Hello WikiTreers!
I've been working on https://www.wikitree.com/wiki/Leatherhead-3 for the PGM project.
Originally, there was very little in this profile that was supported by primary sources and I found a lot of inconsistencies as I got through what has been written about her and what the sources say. Luckily, we have her confession and her last will as a somewhat solid starting point. I have more questions than answers at this point but all the documents point towards major changes in the profile. Here's what I've got so far: I don't think her maiden name is correct, I don't think her parentage is correct, I don't think her husband's name is correct. I also think she's missing some of her children, including William Cutter, who doesn't even seem to have a WikiTree profile. I'm not even sure if he would be considered PGM, because although he migrated to the Massachusetts Bay Colony, at some point he went back to live in Newcastle-Upon-Tyne, where the family seems to have come from.
Back to Elizabeth Cutter, there are numerous inconsistencies between authors. I tend to go where the primary sources lead me. In Elizabeth Cutter's case, I believe her to be this person: https://www.familysearch.org/tree/person/details/27SH-BS1
Elizabeth Simpson married Cuthbert Cutter https://www.familysearch.org/tree/person/sources/K6W5-P6Y (not Samuel, not William), who seems to have been a cooper, like Elizabeth's son Richard https://www.wikitree.com/wiki/Cutter-60. The last name and location make sense, father and son having the same profession also points towards a correct fit, the list of children matches some of the children we know she had, the birth dates for the children and the marriage date also make sense. The problem is that it contradicts almost every genealogy for the Cutter family.
If I made those changes, obviously, those parents would have to be detached from her profile. Their profiles are unsourced and I couldn't even find evidence that they ever existed. At least I can edit Samuel Cutter's profile with actual primary sources, another wife and even a child. Elizabeth's name at birth would also need to change. I can obviously create profiles for the missing children and husband.
So my main question is how far should I go with these changes? They feel right to me because I'm following the primary sources, but not being a part of the family myself or the profile manager I'm not attached to the data that's already there. Your input would be most appreciated!
Thank you so much!
