Inconsistencies between WikiData and Find A Grave

Question

It happens that you find a "clue for father" suggestion from Wikidata - after checking it, you add the parents. Then comes another suggestion because the date of birth of this father does not coincide with that of Find A Grave. Often both without sources. Generation after generation, connections are created very far from my lines, I have not decided to follow them. The only solution, to orphan these profiles. Or not?

Answer 1

I spend a lot of time correcting data on Find A Grave but of course I have other sources to back me up.  If there are no other sources then I just ignore the suggestion and click the button so it takes it off my suggestion list.

Comments

Don't ignore the suggestions by marking them as false please.  They are just suggestions, they do not have to be cleared. Until.there is a source to give evidence one way or another, just skip it. Maybe someone in the future will be able to find the solution.

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Leave a message for an edit on the profile and give the sources.

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There are cases where marking false is appropriate.   Text explaining the problem should be added. Examples:  The death date inscribed on the stone differs from the official death certificate.  In the case of a birth date, the Find A Grave manager may have added a date based on reported age at death  (Æ88 yrs. 3 mos. 12 dys. for example)   You can mark false with text FindAGrave birth date is estimated and differs from the official birth record.

Answer 2

I take the dates on tombstones on FAG with a grain of salt. Many times, tombstones were purchased later and so dates can be wrong. I always use records; birth, marriage, death, as my main source for accuracy. If the date is wrong on FAG, I will message the PM and make a note on the WikeTree profile about the erroneous information.

Comments

Absolutely right Shonda.   Please remember that dates on many FAG are usually offered by family member and we all know what conclusion that brings!  A good solution is to become a member of FAG and that way you can suggest edits to dates from the written records.   In all cases where I’ve suggested a change to a profile it has been done.

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Hi Linda! I actually have been a member of FAG since 2008. And I did forget to mention in my comment above that I do make suggestions for the corrections. I too, in most cases, have success with getting it fixed. Thank you for mentioning that.

Answer 3

Many Find a Grave memorial pages present dates "as shown" on grave stones. Genealogists must keep the following in mind:

1. What is believed to be dates of death on grave stones are oftentimes the dates of interment, and they are sometimes the dates that the grave stones were actually installed.

2. What is believed to be the date of birth is oftentimes incorrect because the person ordering the manufacture of the grave stone either did not know the correct date or an incorrect date was used by the decedant during his or her lifetime.

3. What are believed to be grave stones are sometimes cenotaphs erected many decades later by well-meaning genealogy researchers who used inaccurate records for dates. It is very common for cenotaphs to be installed in cemeteries "other than" the cemeteries where the decedants were interred.

3. Family relations shown on Find a Grave are oftentimes incorrect, the relations being unsupported by historic records. This is especially common with Find a Grave memorial pages which exist without headstone images to document the existence of the burial within the cemetery.

Answer 4

Monumental stones are just a monument erected to memorialise an individual. The information was supplied by someone who may have known that individual well at it can be accurate. They cannot be used alone to prove anything as we do not know who created or provided the information. We must always use them in conjunction with other records, especially those with reliable provenance.

I know that my husband's grandfather has 2 memorials, one where he is buried and another on his parents' grave. Other records such as burial and funeral reports support this.

Answer 5

That's right. Thank you all for these non-obvious considerations. On the other hand, I happened not to find sources on Wikidata as well. They often refer to Genealogics. Is it a reliable site?

Comments

In my opinion Genealogics is not a reliable source. It is unsourced, and I have found many errors.

Answer 6

Be very careful using Find a Grave or WikiData if there are no primary sources associated with the data....I have found people with false ancestries that use Find a Grave and WikiData to propagate the falsehoods, as those cites do not require sources like WikiTree.