> I had a similar thing happen but before all these online trees. > About 18 years ago I exchanged info with a cousin. I had created a > small family genealogy based on my great grandmother's stories and > sent her a copy. About 10 years later another cousin said she found > this booklet written by a well know local genealogist that included > our family. She bought a copy for me at $15. When I got it is was > a copy of the booklet I had sent out with all the spelling errors I > had. The only change was the title page which now bore the name of > the other genealogist with no mention of me or my grandmother. I > contacted the woman and she said she had no memory of corresponding > with me. When I sent he copies of her letters including the one > acknowledging the receipt of the booklet. She simply refused to > talk to me. I often wonder how much of her reputation was built on > work of other people. > > They only way to keep people from claiming your work as their own is > to share with no one. And that negates the very reason we do > genealogy. You cannot copyright dates as they are facts of records. > > You can copyright your narrative and try to sue anyone who used the > narrative without your permission but that is extremely expensive > and you would have to prove they had your work before they wrote > theirs. Not easy. > > [email protected] or publish it first and give copies to relevant libraries soon 71 years of age, my death is beginning to be foreseable so I don't care what other people do with my data Hugh W -- Beta blogger http://nanowrimo3.blogspot.com/ visiting my past http://hughw36-2.blogspot.com/ re-entry http://snaps4.blogspot.com/" photographs and walks old blogger http://hughw36.blogspot.com/ MAIN BLOG Hugh Watkins <[email protected]>