Personal web genealogies?

Question

Looking up some ancestors online, I've noticed several things, that not only is sourcing limited in many cases, but assumptions seem to be made, such as the great grandson of my 5 times great grandfather having the same middle name, and speculation on my 5x great grandfather's father's name. Variations on dates, as well, though I understand that more.

My questions are, shouldn't the people who make these pages be obligated to give sources as well as the reasoning for their claims? I have no idea if my 6 x great grandfather was named George or Alexander, how someone else does, I don't know, and am not sure they do either.

What other errors are made in genealogy pages?

Answer 1

Some years back, I had the opportunity to be in on preliminary marketing for a "new" genealogy program (very early on, internet wise). I remember being flabbergasted that the advertising I read specified that people could submit trees without DOCUMENTATION. I did not participate.
Unfortunately (1) what you recognize is correct and (2) you and I are in the minority. A large number of persons do NOT know what an original source is, nor why it is important.
"I have 4 trillion names in my database.. but I don't know if they are right .. I just collect them from other persons, and hey, it's just a fun pastime anyway".
It is very sad, because if you happen to have the actual documentation to disprove something, you wind up getting booed and hissed.
The internet IS a valuable tool, if used right. Many qualified and respected researchers saw this coming, some 15 yrs ago. All you can do is maintain your own standards, and when possible, try to pass along why it does matter.

Answer 2

>> shouldn't the people who make these pages be obligated to give sources as well as the reasoning for their claims?

Sure. And ads for male enhancement products should come with the warning "Nobody cares about size, stupid. What women want is a man with a sense of humor who will help around the house and commit to marry her."

Letters from Nigerians should come with a warrning "I don't really work for the oil ministry".

Hot stock tips should not come at all.

Half the genealogy on the Internet is better than the other half. The best has extensive notes and sources, and, where there is a question, the notes give the possibilities and the arguments for each.

The worst is a dodge-podge done by people dead-set on collecting individuals as fast as they can download a GEDCOM.


>> What other errors are made in genealogy pages

The first White settlement in Ohio was Marietta, founded in 1788. If you go to RWWC, leave the names blank, enter "OH" as a birth state and use 1767 for birth year, with a range of 20 years, you'll get 40,000+ people born 1747 - 1787 in Ohio. Some are Indians, which is legitimate. Most are white people, which proves some genealogists don't think before they write down a birth date and place.

People made mistakes and leaped to false conclusions in the paper and pencil days too; there were fewer of them and their data was not immediately accessible to the world, as it is today.

You are probably beginning to see why many of the stock answers we geezers paste into the Q from the whipper-snappers have a line about verifying.
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Added later:

Some people intentionally take the sources off their GEDCOMs before they upload them to RWWC, so that other people can't download 30 years of research and pass it off as their own.

Answer 3

There are many reasons for the variations of dates, names and places. Dates, like you said are easy to understand. With names it often that spellings change, names where spelled wrong on the historical record, or intinals where used, people often get people and information mixed up in their tree, i've done it a few times myself. Also people used their middle name instead of their first, or simply went by another name.
Names of places also change, or death or birth places are assumed because a family stayed in the same place for decades.
There are alot of people with thier own family history pages that give the sources they used, but remember historical records are not 100 percent correct. I have found several of my ancestors names spelled differently on each census i found for them, first and last name spelled differently. The key is to use the information u find and research it yourself, to the point you are happy with what you can find. or simply omit the information you doubt.

Answer 4

Your questions have bothered me as long as I've been doing online genealogy. Yes, I think people posting information should have to provide documentation, but the biggest genealogy sites don't even provide much opportunity to do so, much less require it. Maybe if enough of us stand up, such sites will at least start providing a way to post documentation if we have it!