(Lisa Alzo with Internet Genealogy Magazine – March 10, 2016)

Having a tree on Ancestry.com opens up the possibilities of connecting with cousins and expanding your family lines. As such, it is inevitable that you will see data entered by others that is not correct. Whether it’s a misspelling, wrong relationship, inaccurate date or a host of other potential misnomers, you will likely want to set the record straight.

Once you arm yourself with the correct evidence, you can use Ancestry.com’s connection options to contact the person with the wrong information in their tree and hope they will take the time to make the corrections. Anywhere you see a public tree there is a link to the owner. Click the link and you’ll be provided with options, one of which is “Contact.” Communication is handled via Ancestry.com, which means you won’t see their email address, and they won’t see yours. When corresponding, remember to be polite and tactful. By correcting information whenever you can, you will not only help your own research, but will be doing a huge favor for the entire genealogical community.