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I primarily use FS. I also have various public trees on Ancestry, including one that I update for my own family based on my FS research.
I've only had someone try to change my FS tree once in the past 5 years that I've had it there.
I do believe that Ancestry has the private tree option where people cannot change/link to your tree but the public trees are there for people to view and add to. I know because I've linked up with distant cousin's and their trees on Ancestry, but I always message them first to confirm the relationship. I also only do it with people who have more information on a specific relative (usually a 3rd-5th aunt/uncle and their children/grandchildren).
I would just heavily monitor the FS tree and immediately delete the people not related to me. I'd also message that person to notify them that every time they add inaccurate info/data that I am going to delete it and advise them to create their own tree.
I use FS more because it is free and because they have some international source material. Every couple years I do reactivate my Ancestry account for 3-6 months to do some genealogical research associated with my local history hobby (I create trees of black/colored residents of the city I'm from in an effort to document their family histories. I plan on creating a text on our early black history and families in the future, hopefully in the next 10 years).
I put an abreviated tree on Ancestry. Mostly I need to look up dates and full names, but also because there is a big maybe. My grandmother was almost six feet. Her two sisters born before her were barely over four foot, and the family was also short and stout.
Grandma told me that the story wasn't official, but her mother had two husbands. The first was the short Irishman. Her sisters, a few years older than her, had the Irishman as a father. But her mother remarried and she was the result. Her father was English, also named Smith, and over six foot tall. He and the first one were both mine inspectors. The English possible was killed in a mine accident when she was a baby.
I actually wonder if she may not have officially married him. This was end of the West Iowa, and she might have intended to but didn't in time. But I met some of the other side of the family and when I was about 11, I was as tall as my aunts. And I'm just a bit over 5 foot. It does make me think that this could be true, since my grandmother was six foot and looked way tall to me as a kid.
I set it up as a might be one or the other, but nothing has cited it. I should be getting the dna results from the test I sent in, and while it might not show anything, it also might get some hits from some of those related who still live in the midwest. There's a lot of family trees but since one of the family names is Smith, lots to look into.
I'm just really interested in who and how far they go. The furthest back reference I have is a great 5x grandfather who took to stealing and after defending himself in British court, had his sentence reduced to transportation. He arrived as an indentered convict on the very first ship sent after Parliment had voted to send them. Ancestry even had the bill of sale as he and his brother were sold to a plantation in Maryland.
I also wonder if any of his English relations would match?
The two of you seem to disagree. Michele says it happens on Ancestry, yet PA2UK says no.
I don't want to join Ancestry only to have the same thing occur.
You're misunderstanding. Michele is saying that at Ancestry people will copy data from your tree to theirs. They can not alter or edit your tree, only what they add to their own tree from yours. That is absolutely true, unless you make your tree private. I'm not disputing that. But at FamilySearch, people can edit your own tree/data, just as you can edit theirs. At Ancestry, that's not possible unless you make someone editor of your tree.
And for people considering Ancestry.com for DNA testing, I implore that you learn exactly who owns that info.
Scare mongering articles have being leading people to wrongly believe you lose ownership of your DNA with AncestryDNA. This is not true. I implore you to read up on it.
"Let’s start with one thing the article says that is wrong: that testing means the testing company owns your DNA forever but you lose your ownership of your data after a period of years.
Um, no. With all due respect, there’s nothing in any company’s testing terms and conditions that strips you of your right to your data down the road. Your data remains your data, period."
"Allowing Ancestry.com to license your DNA data does not mean they own it, in the full, permanent, exclusive sense in which that word is typically understood."
"First, we very clearly state that AncestryDNA does not “claim ownership rights in the DNA that is submitted for testing.†You own your DNA; this sentence helps make it clear that nothing we do takes, or has ever taken, that ownership from you.
Second, we’re clear that because you are owner of your DNA, we need you to grant us a license to your data so that we can provide our products and services to you and our other users, as well as develop new products and services. You can revoke this right at any time by requesting we delete your data or your account."
So, I see that both Ancestry.com and FamilySearch.org are both affiliated with LDS. I put no identifying info on FS and Ancestry only holds a tree. I am not a paying user there nor am I actively researching there. They do NOT have my DNA.
I will stick to doing independent research while using the free search engine at FamilySearch as needed. SMH.
FamilySearch.org is indeed owned by LDS, not just affiliated.
As far as I know, the only current association Ancestry.com has with LDS is that Ancestry allows LDS church members free access to Ancestry - this is because LDS pays them for it, not because Ancestry favors them. It's a simple business transaction - the organization is paying for access for it's members, just like other institutions do (libraries, schools, etc): Ancestry.com - Ancestry Library Edition
I forgot to mention that on Family Search you can add profiles to your Watch List. Click on star icon under the person's name at the top of their profile page to do so. I've added all my direct ancestors to my Watch List.
I receive an email weekly listing changes anyone has made to those profiles so that I can review those changes.
This has been going on since forever. One of my ancestors is Anamela. Someone mistyped Qanamela (Note the Q and A keys are adjacent. Qanamela made it into the Mormon IGI. When possible lock your tree. When not possible, dont put it there.
People will bother from your tree no matter where you are. And report inaccurate results AS THEIR OWN RESEARCH. Is that not the root of the issue in the OP?
I have no idea how else to express this. I made a thread about this here years ago, where people were "borrowing" from my tree. "Borrowing" from my tree and reporting it on their own at Ancestry versus "editing" your tree at FamilyTree isn't all that different.
Crap in/crap out is still crap.
And btw, my tree at Ancestry is PRIVATE. And as such for a reason.
Of course it's different!
First, the second greatest scourge of genealogical research is people who feel that 'their' research should belong to them. You CAN'T copyright facts or data. You CAN copyright stories and text that you personally write. Non-commercial research that you keep private is pretty much valueless in every field of endeavor, but especially so in genealogy. If you are researching your own genealogy for money or fame, or to keep to yourself, I'm sorry, you are doing it wrong.
Second, everyone knows that the vast majority of family trees made public on Ancestry are group efforts, even though that particular iteration is being maintained by a specific member. If the information YOU are putting online is factual, you should WANT it to be copied by others. Otherwise why do it at all?
I forgot to mention that on Family Search you can add profiles to your Watch List. Click on star icon under the person's name at the top of their profile page to do so. I've added all my direct ancestors to my Watch List.
I receive an email weekly listing changes anyone has made to those profiles so that I can review those changes.
I do this as well since I had someone make some inaccurate changes on my tree on FS.
First, the second greatest scourge of genealogical research is people who feel that 'their' research should belong to them. You CAN'T copyright facts or data. You CAN copyright stories and text that you personally write. Non-commercial research that you keep private is pretty much valueless in every field of endeavor, but especially so in genealogy. If you are researching your own genealogy for money or fame, or to keep to yourself, I'm sorry, you are doing it wrong.
Second, everyone knows that the vast majority of family trees made public on Ancestry are group efforts, even though that particular iteration is being maintained by a specific member. If the information YOU are putting online is factual, you should WANT it to be copied by others. Otherwise why do it at all?
I also agree with the general point of this post. IMO genealogical research/family histories are smaller pieces of the history of our country and the world at large as it focuses on the regular people, who often have interesting lives and experiences that aren't readily known.
The focus of my own research is always to let others know more about the people and communities and events I am researching, not to keep everything private. I can understand though not wanting others to "mess up" the research we do, as it is laborious work. I also do a lot of research off-line that I add to my trees. I take trips to historical societies and spend a lot of money on my hobby of genealogy and in that respect once could say I "own" that personal, off-line research that I conduct, but I feel it is a mission to share factual, sourced information with as many people who are interested. If they try to change anything or link to my trees without having any proof of the association, I'll just ask them about it. I've met a lot of nice what I call "genealogy people" online in this way lol.
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