Years ago, when I was very new to genealogy, I was “certain” that a certain ancestor was born in 1820. I put that year of birth on all my pedigree charts and family groups charts. I put that year of birth in queries that I had published in print genealogy query magazines.
That’s not the year he was born. I had no source for that year. Now it’s all over the internet. It is virtually impossible to get a wrong date of birth for someone out of all the genealogy sites.
This is not to fault individuals who make honest mistakes. This is not to say don’t publish or share any information. This is a warning to be careful and make certain you have some evidence for a date or place of an event before sharing it.
One response
Sigh. My ggg grandfather was a John D. Davis. If you look at any genealogy online or in print, you find the D stands for a crazy middle name. Unfortunately, my grandmother showed me a letter from another descendant who claimed she made the name up years ago because it sounded dignified…and it still circulates today!