Genealogy Chat

BIG TIP Be aware that there are some people on here who when contacting you because you have a name connection and it matches expect you to let them view your whole tree and then add it to theirs without so much as a thank you or concideration as to what it has cost you so far ! and then be dissapointed when you send them a gedcom consisting of only the family concerned with theirs when all they send you is a tree consisting of living people which they think you should be greatful for !. Because of this i have removed my tree from the web and also removed access to my tree except to those who are serious about their family research and not bandits like some. I have posted this in the general column as well.

I had this earlier on. I let someone view my tree - and that person copied everything onto their tree right up to the present date without even seeking permission. When I asked for the individual concerned to remove details they refused - got quite rude and left me feeling really bad. I always check with anyone I contact when sharing details to ask their permission to add the relevant people to my tree. I know that a lot of what you see can be sourced on the internet but there is a lot of information that I have that would require a lot of time and effort going to various records offices etc. I am more than happy to share but unfortunately there are some out there who manners passed them by. regards Helen

I know exactly what your saying, esp Jelly Bean! My family kept asking for info so i gladly gave little pieces out! But then I did a name search on here to see if any new people had added to this site, low and behold one of my family had! all info that i had given them! Not a word to me about it! Why not offer to help in the research then it would be glady availble to them! Oh well another moan for the day! Jude

I am carrying out a mini one-named study on the name Brewerton. I contact everyone I come across with that name. I have a pre written letter in word which explains what I am doing. Through this, I have been able to put people with only one or two names in touch with large trees. If it wasn't for the generosity of several people with large trees, I would not have got anywhere. About half the people I have contacted have replied and most have been very happy either to help to to receive the help. I presume the other half who have not answered are either not interested in FH, why oh why put tree on site, or find it difficult to share. If it wasn,t for trees on rootsweb I also would have not made the many contacts that I have. Everyone is welcome to my 551 names. Yes, it is rather frustrating if someone does not respond once you've opened your tree to them. I have found that a polite message asking them if they found the tree useful has always been replied to. For me, this hobby is about sharing. I have alreaddy paid for certs etc and have received so much help from others that it more than balances out. Regards Jeanie

I can honestly say that when I have shared Gedcoms it has been genuine, a fellow I was in touch with asked for my Gedcom file which I sent and he sent me his, and we were both helping each other and searching for all kinds of information. We still keep in touch now. Same with another both have been genuine. I must agree with you though you must be careful about who you let to see your tree and I have always respected other peoples privacy. It is only common curtesey to ask if it ok to copy some names over and people should respect them if the person says no. Regards Yvonne

with regard to Jeanie's ponint about people putting their trees on here and not rsponding. I find this so frustrating. I get fed up of emailing people when I see what may be a link and not getting a response. Why bother being on here if you do not want that contact. I had was emailing back and forth to a lady who's friend's tree she was doing. It was the nearest link that I had to my father's paternal side and to make things even more exciitng this lady live's in the same town as me. All I wanted was to get a little bit of info about a side of the family I knew nothing about and to pass on to her all that I knew as she had limited info coming the other way. This contact has gone completely cold. Maybe from her point of view I was too close for comfort although I explained I was only wishing to email no more. I must not complain though because there have been some wonderful people who have helped me build my tree to it's size and I am more than willing to repay where I can but I think that the eralier comment about the 7 veils is a good idea. I tend to go hurtling in with all the info in my excitement! Happy hunting in the meantime Helen

Hello All Thanks for all your opinions. Dont get me wrong in my original rant !! I get very excited when someone contacts me either via here or rootsweb and have made some very good genuine friendly family contacts and we have shared all we have. Those people i am more than happy to let them know all i know and have despite the cost ( to both parties) and we do still keep in touch when ever one of us finds something. This is the sort of relationship i like with those contacts as you feel like you are achieving something. Without some of these people i would never have moved on with certain branches of my tree. I have been in touch with some people who are unknowingly passing my original research back to me that had been passed on to them by someone i had given it to who had passed it on to them! Like i say its just the bandits who dont seem to want to do much work but want to be able to tell their friends they are researching their family tree a its such a trendy thing to do now. I wonder when we will see the first court case ' They stole my family tree and i want compensation' ' ................dont laugh to soon it will be here before we know it !!

Hi I just cannot understand people who copy verbatum other peoples trees. I am doing mine because I want to understand where I come from and what has gone to make me who I am, I've cried when I've seen children dying at a young age or pensioners in the workhouse etc. On Sunday I am going to the other side of the country for a week to visit where most of my ancestors came from and I cannot put into words how much I am looking forward to standing in the church where they were christened and married etc When I see others peoples trees yes it would be easy to just copy them down but at the end of the day you only have a list of names then which you could get out of any telephone directory. At the end of the day they are to be pitied for being so shallow and leading such empty lives