This past weekend, in the various online Mayflower Groups I am a part of, I have seen a ton of brand new members posting that they have received a letter from FamilySearch showing that they are Mayflower descendants. Unfortunately, when these new members share their lines to the groups, I have seen about half of them disproved within the first three generations. It frustrates me that FamilySearch sent these messages out, making it look like the FamilySearch tree is proof of descent. I am sure their goal was to generate interest in their website, but at what cost to their genealogical integrity? I have seen FamilySearch described as "copying off of the dumbest kid in the class." Personally, I describe it as being like the ever-changing staircases at Hogwarts.
I am glad to see a renewed interest in learning more about Mayflower ancestors, but I feel terrible for those who are being given false hope with an error-riddled tree. Those of us who have the resources to verify and/or disprove lines need to be prepared to help these newbies through the process. We would love to have them all as members of our extended family, but we need to do our best to make sure everyone is basing their lines on accurate information. So, those of you who are involved in the Mayflower families, please keep an eye out for newbies wandering around with a letter from FamilySearch that they think is proof. They're going to need our help.
