Unconfigured Ad Widget

Collapse

Announcement

Collapse
No announcement yet.

Ancestry Public Family Tree

Collapse
X
 
  • Filter
  • Time
  • Show
Clear All
new posts

  • Ancestry Public Family Tree

    I have found a distant relative on an Ancestry Public Family tree, is it possible to download the tree so that I can add the details to my family tree software without having to use my two finger typing 'skills' to retype it all.

    TIA
    DGJay

  • #2
    Just because it is on Ancestry doesn't mean it is correct, I have seen many that I know to be incorrect as I have the certificates & they have not.;)
    Personally I would check the research myself before adding anything to my tree.
    Vivienne passed away July 2013

    Comment


    • #3
      Originally posted by DgJay View Post
      I have found a distant relative on an Ancestry Public Family tree, is it possible to download the tree so that I can add the details to my family tree software without having to use my two finger typing 'skills' to retype it all.

      TIA
      No you can't download, only the owner can make a gedcom file, so you need to contact them and ask them to send it to you by email. But as has been said the data may not be correct so you might want to check it out before you add anything.
      Margaret
      Last edited by margaretmarch; 05-08-10, 12:54.

      Comment


      • #4
        Unfortunately the 'owner' does not wish to be contacted. But I have found a way of downloading the information, which I will most certainly check before adding to my tree.
        many thanks
        DGJay
        DGJay

        Comment


        • #5
          If they don't wish to be contacted then presumably they don't wish their tree to be stolen outright by someone downloading it without permission, either?! Have you really thought about the 'morals' of what you're doing? I know that might sound a bit ott, but I'd be extremely angry if someone did that to me... All the arguments in the world about why have it up there if they don't want contact etc, don't make what you're about to do any better imo.

          Kate x

          Comment


          • #6
            Kate, I have to say that I do completely agree with your comment. This happened to me earlier this year on a different website. I gave the enquirer access to my tree, in good faith that they merely wanted to see how we were related. On looking back at their tree a short while later, I realised that much of my information had been copied outright, without even consulting me. I was quite furious and confronted them about it.

            I always find that the family history community is incredibly good natured and in the past I have received help from the kindest of people. I am by no means saying that sharing our research is a bad thing - far from it - because that's often one of the most enjoyable parts of the whole process. I merely call for courtesy and decency.

            This isn't an attack on DgJay by any means - it's just something I feel strongly about.

            moulie11
            Luke Mouland
            Genealogist, Historian & Writer
            Kith & Kin Research
            Website: www.kithandkinresearch.co.uk
            Blog: www.kithandkinresearch.posterous.com




            Comment


            • #7
              If the tree owner does not want his information copied then he should NOT have a PUBLIC tree on the internet and it hardly matters whether anyone copies it wholesale or bit by bit.

              OC

              Comment


              • #8
                I am not sure of the purpose of a Public Family Tree if it is not for the public to view and copy. I have in the past added comments where I know further information but as nothing has been amended I no longer bother

                Comment


                • #9
                  Viewing is one thing, copying without permission is another. Yes it's possible, the information is afterall in the public domain after all as OC quite rightly points out. But a little courtesy and manners go a long way in this game. I have never, ever copied information without at least contacting the owner first and asking permission. Thankfully it's never been denied. Maybe my threshold is different to others though, I understand that. To go as far as to try and find a means to harvest a whole tree that you don't have permissions for is beyond what I'm comfortable with. Slog through it by hand like the rest of us!

                  Kate x

                  Comment


                  • #10
                    Kate

                    I agree with you in principle and I would NEVER copy anyone's tree without their knowledge and permission. But to put your tree in PUBLIC on ancestry AND refuse to be contacted by anyone, is saying to me that the tree owner doesn't care.

                    It's a bit like leaving the bank vault unlocked, going out to lunch and expecting passers-by not to steal the money. Most won't, but some will and you really cannot complain if they do, you should have locked the door.

                    Having said all that, I wouldn't have much faith in a tree on a public site, where the owner is unavailable.

                    OC

                    Comment


                    • #11
                      Admittedly, the issue here is slightly different from my scenario, as I had not made my information expressively 'public' in this way. However, I still think a degree of courtesy is necessary. It does irritate me when people 'blanket' copy information from such websites - I cannot understand the reason for doing this because, in my opinion, it would simply take all the fun out of the research. To me, these people are merely 'name collectors' and they are seriously missing out on the real nitty gritty of the research process. Shortcuts have their consequences too - one of which is inaccuracies, as expressed in previous posts!
                      Luke Mouland
                      Genealogist, Historian & Writer
                      Kith & Kin Research
                      Website: www.kithandkinresearch.co.uk
                      Blog: www.kithandkinresearch.posterous.com




                      Comment


                      • #12
                        Some time ago I was foolish enough to pass on details of my research to another researcher in a series of e-mails.
                        That person has now put a tree on Ancestry - imagine my horror when I clicked on a range of "sources" links, and saw my e-mail address displayed for all the world to see.
                        I contacted the submitter and requested he remove my e-mail address from public view. His response was simply to make his tree private - no answer to my pm. I already knew he was an arrogant and bombastic little man - I now know he's also rude and ignorant.
                        He didn't spot the transposed numerals in what I sent him, which made a nonsense of part of the tree. None of the other people who've simply copied his tree noticed the errors either, nor have they acknowledged where the information came from.
                        As far as I'm concerned, copier beware.

                        Jay
                        Janet in Yorkshire



                        Genealogists never die - they just swap places in the family tree

                        Comment


                        • #13
                          Janet

                          And there you have one of the reasons I am so precious about my own tree and practically make them take a DNA test before I will open it. In fact, my private family tree, although on Tribal Pages, has only been opened to an Uncle. No one else gets in. If they are a blood relation I will send them some info by email.

                          This is probably a generalisation, but I have found that the more readily someone shares their tree (example- public tree on Ancestry, their own webpage etc) the less proper research they have done and therefore feel no sense of protectiveness towards their deceased relatives and whether they are accurately recorded or not.

                          I've told many times about my poor 3 x GGM, who had 45 children, six of them born after her death at the age of 69, one born to her and her son and two born when she was only 4. This desperate bilge is on a public tree on LDS and I daresay many people copy it slavishly. As you say, copier beware, but copier often appears to be witless....

                          OC

                          Comment


                          • #14
                            I have thoroughly researched all my tree and I did open it to some people on GR until one stole all my work direct lines only and told me she had taken 1000 names already from other peoples trees who had provided the info to her and she trusted that they had researched it fully and she had no need to buy certs to verify the info. She had only been collecting the info for a year.
                            This tought me a hard lesson, and my cousins son who has his fathers line wants me to give him all my research to put on line with his own stuff, but he has my details with my own birthdate wrong on line for the world to see so guess what!!!!!!
                            My tree is private and I dont trust GR anymore to keep it that way so dont add to it.
                            Edna

                            Comment


                            • #15
                              Originally posted by Kate P View Post
                              If they don't wish to be contacted then presumably they don't wish their tree to be stolen outright by someone downloading it without permission, either?! Have you really thought about the 'morals' of what you're doing? I know that might sound a bit ott, but I'd be extremely angry if someone did that to me... All the arguments in the world about why have it up there if they don't want contact etc, don't make what you're about to do any better imo.

                              Kate x
                              So why have the tree as a public tree when they don't need to. Personally if the person has left their tree public then they are happy for people to access their tree. The only time I would draw the line is if the tree contained uploaded pictures or documents, then I would contact the owner and ask permission if I wanted to use the photo. This situation has only arisen once and I don't know what I would have done if they had said no. However I have found another public tree with a photo of my great grandfather on and I have tried to contact the owner but he has not been on Ancestry for well over six months now. Have I used that photo - no I haven't

                              Lindag
                              LindaG

                              Comment


                              • #16
                                Maybe the tree owner is away or not using that email address anymore or worse still may have died and relatives havent known the password to delete it?
                                personally I think if its a public tree then use the info as 'guidelines' and check every single person from birth to death.
                                I seem to remember someone on here put her cat's name in her tree to make sure what was copied was identifiable to her.
                                so take it all with a pinch of salt.
                                Angelina

                                Comment


                                • #17
                                  I agree entirely about only using public trees as a guideline only, everything you add to your tree should be checked. Must admit that the names in my tree I am not that bothered about sharing, however I have added photos and documents to my tree on ancestry so I keep mine private. The only people that have access to the tree have also supplied info/photos/docs to me which are on the tree. I think of it as a way of pooling the information between us. (Before I put this tree up we were sending things by email to each other). I got the idea for this from a tree I have access to. On that tree there are quite a few people with access but everyone has contributed to it in one way or another.

                                  Linda
                                  LindaG

                                  Comment

                                  Working...
                                  X