This is a Message Board Post that is gatewayed to this mailing list. Author: SwimrefK Surnames: Classification: queries Message Board URL: http://boards.rootsweb.com/surnames.daniel/2143.2.1.2.1.1.3.1.1.1.1.1.1.2... Message Board Post: I have not previously "chimed in" on any of this, but now do have a few things to offer. Suzanne, there is absolutely no need to apologize to anyone. There are accidental errors of varying sizes in every single family tree that has ever been. All anyone can ask is that we all be as accurate as we can be and that we keep an open mind to the fact that when new information comes in sometimes a lot of hard work is proven to have been travelled down the wrong road. As someone who regularly assists the public in genealogical research, including working with those preparing society applications, I can shed some light on how "all those experts" accepted your earlier applications that now appear to contain errors. First, we are talking about a time when almost no part of America kept government records of birth and death, and a time before census records recorded the name of each household member. Even the marriage, probate, and land records do not all survive from this time. You were correct earlier when you mentioned that societies have become somewhat stricter in the "proofs" (please notice the quote marks, any experienced genealogist will consider very little as a final unquestionable proven fact) that they will accept, but as a practical matter they cannot demand records which never existed. "Proofs" from this era are really more like hints or probabilities of the true facts than of anything that should be regarded as the final w! ord. The family connections you posted earlier sounded plausible, and would have been accepted by any society in the absence of more information. They have no way of knowing that there were several men of the same name in the correct time and place (a far more common occurrence than most realize), and that information from 2 or more have been combined, leading to an assignment to the wrong parents. This is an honest mistake that happens all the time and really cannot be "caught" by the societies, but only by a dedicated researcher with knowledge of a particular family and experience working with it. You are fortunate that several such researchers can be found on this board. Again, you have done nothing wrong, this happens regularly to all genealogists. If you believe that you have published a family tree containing major errors, it would be helpful to others in the future if you could find and edit such trees when you have the time. There is certainly no obligation to do so, but it would be a nice gesture and very helpful for future genealogists. Best wishes. Important Note: The author of this message may not be subscribed to this list. If you would like to reply to them, please click on the Message Board URL link above and respond on the board.