Hello All ... Patti said this very well. Finding things on the Internet, just like reading something in a book, newspaper, brochure or hearing it on the radio or TV, does not mean that it is accurate. One must verify everything. On the Delaware website, I am sure there are many inaccuracies - however the value of having the whole collection of materials out there just might provide a clue to someone. On the website I run the following: NOTE TO RESEARCHERS USING THIS WEBSITE: As you use this volunteer site, please keep in mind the difference between primary and secondary sources and the importance of building a preponderance of evidence. Accept nothing without further checking. It is our hope that through this collection of data from many sources, you will find a piece of the puzzle that you are working on and that may lead you to further discoveries. Continue with your search - and check all data........ J. ----- Original Message ----- From: "Bob & Patti Gottschall Schuknecht" <gramsiepat-pinecrest@prodigy.net> To: <nydelawa@rootsweb.com> Sent: Sunday, April 29, 2007 7:48 AM Subject: [NYDELAWA] Misinformation > Hi Evelyn and all, > So sorry about the bad experience you had when you found the > misinformation on your family. If the misinformation were deliberately > done, it would indeed be a cruel hoax, but it is hard to believe this was > the case. More likely it was an unfortunate and hurtful but all-too-human > error. It would be wonderful it people were impecably accurate when > posting, but haste, carelessness or lack of verification of some > misinformation they themselves have received causes no end of mistakes > like this to happen. Too often these mistakes are perpetuated by others > who accept them as fact without further checking. > Because I'm so afraid of being the cause of something like this, I have > avoided doing much posting, but material I have shared privately has > occasionally made its way to the internet. It has been very frustrating > for me to find items that obviously came from me being altered enough to > make them incorrect and also being posted without my permission. It is > downright embarrassing! Usually there is no good way to correct them > either. > It is always wise to be skeptical of information found on the internet > until it is substantiated. There is also the possibility in a case like > this that the person who posted it has made a false assumption about > someone with the same name. I have found this several times in postings > on my family - for example the "wrong Solomon Gottschall", was listed as > dying young and childless in the east, -- even the burial place given, -- > when actually the "right Solomon Gottschall" came west and became my > ancestor. Another very good genealogist sent me a family tree, supposedly > for my ancestor Luther Nutting, born 1796, Groton, MA -- unfortunately it > was the lineage of another Luther Nutting, born on the same date in the > same place, but a different line. > My sympathy to you for the fear and heartache you went through while > establishing that your relative was indeed alive and well. It must have > been a bad time for you. > Sincerely, > Patti Gottschall Schuknecht