Beware ThruLines

[chris_49]

Ancestry DNA has been very useful to me. I have found matches with people who confirm my relationship with all 13 of my known great-great-grandparents, some many times over, and many other lines further back.

So I was keen to find a supposed link to one of these greatx3 ancestors, a Taylor, via her sibling, to someone who was also a match on another line. However, checking proved that someone had conflated a Gilbert born in North Warwickshire with another born in Cubbington, centre county - whose actual parents are known and different.

No harm done. But then I had a match with someone whose tree said descended through farmer's son John Reece of Bronington Flints who was obviously wrong - on censuses with wife Sarah at the same time as the other with wife Clara in Cefn Mawr, a miner and Welsh speaking (unlikely for a Bronington man) but whose birthplace was not known on censuses (filled in by his stepson 1911),

So having eliminated all the other John Reece  from very near the border, I was ready to assume that this was my John Rees of Cefn -  especially since his marriage as Rees gave his father as Thomas Rees deceased, which would be right - until I went and looked at the 1921 where he clearly gives his PoB as Machynlleth, Mont (there are a lot born there thenabout).   

So this (so far) removes the proof from this well-researched branch, although can there really be more than one Rowland Rees born c1790 Llanrhaeadr-ym-Mochnant?

And how am I related to this match? With the rest of her ancestors Irish or central English, the only one is Edna Winifred Lloyd 1904 West Derby. No such person, but if it's the Winifred born 1903, her father Edward Francis Lloyd born Whittington Salop has a father John Lloyd born Llansantffraed-ym-Mechain who might just be the John found on the 1841 aged 10 in nearby Llanfechain, but not on the 1851 where his siblings are born Llanfechain. It's not enough to go on.

And how do I approach this lady and tell her that her tree is wrong? The above text is longer than Rootschatters like, and the full details (available if anyone's interested) would be much longer, and I don't know how experienced she is. Any advice?

Mods, please don't move to the DNA board just yet. Chris

[TreeDigger]

Ancestry's Thru Lines are both a blessing and a curse. The latter lies in the fact errors from trees are propagated by Ancestry in hints and the records served up through their algorithm, which in turn has people using those for their trees, etc, etc, etc.

Telling people their trees are wrong is, in my experience at least, useless. Of the scores of trees dealing with my family from Wolverhampton, none have been updated with the (proven) correct information, despite contacting a lot of people.

It is as it is.

[Biggles50]

Look at any Thruline.

From your match he has his Dad as Tom but he has not put in his Grandfather.

Look at the Evaluate hint and it shows the Grandfather as Dick, look at the trees and they have Harry as Dick’s Father.

You then move up the tree to evaluate the next person but it is not Harry it is Bill and Bill’s Father is shown as Fred.

You move up the tree but its not Fred its Bert.

Yes, Thrulines is flawed by rubbish tree links.

[phil57]

You have also posted this same subject in the Common Room, and to save typing it all out again, I have replied there.

https://www.rootschat.com/forum/index.php?topic=881202.msg7537473#msg7537473

Starting the same topic in more than one sub-forum is not really helpful, as leads to fragmentation and confusion.

I don't know if the moderators are able to merge the other topic into this one?