Genealogy: Finding Your Folks

Unfortunately, you don’t ‘own’ your ancestors

By Judy Fowler Kilgore
Genealogy Columnist

Judy Fowler Kilgore is the religion editor and genealogy columnist for The Citizen. She regrets that time does not permit her to do personal family research for others. She may be reached at jkilgore@thecitizennews.com or jodiek444@aol.com.

Those of you (us) who do genealogy on the Internet (some of it), especially the newbies at this stuff, may have browsed the family trees and discovered your own family (maybe even yourself) attached to some of them. You may not even know the person who “owns” the tree. When this occurs, some react with surprise, some with shock, and some with downright anger.

“How dare they put my family on the Internet!” they say. Most of the time, anger is not justified since the person, even though you don’t know him or her, may be a distant relative. And there are no “rules” to this game of family research. Anyone can research anyone’s family.

But sometimes you come across a “name collector” or a “tree copier” and it does make you a little angry. Especially if the information they have is erroneous. No sources, no documentation, just names and dates. Irritating, isn’t it?

Unfortunately, there is nothing you can do about it except ask the person to correct it or, if the information contains living people, remove it. Depending on how courteous they are, your request may or may not be granted.

Rootsweb and Ancestry are not responsible for the content of the trees on their Web sites, and they can’t help you at all. Don’t even bother to ask.

This discussion came across one of the Roots-L lists recently and I thought it was worth mentioning, since many people have the wrong idea about family research. Like it or not, you don’t “own” your ancestors — not even your parents, siblings and children. Unless you or your parents came from a one-child family, they are someone’s brothers and sisters, someone’s aunts and uncles, and someone’s cousins. Even fourth cousins five times removed are still relatives and all are part of the family tree.

But, even if “tree owners” are not related, they can still put your family out there as an allied family if their family married into yours somewhere along the way. Or, they can just put your family out there — period — for no reason.

Why would someone want to do that? There are many reasons, some I can only guess at, others I can justify.

In case you haven’t noticed, doing genealogy is fun, even when you’re not researching your own family. I have many families connected to my family tree who are not even remotely related to me. The Kirby family is a good example. Remember, I found their Bible in an antique store and wrote about them here? Someone eventually claimed the Bible and it is awaiting a permanent home with the Newnan Historical Society (if they will ever return my e-mail). I was able to connect the Kirbys through a very remote allied line on my family tree (the Dents), but they are not even my distant cousins. However, researching the family was fun, and gave me a great topic to write about here.

Another reason to research unrelated families is to get back to an elusive ancestor who is related. My McWhorters and Boyds married other McWhorters and Boyds right and left. But it was only when I researched back into the early 1700s and found a common ancestor, that I was able to determine the relationship between the two people who married (if, indeed, there was one). Needless to say, I collected many stray surnames and families along the way. It was the only way to get there.

Another reason for researching unrelated families is that you never know when someone new is going to get on the Internet and your tree may have that connection they’re looking for. Helping someone knock down a brick wall is one of the greatest feelings there is in genealogy. And, if my remote, unrelated family can help someone get started, then so be it.

What does make me a little angry are the name collectors and the tree copiers. Their trees hold no value at all because few have sources and most are inaccurate. They aren’t researchers at all because they more than likely haven’t a clue whether the information is correct and they don’t really care. The more names, the merrier. I just hope people can distinguish between these and the trees of legitimate, dedicated researchers.

But, in all fairness, if a little 80-year-old man or lady gets their jollies from collecting names and having a big sprawling tree on the Internet, then, I say, “Have at it, honey.” It allows them to do something at home when they are unable to get out and about, keeps their minds sharp, and keeps them in touch with people all over the world. Internet friends, although you may never meet them in person, are terrific folks.

As I have said so many times, courtesy is the key here. And privacy should be respected when it comes to living people. If someone has inaccurate information on your family, approach them in a courteous manner and ask them to correct it. If they have any manners at all, they will. If they don’t respond, add a Post-em note on the family tree with the correct information. They may delete it, but you can put it back again. But, unless you are rude or obnoxious in the manner in which you ask, I think, people will honor your request.

Another important thing to remember ... if you do find information on your family on someone’s tree, and it is new information for you, before you add it to your tree, have the courtesy to ask their permission first. And always give that person as your source until you can research it yourself.

You may not own your ancestors, but you can do your best to see that information displayed on them is accurate.

I appreciate and welcome all letters and e-mails about genealogy and info on south metro Atlanta families. Send them to The Citizen, Drawer 1719, Fayetteville, GA 30214; e-mail jkilgore@thecitizennews.com or jodiek444@aol.com. Any letters and/or e-mails I receive are subject to being used in the column.

Until next week, happy hunting!