Yes, I want you to take anything and everything connected to my public family trees and add that stuff to your own tree if we have mutual ancestors. That's why I shared all those things publicly.
Genealogical clues and cousin bait on my trees
These items are great genealogical clues, and they're also great cousin bait. So go ahead and save to your tree!
As shown above, 20 members of Ancestry have saved the unique handwritten version of family history jotted down by my husband's grandfather, Brice Larimer McClure (1878-1970). These people were his relatives, and his notes have been fantastic clues for further investigation. Some of the members who saved this to their family tree have been in touch with me to exchange additional information, including a few who are DNA matches with my husband.
Cousin bait, not just genealogical clues.
LOCKSS vs "my tree"
I share widely because of LOCKSS: lots of copies keep stuff safe for today and tomorrow.
I recognize that some people are unhappy when their trees are copied and their materials used without attribution. They've done a lot of work and they would at least like to be recognized for that work when someone else copies from a public tree. Although I certainly understand and respect this perspective, it's not my approach.
When I started on my genealogy journey in 1998, many people kindly shared info with me. They gave me a head-start. Now I'm paying it forward and looking ahead with LOCKSS.
If I don't want something copied (such as personal photos), I don't post that stuff these days. On the family photos I do post online, I've been adding the name of the person, dates if known, and then "Courtesy ___ Family" to clarify the source (as on this photo of my great uncle, which I posted on WikiTree).
The more people who have ancestor names and supporting materials on their trees, the less likely these ancestors will be forgotten in the decades to come. I want my research to be available long after the distant day when I join my ancestors, not just in the hands of my family but more widely.
This is why I post trees on multiple sites (WikiTree, Ancestry, MyHeritage, and so on) and add to the FamilySearch tree. I also have heirs on both sides of the tree who will become custodians of my genealogy collection in the future.
What will happen to your family history? Are you taking steps now to keep your genealogy, stories, and materials safe in the years to come?
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For ideas on how to plan ahead, please see my popular book, Planning a Future for Your Family's Past, available from Amazon US/Canada/UK/Europe. If you're on Kindle Unltd, you can read the ebook for free!
I 100% agree with your philosophyh!!
ReplyDeleteI agree also with your thinking and I am happy to have people copy my information and/or photos to their tree. BUT what about those who copy my information and put on their tree incorrectly thinking my data applies to their ancestors? This is a huge problem for me and I wonder how you address this situation. I have done extensive research since the 1970's and I have seen people take my German information and photos (of ancestors from Germany who never came to the US) and post this information on their trees indicating an ancestor died in Montana, etc. Originally I would reach out to these people, congratulate them on their research and kindly point out, however, that my ancestor is not their ancestor because....Over the years only ONE person responded back to me, apologized and took down the incorrect data. I want my research to continue to extend to others in the decades ahead but I certainly don't want erroneous data out there but I am lost as to how to avoid it. Your advice would be greatly appreciated.
ReplyDeleteYou make some very good points. When we attach sources to our trees, it backs up what we say about our ancestors. I've also had people mistakenly add my ancestor(s) to their tree, despite sources clearly indicating the ancestor doesn't belong on their tree. I can't prevent others from doing this, but sometimes I include comments on ancestors or sources explaining the situation in more detail, such as pointing to more than one person with same name in that town but here's why I believe my person belongs on my tree. Ultimately others who look at trees with mistakes will have to read sources for themselves to understand why an ancestor does or does not belong on that tree! Thanks for reading and commenting.
DeleteThanks, Marian, for your thoughts. I will continue to make specific notes on applicable Ancestry pages as the need arises.
DeleteIt is wonderful that you are willing to share your research. Of course, we all must remember to cite our sources.
ReplyDelete