General Chat

Probably from sheer boredom and for something to do I logged onto Ancestry and on the front page inputted various names from my tree - different surnames, to see if anyone else was looking. I then scrolled down to Public Trees and was absolutely amazed to see my mother's name on there, her correct date of birth, the address where she was born, the date she died and where she died. Her father and mother were also on there but none of her siblings (they obviously didn't know them) I also spotted several glaring mistakes. I looked at the name of the owner of the tree and it said mandyandjohn1. Well, we have no Mandy in our family as far back as I can go. SO how on earth has someone got my mothers details so accurately. It quite spooked me to be honest.

I should imagine Margaret, that they had a "hint" from ancestry and so looked at it and assumed it matched something they have in their tree and therefore copied it. Did you look through their tree to see where the connection could come from?

~Tina x

There is a link way way back to early 1800's. They have my great-grandfather on too - wrong year and place of birth, but it is my Mother appearing there that has shocked me because that info is 100% correct and nowhere on any site have I got my tree. All my tree is on my own computer on Family Tree Maker programme. It seems an isolated bit of info as mum's siblings and her husband (my Dad) are not on. I feel like contacting them and asking them 'who are you' ??

Hi Margaret,

I think I would too, but have a look and see how many are on their tree.

They must have got the info from somewhere.

Kind regards
Amanda

Margaret, I have just put a piece on another thread re tree copiers, about Ancestry. I have said it before on this site. About 3 yrs ago I found my oldest sister Tui Mary Bettany on several trees. They had her b in Ireland (first error). Much worse, her alleged spouse was b in USA in 1723.
First, I doubt very much if Tui was an ancient Irish name. Second, many of them had her father (and mine) with the correct full name and y.o.b. of 1899. In the profile of the people with these errors, they claim to have a degree (in lunacy?) and one even claims to be a retired commander of the US navy!
I contacted as many people as I could, pointing out the error. Not many replied. Some were apologetic and have corrected the error. Others insist it must be a different person. Most did not reply.
One very bald Huia.

hi margret i have had the same i sent them a message asking how they came by this info and where the conection was not one of them have had the decency to reply i assume they are just name collecters so i now ignore them.

I, too, have put something on the other thread. Sufficient to say that this week, I found my daughter's full name (both first and second christian names, plus surname) on World Connect.

Found out that the tree owner is the GR/GR/GRANDSON of the SISTER of her HUSBAND's GR/GR/GR/GRANDMOTHER! Her husband's mother had completed her tree five years ago and given copies to relatives. She did not have a tree on the internet, and yet this distant relative of hers has copied all of her information and uploaded it for all the world to see. I have asked him to remove or shield it - preferably remove it. How can he say he is related to my daughter?

It wouldn't take much to make enquiries about the people who are living, and with her full name there - presto! identity theft!

Another person put MY details on World Connect and had me married to two men at the same time and mother to two extra children I know nothing about! Again, it was mixed with a very distant cousin born with the same TWO birth names and mine, but when they couldn't find her marriage, they used mine and put my full three names to it.

Hi everyone - thanks for your input. As I said previously my tree is on my computer and my computer alone. They could, as you say, have got her date of birth from her death notification online, but how would they have known her address at birth and the address of the place she died? I don't know why I am so uptight about this but stupid me, I am. I have sent an email asking who they are and how they came by the information but am not holding my breath for a reply. Unfortunately there is no way I can have it deleted and really there is no necessity for me to do so except that I am, for some unknown irrational reason, upset by it.