Someone is profile manager for MY family but a great deal of information which was imported via GEDCOM is incorrect?

Question

What to do when someone is profile manager for YOUR family but a great deal of information which was imported via GEDCOM is incorrect?

I am a direct descendant of Margaret Ann Anderson - she was my great grandmother -  and 2 other people are joint profile managers on her, the more searching I'm doing, the more convinced I am that their Margaret  Anderson  is NOT the one who married John Golightly ( my great grandfather) thus they have no connection to this branch of the Golightlys. I have found several errors in the information they gave.

Firstly the mother and father of Margaret were different and although I refused a merge because of this,  one of the managers simply changed the parents name on her tree and the merge somehow went ahead. Also a lot of other information is incorrect too - place of birth ( which I've changed) place of residence in 1871 and 1881 census. I think the original parentage of their Margaret Anderson was probably correct and we have 2 different Margarets here?

Information on my GRANDFATHER ( his NAME!) was incorrect too. Again, the details were changed but I feel just changing details is not addressing the problem and is not the right way to go here on wikitree.

Whilst reluctant to change too much , I am getting a bit annoyed that other people are profile managers on my FATHER and HIS family and I know that if they are actually connected it must be a very tenuous link as I've spent a lot of time and money doing the research and yet I haven't found any connection to them. Contacting said people only elicits the response of making me a joint profile manager whilst I feel the real issue to be addressed is the wrong information being linked together.

Where do I go from here?

( first time poster so apologies if in the wrong category)

Comments

To be clear, no one on WikiTree owns a profile. Managers (should) act as curators. If you have documented information that changes the current relationships, then go ahead and edit the profiles you can, to reflect that information.

You can alternatively add questions to the comment box on the profile page, which will go to the profile managers.

WikiTree is one tree with one profile per person. Edits are based on collaboration.

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Also, if you have already tried communication and it isn't working, you can use the problem resolution process:

http://www.wikitree.com/wiki/Problems_with_Members

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I feel strongly that if the profile is one's own biological father or other direct ancestors with DNA and documented proof - then, someone who has an indirect link to these ancestors or information on someone with the same name, etc., as happens frequently with our ancestors (especially Canadian ancestors), should not be allowed to change the profile; the original direct relative should 'own' said profile's editing. Changes should be discussed and approved by the profile's original manager. This is the main complaint I have with Wikitree, namely the ease with which one can change profiles with erroneous information.

Answer 1

Hi Maggie,

Part of your question did not post properly so that may have an effect on the responses that you get.  I believe you are in the right category for posting but a Ranger may come along and re-tag so that it reaches a wider audience.

You are a profile manager for Margaret Golightly so you do have full authority to edit.  Since there has not been any activity on there since 2015, I do not see any problem with proceeding. The category is open and there is no project protection.  The sources that are on the profile are gedcom links to a subscription site which does not help our community.

Just to be courteous, you may want to send a private message to the other 2 managers that says you have better sources that would be helpful to the WikiTree community for this person and their family.  Perhaps, even give them a sample of a source with better links; and, then wait 1-3 days for a response.

If no response, then continue to build the profile according to WikiTree standards.  If they do respond, then you can start collaborating.

Comments

Thank you for your reply, however the issue I have is that I think they have a different Margaret Anderson who is their ancestor but not mine so just changing information like mother and father which I think is most important for a true tree does not address the issue of the mix up. They have Irish parents for Margaret whilst I have no Irish ancestry. There are 15 Margaret Andersons on the 1881 census for Durham alone.

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The times that I have disconnected incorrect parents, I posted links to the correct information and made a note in the bio that the profile was incorrectly connected to Smith-1234 and Jones-4321, so that if the other PMs want to upgrade/update their sources, it is easier to see where the conflict exists.  From your description, it sounds like you can assign the correct parents, make edits about the changes, and then make data edits for your dad and your grandfather, again with sources for your information.

Answer 2

I have reviewed all the data in the profile of Margaret Ann Anderson.

The 1901 census for her, as the spouse of John George Valentine Golighlty, list her as 30 years old, from Stanhope, which is in the birth registration area of Weardale. Only one Margaret Ann Anderson is registered in that area, registered 1870 (Weardale 10a/287 q September 1870). Indeed this Margaret Ann can be founfd in 1871 Census, living in Stanhope , with parents John & Ann, both of whom have birth years as you list.

Likewise the marriage of Margaret Ann in 1893, lists her father as John Anderson, (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:NXGN-ZJ7).

My view therfore is that you have the toally correct data.

Comments

Thank you everyone, I now feel o.k.about deleting all the erroneous information given.

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Be sure to cite the sources for the correct information. Citing sources, including the relevant quotations from those sources, is the best way to correct information on profiles. Without sources, we end up in a verbal tug of war.