In 1768 Philip Pryor died intestate in Granville County, NC. Haden Pryor was appointed administrator of his estate. Below is Haden’s signature on the Administration Bond. Sherwood Harris and James Langston were surety. Continue reading
Tag Archives: incorrect data
I remember the joy from years ago as new family history data became available online. Being able to search online was a cinch, so much easier than planning vacations around trips to libraries and historical societies. However the joy was dampened whenever I’d stumble upon an online pedigree that was foggy or completely incorrect. Almost ten years ago I became so frustrated with online genealogy errors I started my own surname website (Tennessee Pryors). Starting a website may not be your cup of tea, but there are three things you can do now to address incorrect data online and make a cleaner investigation path for future genealogy buffs.
1. Put up your own data – Many of the top genealogy websites give you the ability to post your own data. The LDS FamilySearch.org website allows visitors (church membership not required) to submit their own family data. Subscription websites like Ancestry.com offers the user the feature of adding multiple family trees, and even posting documents, photos, and other documentation. Genealogy.com also provides space to posting your own genealogy and family tree. Any of the community areas and message board areas of genealogy sites also allows you to post not just queries, but your own data and recent genealogy discoveries.
2. Ask information to be changed– I’ve communicated with other researchers with mixed results. Some are amiable to changing their family tree or posted data when provided with new data backed with good source information. Others are committed to information passed down from relatives, incorrect information from accepted genealogy books or other authorities, or in rare cases they are unable to login and access the data to makes changes.
3. Add comments– My personal favorite is to comment where ever the opportunity is given. The good news is that commenting is allowed in a multitude of places on the web. Ancestry.com understands that users have something to contribute and allows comments: add a comment to a census record, put a note on family tree, and identify name variations and transcription errors. Book reviews on Google Books or Ancestry.com is also a method of attaching your opinion and alternative information.
The Internet is always increasing in opportunities for an interactive genealogy experience. That means whether you’re an expert or a novice you can get involved. It’s time to take advantage of the opportunities to participate and help to increase the accuracy of online genealogy data.
Copyright 2010, Vanessa Wood