Many family history websites have 'hints' options that show you their records with your ancestor's name. These frequently include other users' family trees. Finding someone else's research into your relative may seem great - but be wary of adding other people's research and relatives to your family tree without double-checking them, for these ten reasons...
1. A lack of sources
Always be wary of trees with no sources attached, and never blindly copy them. If you can verify a person’s research through multiple sources – which may already be attached to their tree – then this can help to prove the line is correct.
2. A gap in the trail
If an online tree appears to have solved your brick wall, always ask where the evidence is – even if multiple trees share the same information. It’s entirely possible that all of those family historians have just copied one another, and nobody has taken the time to properly research the link between a parent and child. For example, my 5x great grandmother Elizabeth Samways has her father listed as John on 35 online trees, but I have proved that her father was actually Henry. While I have the sources to back this up, my tree is kept private meaning there are no correct family trees featuring Elizabeth currently online.
3. A claim to fame
There appears to be an increasing trend for family historians to want to uncover a relationship to royalty or a celebrity, and for their enthusiasm to overcome their caution. You should research such lines the same way that you would a connection to anybody else: go step by step, and thoroughly check all available sources.
4. A relative's incorrect coat of arms
You don’t need to be an expert in heraldry, but always remember that a coat of arms is not something that belongs to a particular surname. If one of your forebears has a coat of arms attached to them on somebody else’s tree, never copy this without researching it first. Many are attached incorrectly, and are usually easy to spot.
5. Misidentified old family photographs
If you find one of your relations on another tree with a photograph attached, this can be very exciting. But it is always worth asking the person who uploaded the photograph how they came across the image, and who passed it down to them. This can help you assess the likelihood that you are indeed looking at your ancestor rather than a stranger. I have been given two photographs of my great great grandfather that are clearly depicting two different men.
6. Nonsensical dates
If key dates don’t add up, it’s a sign that a tree has been badly researched. This includes a mother giving birth two years after she died, or a person living to the age of 130. Check trees for mistakes such as these so you know not to waste your time.
7. Time-consuming mistakes
By copying one wrong forebear across and tracing this person’s branch further back, you could end up spending years – if not decades – researching a line that is not actually related to you. We may desperately want to break down a brick wall or be related to royalty, but copying details from someone else’s online tree will not make this true. Your time is valuable, and you owe it to yourself, and past and future generations of your family, to use this time to research your tree thoroughly source by source.
8. Misleading DNA shortcuts
Autosomal DNA testing can help prove your tree as far back as six or seven generations. However, this must be done using the correct means. You need to be very careful about the suggestions provided by DNA testing sites, because they are not always as accurate as they might seem at first glance. This includes ThruLines on Ancestry and the Theory of Family Relativity on MyHeritage, both of which are based on the information in other people’s online trees – so can be all too fallible.
9. Quick and dirty trees
Family historians who are trying to prove a DNA link often create a ‘quick and dirty’ online tree. These are put together less carefully than normal, flitting from record to record and person to person to see if a suggested relationship tallies up with their DNA results. These family trees should always be kept private. In many cases you will find that they have been made public instead, and are full of false information that someone else may copy. Another researcher may then see that two people have the same information on their trees, assume it is correct and copy it across… and so the trend continues.
10. Tiny traps
Even if an online tree has a majority of information correct, copying one wrong detail can disrupt and derail your research. There may be an incorrect occupation, or details of a false criminal past. These ‘facts’ can make you waste your time searching for records that don’t exist, and lead you to believe things about your ancestor that just aren’t true.