Findagrave was wrong. Anyone else experience this?

Question

So from time to time I've come across some ancestors/cousins who have incorrect dates on their gravestone. Normally not a huge deal because the dates are usually only a little off.

I just came across something startling where not only the dates were wrong but the parents and siblings were all totally wrong.

https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/27712435/general-price-lewis

I didn't catch this at first until I started researching the brother of Sterling Price Lewis. When I saw a census record of his brother William having a son named General P Lewis I thought "why does that sound familiar." Turns out, William Bufuord Lewis and Ida Lee Hammock are his real parents. At first I actually thought two brothers decided to name each child the same name and them dying the same year was just a crazy coincidence. But nope, it's one person. The death certificate confirms that as well as the lack of GP Lewis in the 1920 census with Sterling Price Lewis.

https://www.ancestry.com/imageviewer/collections/61777/images/61777_01_00284-01264?ssrc=pt&treeid=174835936&personid=242269188570&hintid=&usePUB=true&usePUBJs=true&_ga=2.199297575.828447212.1613096237-1921917863.1613096237&_gac=1.49006164.1614385238.CjwKCAiA1eKBBhBZEiwAX3gql401N0fv_8vX_vBDjuopEkFvpdeJPDJlhZkcW0OvhsUNsILTxOjmRRoCZUoQAvD_BwE&pId=45880238

Has anyone else discovered information that was just totally wrong beyond birth/death dates?

Answer 1

Yes. Find-a-Grave profiles are made up of whatever the person who created the profile thinks is true.  

You can click on the "suggest edits" button to propose changes to the profile.  If your suggestion doesn't fit neatly in the boxes, you can click on "suggest other corrections" to get a space to type in an explanation.

I have found that most profile managers are FAGM are open to edit suggestions, especially if you can provide a source.

Editing to add:  If you know something on FAGM is wrong, it is very helpful to make a note of that on the person's profile here on Wikitree.  That way Wikitree users will know there is an issue.

Comments

I don't know if he has a wikitree profile or not yet. I'm working on fully researching through ancestry and familysearch before continuing to add stuff to the tree here. That way I know I'm adding things that are fully accurate.

Thanks for the tip on being able to edit suggestions.

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I have had some luck when requesting corrections to Find-a-Grave entries.  It's worth a try.  There's a "Suggest Edits" button which will send a message to the person who maintains the entry.

Answer 2

I have found quite a few errors on the FindAGrave Memorials. The majority of the time, the managers are usually very cooperative. I recently found one where the tombstone gave a death date but then I found an obituary that was a year difference. The manager changed it and posted the obituary.

On the flip side of this one of my great grandfathers has a wrong birth date on his stone - wrong by several years. I have provided documentation as to his birthdate from a pension application that he filled out. The manager will not change it.

Comments

If the great grandfather is within 4 generations, you can request to manage.

If the manager is unresponsive/refusing to make corrections, you could probably still request to manage, but you'd need to contact Find a Grave.  (I did this, but don't remember how, sorry.)

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After a period of manager unresponsiveness, the memorials get switched to Findagrave's account, from where you can easily request to manage them, from the suggest edits screen.

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I mis-spoke in my post - this is my 2xgreat grandfather so one generation past the point where I can request management. The couple who manage it also manage hundreds of other memorials in a large area. They are completely uncooperative. At my insistence, and after I contacted FindAGrave, they finally entered a very tiny short statement saying that other records say his birth date is 1822. I would like to post the pension application page where he gives his birthdate but they will not do that. Frustrating but I have moved on and I have he and his wife on all my trees everywhere with the correct info.

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I believe you can still request management, but the current manager is not obligated to transfer.

I have requested management of 2nd and whatever cousins, and have been given it -- but had to fight tooth and nail, so to speak, to get my great-grandmother (and a couple of others within the 4 generations).  I have also had one lovely person simply hand over several related-to-me memorials just because I asked for the one direct relative, and thanked them for taking photos of the gravestones on a number of other of my family members.  It all comes down to personality (and how much one person may wish to control, rather than manage).

Answer 3

WikiTree has a good summary of Find-A-Grave's value on the help page here.

Here's an excerpt:

Using Find A Grave as a Source

Find A Grave is a valuable source for gravestone information but you cannot assume that all information on Find A Grave is correct. It is all entered by users, like on WikiTree, and it may not be based on reliable sources.

Generally speaking, if there is a photo of the grave you can use the information on that gravestone with confidence. Even then, remember that:

1. grave markers can be incorrect, especially for birth information.
2. grave markers can be created and placed long after death by descendants.
3. markers may be "cenotaphs" i.e. monuments to people buried elsewhere.
4. memorial pages may misidentify the person whose gravestone it is.

If there is no photo be sure to investigate the original source before using any of the information on Find A Grave.

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Answer 4

Yes, the lady I visited this afternoon is on Find A Grave, and she is very much alive. I have contacted them and the manager, but nothing changes. Changing her husband’s birth date was not a problem, but he is not in that cemetery. She has his ashes, and after she dies their ashes will be in another cemetery. 

https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/191317583/virginia-h-lipotich

Comments

I had to get my husband's nephew to contact Find a Grave direct to get his mother declared still living, because they would not "listen" to me.  (Not directly related.)  All because she and her late husband purchased a joint plot complete with headstone.  Her memorial still exists, but now states she is still living.

Your friend might need to do the same, if the manager is not cooperative. (As she is more than just directly related to herself, you would think the memorial could be transferred.)

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Melanie, thank you for your good advice. I had not seen her since I took her Christmas dinner. She developed COVID-19 in January, and it has been hard on her. Her son is her only living relative, and I have not mentioned this to either of them.  I do plan to keep trying to change this and take photos.

Answer 5

Many times I have found that the transcriber has not really read and understood what the engraving said.

I recently requested an edit: The engraving said, The wife and children of Robert, first name was .....born 1860 died 1884. second name was .....born 1882 died 1883, third name was ....born 1883 died 1884.

The transcriber had them all as children of Robert.

The same as many things more attention to detail is required.

Comments

Long inscriptions can be confusing and often need records to untangle. I've come across several of these situations, like where there is a list of names and dates on the stone, but no indication of how or if they're related. The best thing is to leave them unlinked until they can be confirmed by records. I do remember a situation where the text said "brother of", but they were connected as spouses.

Answer 6

It seems to me that, since Findagrave was purchased by Ancestry, some of the memorial managers seem to just add whatever they find on Ancestry family trees -- and we all know how reliable many of the Ancestry trees are. Sometimes they will respond to a requested correction and sometimes not. Just make a note whenever you find incorrect information there.

Answer 7

Find-grave is just like any other "online source", great for hints, poor as an actual source. Wrong attribution of markers to people, markers with incorrect dates as a lot of old ones are subject to memory and even "memorials" with no marker photos or anything else to back up it existence. People have to be first and it is hardly ever verified. This happens with government records as well. my dads VA marker is wrong, and they won't fix it. he was never a "Jr.", despite some records claiming it. they have his wrong discharge rank, and will not correct it. My grandfather went though life claiming his birthday was 2 years earlier, which also resulted in an incorrect marker, and hits rank is wrong given when he was actually discharged. Is why we look at multiple sources when we can, and dig hard.