[DAVES]

Originally Posted by Rainger99

You will be amazed at the number of mistakes in the official records. I had an uncle and the county had the wrong middle name on his birth certificate. I told them it was wrong and they wanted me to pay to correct their records! The record is still wrong!

Amusing, I do not fill out surveys with correct information. My sister was all upset when she discovered a website called SPOKEO. It listed her address, her husband, her kids and even her dog's name. On me, due to some information they found on me. It says I am 150 years old and can buy and sell Buffet. People I know. My aunt must have looked me up, because she is now the only one I know. Amusing, she does not know when I was born, my birthday. I am now far younger, for better or for worse. It is still not correct but getting closer.

Far as the wrong middle name. It was common for people to change their names unofficially. My dad used his middle name as his name and it was an abbreviation of his real middle name. My mom lied about her age. She was actually older than my father.
My dad knew and used to tease about it. When, she put in for social security it was yet another pain to correct the records.

[Smokpol]

Originally Posted by Greg L

I started my family tree on Ancestry and an overwhelmed by all of the hints. I need help understanding how to use the hints and delete irrelevant ones. If you like ancestry I would really appreciate your help.

Do your research, get your names & dates Then explore the hints. You need to do the primary research and supplement with info gleaned from hints. Hints are basically other people’s input into the database. You can use documents in hints to attach to your ancestors (if name and basic info is matches your info you found for your ancestors).
PM me if you need more help…

[ElDiabloJoe]

Good info on the NYC databases, Blueish, thank you!

Originally Posted by DAVES

Amusing, I do not fill out surveys with correct information. My sister was all upset when she discovered a website called SPOKEO. It listed her address, her husband, her kids and even her dog's name. On me, due to some information they found on me. It says I am 150 years old and can buy and sell Buffet. People I know. My aunt must have looked me up, because she is now the only one I know. Amusing, she does not know when I was born, my birthday. I am now far younger, for better or for worse. It is still not correct but getting closer.

Far as the wrong middle name. It was common for people to change their names unofficially. My dad used his middle name as his name and it was an abbreviation of his real middle name. My mom lied about her age. She was actually older than my father.
My dad knew and used to tease about it. When, she put in for social security it was yet another pain to correct the records.

^This!! My paternal grandfather and maternal great-grandfather were embellishing story tellers (i.e.- liars). They would give complete B.S. answers to census takers and when applying for initial passports (after they left Ireland and became U.S. citizens) and on visa declarations. The maternal great-aunts would fudge their ages so they could travel alone or as adults to bring back other children.

Ya gotta check, double-check, triple- check, confirm with family and seek even more records. Then hold it all and sit on it a while to percolate before deciding what "facts" to enter into your tree. Caution is the key here.

[fdpaq0580]

Originally Posted by ElDiabloJoe

Good info on the NYC databases, Blueish, thank you!



^This!! My paternal grandfather and maternal great-grandfather were embellishing story tellers (i.e.- liars). They would give complete B.S. answers to census takers and when applying for initial passports (after they left Ireland and became U.S. citizens) and on visa declarations. The maternal great-aunts would fudge their ages so they could travel alone or as adults to bring back other children.

Ya gotta check, double-check, triple- check, confirm with family and seek even more records. Then hold it all and sit on it a while to percolate before deciding what "facts" to enter into your tree. Caution is the key here.

Too much trouble for me. I give up. Think I'll just identify as some fun blend of humanity and call that "close enough".