  Like yourself,Guy, I have been researching for a long time. Lost count of the children born before wedlock, (not remarkable today) couples not marrying (even less remarkable) a grandfather serving six months in Manchester Gail, another failing to support his family due to drink and so on. It's family history and little to get anxious about, especially after a century or more but I am aware that others are not as sanguine. In this instance it would not be a case of falsification of the record, because there are no records. I know that it is the same man because of what I have been told by a credible witness but it I don't publish that information no one will know once I am gone.  But is it important to anyone outside of the two families? Does anyone need to know?

Still thinking about it.

Cheers. Ed

[hallmark]

Also depends on your tree being Public or Private!

[Guy Etchells]

You might find the following pages interesting-
http://www.rootschat.com/links/01n29/
and
http://www.rootschat.com/links/01n2a/

Finally generally there is no criminal liability for lying by omission (though there are certain situations when there is) it comes under a moral obligation rather than criminal law.

But remember; lying by omission breeds mistrust, in the case of a known fact left from a family tree/history that could render the entire family tree/history in jeopardy as people would wonder what had been missed out or even amended to ease the way.

Cheers
Guy

[familydar]

I don't understand "with no living descendants at this time", does this mean the three boys have died and you know with absolute certainty that none of them fathered any children?  If there's the slightest element of doubt, then as DNA testing for genealogical purposes becomes the norm, who knows what might be shaken loose?

Jane :-)

[edmac]

You might find the following pages interesting-
http://www.rootschat.com/links/01n29/
and
http://www.rootschat.com/links/01n2a/

Finally generally there is no criminal liability for lying by omission (though there are certain situations when there is) it comes under a moral obligation rather than criminal law.

But remember; lying by omission breeds mistrust, in the case of a known fact left from a family tree/history that could render the entire family tree/history in jeopardy as people would wonder what had been missed out or even amended to ease the way.

Cheers
Guy

I am not convinced that either of those articles are particularly relevant. If we go down the philosophical route there are numerous articles on the "law of unintendedly consequences" which could be cited.  As I don't know any of the members of the weekday family who are only remotely connected to my tree I cannot have any responsibility to them.  Yes I am careful that all the information recorded in my own database is correct and fully documented but I have yet to see a convincing argument that I am under any obligation to make it publicly available.

Cheers. Ed

[Kiltpin]

Yes I am careful that all the information recorded in my own database is correct and fully documented but I have yet to see a convincing argument that I am under any obligation to make it publicly available.

Cheers. Ed

If you have no intention of putting the information in the public domain, why are you collecting it?

Regards

Chas