General Chat

it is of no real interest - are we back to quanity not quality? A few days ago I contacted a person on Ancestry and asked what her connection was to
John Bloggs, and that I had proven documention which would give her some correct data if she wished. Reply - the connection was so tenuous not worth the bother!

I asked then if that was so why had she bothered with at least 5 generations of my relations? Reply still tenous and as my tree was on the edge of hers it did not matter if it had errors or not!

I am flummoxed, been researching for 25 years and I prefer to check everything backwards, upside down and on my head to ensure correctness. Am I being daft?

Hi Chris, yes I have had similar experience, one person who was related about 5 generations back to my OH who when I opened my tree took all my family back to 1600. I asked him to remove which he did not, obviously I closed my tree. He has a tree on another site and I have cracked his password lol so I can see what he is up to.
Carol

On 19th January 2011 I posted a query on this very subject. Someone had been highlighted as a hot match and so I contacted him. He gave me permission to view his tree but as it contained 47,000 names I could not view any of it to find the connection. When I contacted him again to explain the difficulty and to ask how he might be related, he replied that there were so many names on his tree,he couldn't possibly know!

I am a keen researcher but fail to see the point of adding names simply for the sake of it. While it is interesting to research, for example, the in-laws, the connection becomes somewhat tenuous when trying to forge a link with the mother-in-law of the uncle of the cousin 5 times removed!!

Oh PP - welcome to the family, I have been searching for you!!!!! Glad to know someone is on my side!

Carol you must be clever to crack a password.

Hi Chris,

I have had the opposite experience. Last year I contacted someone on here, she is the grandaughter of my grandfather's brother. I knew that she had only recently started her family tree so asked her if she would like some information. Her reply was along the lines of "we are too distantly related to be of any use" !!

What was that all about?

Libby - Pardon? What in the of all that is holy does she expect a tree to consist of? Perhaps her 2 x gparents are too remote?

At the moment I am in contact and helping the g.gdaughter of the brother to OH's gfather. As her father was orphaned at an early age she knew nothing and I have been able to tell her a lot (not jsut dates), scan copies of photos (including one of her father on his mother's knee with his gmother and g.gmother behind, also her grans memorial card.

Oh well Libby it is her loss - one day she will realise what a silly girl she was.

My thoughts exactly Chris.

She obviously only wants a Family Shrub :))

Just hope she doesn't spend too long searching for the marriage of our gg grandparents because there wasn't one. Plus our g grandfather was born out of wedlock and his siblings were born to my gg grandmother and her husband !!

They all took on my gg grandfathers surname some time between 1891 and 1901.

As you say - her loss.

x

My own ancestors emigrated to Australia from Glos. in 1837. My husband was the first of his family to emigrate from Lancs (1950) and our marriage was the first time the two families had anything to do with each other - yet Hot Matches had someone whose ancestor matched one of mine, and was married to my husband's ancestor - born in 1775. My own research proved this to be impossible.

When I wrote and asked how we could be related, he answered that he had thousands of names in his tree and didn't have the time to be bothered with the 'peripheral' relatives. I found later, that I had allowed him access to my tree a few years ago (when I was naive). I'm very careful about allowing access these days.

I have tried to warn relative (who is fairly new to this) of the same. Unfortunately experience makes you wary and it is a shame as there are so many nice and helpful people out there in the genealogy world who have no interest in your trees but are there to help and support you.

PP - I do not blame you for having a whinge. As you say a thank you is sufficient.