What do you do if you realise Ancestry hints are mistaken?

[M_ONeill]

The only thing that vaguely annoys me is Ancestry suggesting American records for people who barely left their one village in their lifetime. I personally double check anything else before I put it in my tree, so I don't mind the other hints.

I guess I just wish there were ways to help other people avoid sometimes-credible pitfalls. I guess I'm nice like that. 

[kiwihalfpint]

You should never just download the hints. Always check them out. Many just download and make terrible mistakes.

Oh yes, they take for granted it is right, even though they have a certificate, and it was attached, they haven't checked the parent's names.  The right year, same name, but different parents, even I double checked on SP as this person is elusive to find.  To date, no thank you for the heads up.  At the end of the day, I know my tree is right.

Even FindMyPast is giving me hints.

Cheers
KHP

[Greensleeves]

I agree about the hints - ignore them as most of them are total nonsense.  It is unfortunate for me that a lot of my ancestors came from in and around Ipswich, Suffolk, England.  It is also unfortunate that other people in the US often see Ipswich and assume it's Massachusetts, and this leads to all sorts of curious hints turning up in relation to my family.  My poor old great-grandfather, who never set foot out of Suffolk, appears in some trees as having been born in Ipswich, Suffolk, then hopped over the pond to Ipswich Mass. to father a few kids, then back again to Ipswich, Suffolk (and with an illegitimate child in tow on some accounts - the child is actually his grand-daughter) and then, blow me down, he's off again to die in Massachusetts.  So Ancestry hints?  Forget them.

[ladybird]

I added to notes/comments to at least ½ dozen trees explaining the situation and adding proof details they could check (if they so desired of course!) It remains to be seen if the rest of the sheep follow. This particular branch has a lot of copycats 

[kiwihalfpint]

Very similar to one my trees GS, while still married in Scotland, went to Ireland, became a bigamist, then went to the USA third time bigamist, got a divorce, went to back to Scotland when it was revealed he never married.   I think the best one I have seen is that an 80 year old died in 1917 at war!

I never trust the hints, if there are gaps in the tree, I am sure in the future, they will pop up to reveal themselves when they are ready!


Cheers
KHP

[guest189040]

In Account > Preferences you can change Hints.

It is sad that so many Ancestry users just seem to accept any hint no matter how erroneous it may turn out to be.

[Sinann]

Oh I am inherently skeptical of hints, Medpat. Worse than the absolute nonsense ones are the ones that on first glance seem reasonable.

I think that's why I felt bad for others who had followed this particular hint. Without the corroborating evidence of the will the information seemed like it'd be a perfect fit.

Why not just contact one or two and explain about the will. If they are otherwise well researched trees it seems unfair to allow them to go down the wrong road just because there are so many hint followers out there, it's up to them to believe you or not.

[pharmaT]

I just ignore them. There is absolutely no use in saying anything to Ancestry IME. For example (much to my annoyance) Ancestry have allocated a whole bunch of Scottish death records to the wrong county.  Not a transcription issue, they have the post code area of the deaths and Ancestry have allocated a county themselves.  Completely wrong county, opposite side of the country.  I have contacted them and sent evidence to prove the location that post code refers to but they are all still the wrong county.  Yes I can cope as I have the originals, I know the area (both of them) but not helpful to those without local knowledge so it annoys me that they won't fix it.

[M_ONeill]

Why not just contact one or two and explain about the will. If they are otherwise well researched trees it seems unfair to allow them to go down the wrong road just because there are so many hint followers out there, it's up to them to believe you or not.

I ended up doing just that - although given the amount of messages I needed to send, I doubt I could make a habit out of it!