Richley 99.9% doesn't exist. Is there a "Place doesn't exist" category

+6 votes
280 views
Further to my post of the 28 March I have been in correspondence with the National Library of Wales. There is/was no place called Richley in Anglesey. There was a manor house at a place now called Cichle, a couple of times referred to as Cichley and in one document called Kichley. This last may be a reference to a man who came from Keighley in Yorkshire so it not necessarily a spelling variant. Thanks to Wiki friends with their help following my last posting.

The problem is what to do with a considerable number of profiles with that place name. They reference FamilySearch which has quite a few profiles with this placename. All of these are cross-referenced to one another.

Is there a "Not a known place" category which could be added to these profiles? I could then add the details to "Richley" and to these profiles.

Sub-text:- should profiles whose only source is unsourced FamilySearch profiles be allowed pre 1700, let alone pre 1500?
WikiTree profile: Edward Griffith
in Policy and Style by Steve Bartlett G2G6 Mach 7 (77.2k points)
retagged by Isabelle Martin
I suspect that what you'll have to do is mark it as 'uncertain'.  Then, if you really wanted to, you could put any explanation in the bio of each profile.
Thanks Ros

I already knew about the Disproven Existence Project but put that aside because it is for individuals, not for places. I would like to see a Disproven Place sticker which would be referenced to a detailed explanation, properly sourced.

Ros,

Would you mind having a look at https://www.wikitree.com/index.php?title=Space:Richley%2C_Anglesey&public=1 for me and give your comments/views. I have tried to reduce my research to a dull roar!!

Cheers and take care

Steve

I have had a look, and I think this is an excellent page - and completely agree about the 'well-meaning transcriber'! as Kichley may have looked like Richley...
I had a similar dilemma with a settlement named 'Claymer' in Carmarthenshire, which was identified by a single source with Brook, in Llansadurnen. It seemed appropriate to include it my profile in parentheses as follows -  'Brook (aka Claymer)' with a hyperlink to the source. I suppose in my case it's the name rather than the place which doesn't exist any more.
Concerning the sub-text question, the theoretical answer is no. A "reliable" source is required for any pre-1700 profile (that includes pre-1500 of course) and an unsourced FamilySearch profiles is not considered reliable. This rule, however, was only formalized recently in the history of WikiTree. So a lot of older profiles were entered without meeting that requirement. I'm not sure you can mark them unsourced though. But you could still add them (pre-1700 profiles) to some "need sources" category, if these maintenance categories exist for Wales.

2 Answers

+3 votes
Steve,

If I were working on these I would create a category for Richley and add that category to all of the relevant profiles.

Then on the category page add the information you have about the location or non-location.  If the material runs for pages a Free Space could be used also linked to the category.
by Philip Smith G2G6 Pilot (337k points)

Phil,

I have asked Ros to comment, I would also appreciate your views.

Steve

https://www.wikitree.com/index.php?title=Space:Richley%2C_Anglesey&public=1

Steve,

Nice write up.

I am not familiar with the records, however it seems like the documentation is sufficient to create a category, if not already done, and group the locations of Cichle, Cichley and Kichley with a link to the Free Space.
Many thanks Philip, much appreciated.
+1 vote

Nice piece of research.  laugh

I would suggest that the category be named for the correct location name, with variants noted, and your page be linked to it.  And take a look in FamilySearch to see if they have any actual records for such a location.

by Danielle Liard G2G6 Pilot (647k points)
Thanks Danielle,

I have done the FamilySearch thingy and there are no sources/records shown even for records put in during 2019. (very poor...)

I have also checked with the Profile Managers. They have used FamilySearch without double checking. Ho Hum.

Thanks very much for taking the time

Steve

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