How do I complain about false genealogical information being posted about my family?

Question

The contact  person provided to me by Wikitree is not providing accurate information. Either [name removed] is ignorant of the facts or he is protecting the  interests of the estate of the deceased, who was a celebrity.

Either way, it doesn't say much when an reputable organization like Wikitree permits a non-family member to "manage" the information of someone else's blood relative, and in doing so provide only false "facts".  Why is [name removed]  representing a non-relative? He is not a member of the Gillespie family. What can I do about it?

He is currently the contact  for Lottie Poe Gillespie. She is the mother of Dizzy Gillespie, the grandmother of my daughter Jeanie Bryson, the great-grandmother of Jeanie's son Radji Birks Bryson-Barrett and the great-great-grandmother of Jeanie's grandchildren, Ayanna and Elias Bryson.

Please advise me as to how this problem can be resolved.

Thanking you in advance,

Connie Bryson

Comments

I edited the post to remove the PM's name.

---

Natalie shouldn’t the living children be edited out?

---

Not sure about that Marion. It's her family so there aren't rules about naming your own children or grandchildren, I don't believe.

---

I found her death date and an obit and added it.

Answer 1

That is the point of WikiTree, Connie. We are a global, collaborative tree and we all contribute to other profiles, aside from private and/or unlisted ones.

I don't see any incorrect information and the profile has sources attached, but there is no actual birth or death document. It's just incomplete, not incorrect.

Dizzy's profile is nicely done, with 21 sources of information.

Having his parents attached to his profile helps to link him into the global tree. His living children and grandchildren can be added, but the profiles will be unlisted, since they are living persons.

Comments

My complaint has nothing to do with entries about Dizzy. I was not seeking information about him. Specifically, I am troubled by the contact's response to my inquiry about Dizzy's mother, who is buried next to his unmarked grave in Flushing Cemetery. He claims that he knows nothing about Lottie Poe Gillespie, which may be true, but then goes on to state that he grew up with the Gillespie grandchildren, which is false. It makes me question the reliability of your website when one person is in a position to shut down a request for information by blood relatives.

---

Connie, 'grew up with' could mean many different things, from being neighbors or classmates to being raised in the same home.  Even if that is a false claim, it's not on the profile, and it's not 'genealogical information.'

It's also quite common on WikiTree that a member creates profiles for parents and grandparents of another profile, without knowing anything other than what the sources say.  In a collaborative environment, other members who know more can fill in additional information at any time.  So if you ask a profile manager for more information and he tells you he has none, he's not shutting down your request for information.  He simply has no more information.

What specific false genealogical information is posted on WikiTree, that we can help you correct?  And what additional information are you looking for, that we can help you find?  Do you have information about Lottie that you would like added to her profile?

---

Thanks for the clarification on what "growing up with" means, but it is obvious that the contact who manages Lottie Poe Gillespie's information who claims to have grown up with Dizzy's grandchildren is either ignorant of the facts or chooses to misrepresent them.  Dizzy Gillespie and his wife Lorraine were childless and had no grandchildren. Any further attempt to persuade  him otherwise is a waste of my time and his, so I won't be contacting him again..

I appreciate the advice on how to set the record straight here on Wiki. but that was never my intention. All I was seeking was information on Lottie Poe Gillespie, which  the contact was unable or unwilling to provide, just as Flushing Cemetery has been instructed not to divulge the location of her grave or that of her famous son.

---

I am not trying to ADD anything. I am seeking information about my daughter's grandmother.

---

But if he doesn't know, he doesn't know.  And I think we're still unclear about how that ties in with the "false genealogical information being posted" about your family?  If that's the case, we certainly would like to help get that sorted out.  That's what your original post said you wanted to get resolved.

---

Connie, you still have not told us specifically what false information is on WikiTree.  Dizzy Gillespie's profile shows no children.  What is misrepresented? 

If you have a personal disagreement with a member regarding facts not published on WikiTree, there's nothing we can do for you in this public forum.

If you are looking for information about Lottie beyond what little is on her profile, you might try posting your question here.  Browse to Lottie's profile, and on the right-hand side below 'Collaboration,' click the 'Ask Question' button.  That will open a page for you to post your question, and automatically include a link to the profile.  Good luck!

---

"Growing up with" could also mean "grew up listening to." I know I grew up listening to Dizzy and Al Hirt and Boots Randolph, since my dad was a fan and had records.

I don't think that the profile manager is withholding anything from you, Ms. Bryson, or trying to present incorrect information. He worked with another WikiTreer to create a lovely profile for Dizzy Gillespie and found as much information as he could with the resources he had available to him for Dizzy's parents There isn't much about Lottie that I could find, and I have access to two newspaper sites. He was probably answering you the way I would have, too.

---

Connie, we often use familysearch to look for records: https://www.familysearch.org/search/  If you join, you can search, too. It's free. Good luck!

---

My source told me he grew up WITH the Gillespie grandchildren "in NYC" and "in Englewood". Dizzy lived in NYC and later in Englewood.

This is impossible to misinterpret. He specifically said he grew up "with the children", not with the "music".

 I appreciate your efforts to help, but if your profiles are as inaccurate and misleading as they appear to be, I would not trust any of your information. Your profile on  Dizzy states that his children are "unknown" and one of the commenters in this thread says that he had no children. A simple google search reveals that he had a daughter. This is public knowledge and has been for decades.

Again I am not asking nor do I expect you to correct the record.  I'm simply letting you know that I'll be looking to other sources for information, and anticipate less "push back" when  I ask a simple question about a family member.

---

Ma'am, "spouse unknown" and "children unknown" is simply the default for when no profile has been created for a spouse and/or a child.

---

Connie, I had already googled your name long before you suggested it and saw that your daughter is writing a book. I am sure that familysearch or ancestry will have the records you are looking for! Be sure to use alternate spellings of "Poe" and check census records carefully. Again, good luck!

---

"A simple google search reveals that he had a daughter. This is public knowledge and has been for decades."

WikiTree has privacy restrictions on living persons.  It is quite likely that his daughter is still living.  To avoid conflicts with living persons or their immediate family, it is typical for a 3rd party to not enter that information, and leave it at the default "unknown".  As this is a genealogical site, we are more interested in ancestors, not living descendants.

Answer 2

(edited)

Help Page: Problems with Members

I believe the best first step would be to contact [the profile manager] directly and discuss the matter and see if you can resolve it collaboratively. If that doesn't work, proceed with the steps outlined on the Help Page linked above.

Comments

Ah...Connie, I see you are not a member of WikiTree. So the conflict resolution procedure will not work for you. Perhaps, if you want to set the record straight, you could become a member and work collaboratively with the profile manager to improve the profiles currently there. He probably used the census records cited for dates of birth of individuals, which can only have provided an estimate. You, on the other hand, may have documentation to add to give more accurate details about the lives of your family members, which would be most helpful. If you do not wish to become a member of WikiTree, but you want the details for your family to be more accurate, it would be wonderful if you could provide that information to the profile manager (or to some other WikiTree member) so he or she could add it on your behalf.

Answer 3

There is nothing on the profile except citations for two census records. I also don't see any changes made to the profile. If this is about something occurring outside of WikiTree, it needs to be taken to that venue. I don't believe there would be anything the WikiTree Team could do to help you.