Today I'm updating a family using information from two obituaries I found when at the library the other day. I won't use names because the family is local and several members are still alive.
After I enter information from an obituary I check to see what I can find on Ancestry.com and the internet. Well, today's search leaves me frustrated. One of the children has an incorrect death date and place on Ancestry.com family trees. I know that it is wrong as I have sources showing the 'child' is still alive. I don't know who attached that death date and information to their family tree first, but two others have copied the information and posted it online. Argh! I wonder how many more times the misinformation will be copied in the future?
I'm sure the people posting the information believe they have the correct information because it comes from US Veterans Gravesites on Ancestry.com and the SSDI. The person on the Gravesites data and SSDI has the same birthdate as the family member...well...it's a year off. That's not necessarily unusual. The middle initial is wrong...that's not unusual either, however, it does not match the middle name. If I didn't have the information I have showing that this person CANNOT be the same, I would see this as possible information for my cousin.
This is not the first time I have found misinformation in family trees posted online. Sometimes I think dates have been intentionally entered wrong on online family trees and wonder if the owner did that because of all of the copying without researching or giving credit.
Now, what do I do about it? I'm not going to do anything about it. Right or wrong, that's my decision. I am not going to take the time to contact all of the owners of the incorrect family trees. If I can find the information online to prove the person is still alive, so can the others.
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