This section of the Journal will contain direct quotations from actual on-line genealogy sites, that defy all logic and sense. The sources will not be given, even though they will be on file just to ensure we don't make these things up. However, if you see something that clearly came from your site, you fix it and let us know, we will get rid of that example from the Journal. If you find others like these, please send them in!
First Example
"Samuel ALBRO (AFN: Q70W-L2) birth 1716, North Kingston, Washington, Rhode Island; Death 3 Jun 1736; Father: (Major) ALBRO; Mother: Mrs Margaret ALBRO; Spouse: Lois BROWNING; Marriage: 26 Jun 1726; Child F Dorcas Albro born 1740 (South Kingston, Washington, Rhode Island?) Died 27 Mar 1772 (age 32)."
This Samuel Albro was born in 1716, married at age 10 in 1726, died at age 20 in 1736, and had a child born four years after he died? Seems unlikely.
Second Example
"John Albro (1419) was born in 1617 in Ipswich,,England. He died on 14 Sep 1712 in Portsmouth,Newport,RI. He married Dorothy Wilber (1417) about 1634 in Portsmouth,Newport,RI.
Dorothy Wilber (1417) was born in 1616 in Portsmouth,Newport,RI. She died on 19 Feb 1695/1696 in Portsmouth,Newport,RI. She married John Albro (1419) about 1634 in Portsmouth,Newport,RI.
Other marriages:
Potter, Nathaniel
NOTES:
According to (source) John came to Portsmouth RI from England, age 14.
BIRTH: MARRIAGE: John Albro, aged about 14 years came from Ipswich, england, in
1634 in the ship "Francis" under the care of William Freeborn, and accompanied
the later to RI in 1638, locating in Portsmouth, where he became a prominent
man in the public affairs of the town and colony. He was corporal in 1644, and
rose successively in after years to lieutenant, captain and major. He was
clerk of weights and measures in 1649, soon after served in the town council
and frequently was moderator of town meetings. He was commissioner in 1660 and
1662. He was for many years assistant between 1671 and 1686. Major Albro
married Dorothy, widow of Nathaniel Potter, and they died, he in 1712 and she
in 1696. Their children were Samuel, b. 1644, Elizabeth, Mary, John and
Susanna: (Ref) (Source)
BIRTH & DEATH (yrs), also father & his dates.
Dorothy married 1st Nathanial Potter, and married John Albro after his death. New England Marriages Prior to 1700 gives the marriage, but not her maiden name. The marriage to John Albro says she d. 1712, child b. 1644."
This one is different in that while some of the claims are mutually contradictory, others result from not checking for obvious facts. If John was 14 in 1634, he could not have been born in 1617, and he could not have married Dorothy in 1634. Similarly, if he first went to Portsmouth in 1638 (note: Portsmouth was founded in 1638; PWA), he could not have gotten married there in 1634. If he was a Corporal in 1644, rising gradually through Leutenant and Captain to Major, he was not Major Albro when he married Dorothy. Dorothy could not have been born in Portsmouth in 1616 since it didn't exist until 1638. Two claims are made for Dorothy's death, 1695 and 1712.
When you simply incorporate information from multiple references into your report, and some of the references contradict each other, your research is obviously incomplete. Which statements are you claiming to be factual?
Third Example
"John ALBRO (AFN: GL90-H7), Male, b.1650 Portsmouth, Ri, d. 4 Dec 1724, E. Greenwich, Ri; Parents: Father: John Albro (AFN: 9N10-0R), Mother: Dorothy (AFN: 9P2L-X8), Marriage(s): Spouse: Mary STOKES (AFN: GQ0W-BF) b.abt.1652, m. 27 Apr 1693, d. 1729, Portsmouth, Newport, R.i.; Spouse: Mary STAPLES (AFN: GL90-JD) b.abt. 1654. Children with Mary Stokes as mother: John ALBRO (AFN: 10CS-367) b.abt. 1676 ... Mary ALBRO (AFN: 10CS-37F) b.abt. 1678...Mary ALBRO (AFN: HZPJ-F4) b.abt. 1696...Sarah ALBRO (AFN: HZPJ-G9) b.abt. 1698...Mary ALBRO (AFN: LDQJ-74) b.abt. 1703...Ruth ALBRO (AFN: HZPJ-HG) b.abt. 1703...Sarah ALBRO (AFN: LDQG-G2) b.abt. 1705...Dorothy ALBRO (AFN: JDQG-JD) b. 19 Feb 1696/1697...Samuel ALBRO (AFN:GL90-FV) b. 16 Jun 1701...John ALBRO (AFN: GQ0V-B9) b. 23 Aug 1694...; Children with Mary Staples as mother: Samuel ALBRO (AFN: GL90-FV) b. 16 Jun 1701..."
This says John Albro and Mary Stokes had two children 16-17 years before they were married, that Mary Stokes had children from age 24 through age 53, with two son Johns, three daughter Marys and two daughter Sarahs, that Samuel Albro b. 16 Jun 1701 had two different mothers, and that after John had 10 children with Mary Stokes he must have either divorced her over 20 years before she died, or had another son out of wedlock. Yes, there are often contradictions in the various old records, but little is served by simply stating the sum of all the contradictions as equivalent facts.
We would really like to think this submission was a joke, but unfortunately it probably was not. This goes beyond failure to proofread, and illustrates what can happen when one grabs the first records that show up just to get the blanks filled in.
Fifth Example
"William BENTLEY (AFN: GBFD-66) Sex: M Event(s): Birth: 1646, Of Kingston, Washington, Rhode Island Christening: 13 Sep 1640, St Andrew Parish, Amphill, Bedfordshire, England Death: 28 Dec 1731, Kingston, Washington, Rhode Island Burial: 1720, Kingstown, Washington Co., Rhode Island."
This is a good example of something a researcher always has to watch out for, the merging of data from, in this case eight, independent researchers' submissions into a single report. There is always the possibility that some of the data in one submission contradicts, or is incompatible with, data in another submission, yet they are combined anyway. When this occurs, only someone who has available all the original submissions has any hope of resolving the impossibilities. The rest of us have to look for supporting information elsewhere.
NOTE: It is not our intention to draw attention to these mistakes in order to embarrass anyone. The intent is to encourage people to proof read and think about what they are putting on the Internet in the name of information. If what you are about to submit for publication has typos, a little proofreading should find them. If it is as you wrote it but it is self-contradictory or impossible, you may have chosen unreliable sources, or combined data for different people of the same name. You do no one (including your own reputation) any favors by publishing the report in that shape.