topic Re: Ancestry Com: Any Potential Harm/Risk In Participating There? in Community Chat

Ancestry Com: Any Potential Harm/Risk In Participating There?

SuesCat — Sat, 25 Jan 2014 22:24:17 GMT

My departed husband's daughter was recently kind enough to include me in her Family Tree on the site. I do love her so much... she is so capable and smart, and has made a wonderful life for herself! She is a very creative and open person on so many levels.. she is one of those kind spirits who makes the most of life every day.

She has already begun the process and has quite a lot of information up. She has now requested my parent, sibling, and children's names, birthdates, and places of birth for my family members to add to her "Tree". I have no children of my own, other than my dementia-addled cat of 18 yrs. I see that my immediate family members' info is already available on ancestrydotcom, so i wouldn't be providing anything new there. I would, however, be adding more information in the way of our grandparents.

I guess my question is.. do you, or would you have concerns about any chance for identity theft or other risks, putting out family members' names and possibly birthdates? I'm also willing, at this point, to add my real pic as my "tree avatar". I'm no newbie to the www (been chatting since the mid-90s!), and i still feel pretty comfortable doing this. But i'd appreciate your input/experience when it comes to Ancestry before i go forward, because there really is a lot of knowledge on these forums. Tia.

Re: Ancestry Com: Any Potential Harm/Risk In Participating There?

Love my grandkids — Sat, 25 Jan 2014 22:32:23 GMT

I wouldn't touch Ancestry with a 10 foot pole. And one of the reasons is that the Mormon Church, which owns it, some years ago admitted to "baptizing" dead Jews. There was so much he ll raised that they tried to rectify it, I forget how. But that's only one reason I don't trust this site.

If others choose to use them, fine by me. But I won't.

Re: Ancestry Com: Any Potential Harm/Risk In Participating There?

Linders Back — Sat, 25 Jan 2014 22:39:09 GMT

If her tree on ancestry is "Private" only invited people have access to the information she posts. Someone can see that a person is on another's "private tree" but can not see the actual information. They may then contact the tree owner through ancestry.com and ask for information.

Say she posts a lot about your grandparents and someone else is researching them. They will see that your grandparents are on another tree, but that's all. Unless, she chooses to sahre that information, they can't get it.

If it is "public", then people can see all information about deceased members of the family but nothing about "LIVING" members. They might see that your grandparents had two children but names, dates, etc. will not show up.

A "Public Tree" is the best way to connect with others and help answer questions you may have about your own ancestry. My main Tree (the one that starts with ME) is "Private", but there is a branch of ancestors that I cannot find out much about, so I also made a "Public" tree" starting with them going backwards so no current info is on that one. I have been able to find more about their past that way.

Re: Ancestry Com: Any Potential Harm/Risk In Participating There?

sassenach1 — Sat, 25 Jan 2014 22:40:04 GMT

I think that it is only a rumor that the Mormon Church owns Ancestry.

Re: Ancestry Com: Any Potential Harm/Risk In Participating There?

SuesCat — Sat, 25 Jan 2014 22:41:48 GMT

Love my grandkids ~ thanks for your reply. I went back and read earlier threads on this. It's disturbing to say the least. It sounds crazy, actually. I'll definitely want to look into this before i participate.

Re: Ancestry Com: Any Potential Harm/Risk In Participating There?

sidsmom — Sat, 25 Jan 2014 22:42:48 GMT

Linders: What sort of personal info do they ask for?

Re: Ancestry Com: Any Potential Harm/Risk In Participating There?

SuesCat — Sat, 25 Jan 2014 22:45:47 GMT

Linders Back ~ yes, i read that on the Ancestry FAQs kind of intro and i felt very comfortable with that. Thanks!

Sassenach ~ i thought the whole thing sounded a little crazy. I'd have to see proof of these allegations, to be sure. Thanks!

Re: Ancestry Com: Any Potential Harm/Risk In Participating There?

teena2354 — Sat, 25 Jan 2014 22:47:00 GMT

On 1/25/2014 Linders Back said:
If her tree on ancestry is "Private" only invited people have access to the information she posts. Someone can see that a person is on another's "private tree" but can not see the actual information. They may then contact the tree owner through ancestry.com and ask for information.

Say she posts a lot about your grandparents and someone else is researching them. They will see that your grandparents are on another tree, but that's all. Unless, she chooses to sahre that information, they can't get it.

If it is "public", then people can see all information about deceased members of the family but nothing about "LIVING" members. They might see that your grandparents had two children but names, dates, etc. will not show up.

A "Public Tree" is the best way to connect with others and help answer questions you may have about your own ancestry. My main Tree (the one that starts with ME) is "Private", but there is a branch of ancestors that I cannot find out much about, so I also made a "Public" tree" starting with them going backwards so no current info is on that one. I have been able to find more about their past that way.

That's helpful! We've been thinking of using it... Thanks for the details of how it works. (:

Re: Ancestry Com: Any Potential Harm/Risk In Participating There?

RedTop — Sat, 25 Jan 2014 22:56:29 GMT

I have dabbled in genealogy research for many years, and I stay away from Ancestry.com. I have not posted anything there, nor do I share information with anyone who posts information on that website. I have found many errors in several of the postings others have made on my specific branch of the family.

Re: Ancestry Com: Any Potential Harm/Risk In Participating There?

Linders Back — Sat, 25 Jan 2014 22:58:19 GMT

On 1/25/2014 sidsmom said:
Linders: What sort of personal info do they ask for?

You can basically put as much or as little info on your tree as you want. They are there to help you get answers, they aren't snooping into your life. When you sign up, they will ask for name, address, and billing info but that's standard with just about any website.

Lots of the info there is available other places . Just "google an ancestors name with ther location and birthdate, and you may be surprised at what comes up: references to them in history books, etc. .

ancestry.com just makes the process a bit easier in that they do searches and find things for you. Say you list your grandfather, his date of birth, where he was born, etc. and they might find him in various censuses, military records, Find-A-Grave, or others' public trees, and will lead you to those.

Just don't take everything you read as gospel. There is a lot of misinformation out there and many people with the same names.

Re: Ancestry Com: Any Potential Harm/Risk In Participating There?

Linders Back — Sat, 25 Jan 2014 23:09:52 GMT

On 1/25/2014 RedTop said:
I have dabbled in genealogy research for many years, and I stay away from Ancestry.com. I have not posted anything there, nor do I share information with anyone who posts information on that website. I have found many errors in several of the postings others have made on my specific branch of the family.

When I find mistakes that I know are mistakes, I contact the people and correct them. Leaving the errors there just compounds the confusion for later researchers and generations.

If someone is really interested in genealogy, I think it behooves them to share theirknowledge and the truth with others.

I contacted an anonymous poster through ancestry.com and informed him that I had the correct dates for some people on his tree as I had the family Bible right in front of me. He emailed me back with a photo of an "Aunt M" and asked if I could identify her. Well, it was my Great grandmother and the portrait on the wall behind her was of my Dad @ 3 years old! (She's sitting in the same chair in front of the dresser that I have in my guest room now) Small world! .

We have since shared many facts but also many questions, and as the old saying goes "Two heads are better than one". Together we have broken down quite a few walls and solved a lot of mysteries. He had all my Great Uncles Civil War letters home to my GGGreat Grandmother and I have learned so much about my GGrandmother and Great Grandfather who served in the same unit as he did.

ancestry.com is a wonderful resource.

Re: Ancestry Com: Any Potential Harm/Risk In Participating There?

kdgn — Sat, 25 Jan 2014 23:21:36 GMT

On 1/25/2014 Sassenach1 said:
I think that it is only a rumor that the Mormon Church owns Ancestry.

They don't own it. If anyone wants more information, look it up on Wiki to see the full history of Ancestry.com.

Re: Ancestry Com: Any Potential Harm/Risk In Participating There?

SuesCat — Sat, 25 Jan 2014 23:38:37 GMT

On 1/25/2014 kdgn said:
On 1/25/2014 Sassenach1 said:
I think that it is only a rumor that the Mormon Church owns Ancestry.

They don't own it. If anyone wants more information, look it up on Wiki to see the full history of Ancestry.com.

Thanks, kdgn ~ i read through the history, and i don't see any sinister LDS goings on, afterall! You've definitely put my mind at ease as far as that goes! Take care!

Re: Ancestry Com: Any Potential Harm/Risk In Participating There?

kdgn — Sat, 25 Jan 2014 23:54:53 GMT

We've done Ancestry for several years-or at least Mr. kdgn has. I don't know how private his settings are, however. No problems so far.

Re: Ancestry Com: Any Potential Harm/Risk In Participating There?

JaneMarple — Sun, 26 Jan 2014 00:01:16 GMT

Both of my parents families are on Ancestry.com and we haven't had any problems, and its been several years since joined. We have invaluable information that we are grateful for through this site. A few family members have also ran their DNA profiles and its eye opening because we know our roots.

Re: Ancestry Com: Any Potential Harm/Risk In Participating There?

maryflo — Sun, 26 Jan 2014 00:34:45 GMT

Been a member since 2002. Have found the half brother and sister of my husbands cousin thanks to Ancestry. They are now corresponding and thanking me every day. I am now working on finding pictures of my daughter-in-laws 2x great grandparents and so far I have found several by corresponding with several members. All very nice people. Have made at least 10 books for family members and friends. Once you start getting all the information they have on there you can't wait to go back to see if anyone has any more info. Names and birthdates are not always correct. In the early 1900's some of the census takers would just sound out the names and write them as they heard them. Birthdates vary also as a lot of the people only had an elementary education. It's fun and I have learned so many things about my family and the families of the 9 other people I have made books for. I have not had any problems with any information being used for anything but helping other members find their relatives and information regarding them.

Re: Ancestry Com: Any Potential Harm/Risk In Participating There?

mgm2 — Sun, 26 Jan 2014 00:39:10 GMT

WOO HOO!!! I just discovered ""Story View""

Re: Ancestry Com: Any Potential Harm/Risk In Participating There?

RainCityGirl — Sun, 26 Jan 2014 00:44:46 GMT

On 1/25/2014 kdgn said:
On 1/25/2014 Sassenach1 said:
I think that it is only a rumor that the Mormon Church owns Ancestry.

They don't own it. If anyone wants more information, look it up on Wiki to see the full history of Ancestry.com.

The Mormon Church, owns the website, Family Search. You can get info from them, but it is not always accurate since they push their church members to enter as many names as possibly without verification. Still, you can find some thing. I just wouldn't enter my family tree on their site or probably any other site. It's better to make contact on U.S. Gen Forum and exchange info with your actual relatives that you discover.

Re: Ancestry Com: Any Potential Harm/Risk In Participating There?

JaneMarple — Sun, 26 Jan 2014 00:56:04 GMT

On 1/25/2014 Love my grandkids said:
I wouldn't touch Ancestry with a 10 foot pole. And one of the reasons is that the Mormon Church, which owns it, some years ago admitted to "baptizing" dead Jews. There was so much he ll raised that they tried to rectify it, I forget how. But that's only one reason I don't trust this site.

If others choose to use them, fine by me. But I won't.

That's not true, where did you get such misleading information?

Re: Ancestry Com: Any Potential Harm/Risk In Participating There?

Kachina624 — Sun, 26 Jan 2014 01:18:46 GMT

On 1/25/2014 Love my grandkids said:
I wouldn't touch Ancestry with a 10 foot pole. And one of the reasons is that the Mormon Church, which owns it, some years ago admitted to "baptizing" dead Jews. There was so much he ll raised that they tried to rectify it, I forget how. But that's only one reason I don't trust this site.

If others choose to use them, fine by me. But I won't.

The Morman Church happens to have the world's largest genealogical library. This statement is fraught with ignorance. No, I would not hesitate to use Ancestry.com.