Wrong father attached by others to my ancestor - how do I unlink?
Hello, I am a direct descendant of my great-grandfather James Henry Barnes (LR1S-MQJ). Somebody has assigned him the wrong parents. I am quite certain they are the wrong ones. I want to correct this.
I think the researcher who made the connection mistook James Harold Barnes (KH2M-924, b. 1862)) in the 1870-1880 census records under Marion Barnes (GZZL-X36) for my ancestor, who was born in 1860. The sources under Marion are those two census records, which are also attached to James Harold Barnes.
Here is the full story so you have the complete picture, I apologise if this is TMI or if I seem too worked up over this. :)
James Henry Barnes/Henry Young was illegitimate, per the family story that has been passed down from Henry's son (my grandfather) Charlie A. Young to my dad to me and my siblings. He was born of a female named Barnes and an unknown man. He was taken in or helped by a man named William Young, who was not his father by blood. He went by the surname Barnes (his mother's) through most of his life but some time between 1896 and his death in 1909, he went by Henry Young. He is listed as such on his death certificate, which shows his mother as "Barnes" (no surname) and "William Young" as his father, presumably the closest the family could come without leaving it blank! JHB is also listed in his will as Henry Young.
I was checking on Henry today and saw that somebody has attached a Marion Barnes (GZZL-X36) as his father. I took the 111-marker Family Tree DNA test and got close matches with four men, all surnamed Jackson. I got no paternal line matches with Barnes. The illegitimate father was therefore a Jackson to a high degree of confidence, not a Barnes.
I'm in correspondence with one of my Jackson matches who answered my query and hope to soon ID the genetic father. Two of my four matches listed an earliest known direct male ancestor, and their entries are a father (Col Isaac Jackson of GA) and a son (Isaac's son David Jackson), so those are my direct-line ancestors as well. I have researched the male line from David and ID'd five candidates to have fathered JHB LR1S-MQJ in 1859.
I expect to determine which of the five is my gg-grandfather soon, from a J. Jackson who is the son of one of my matches and who answered to say that after he gets through some current work, he is going to get into his own family history and respond to my request.
How do I break the link to the wrong parents, and do so without offending whomever created the link? I don't want to unlink the Barnes couple only to have somebody else reattach them.
Thanks -
John Kevin Young
Best Answers
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Family Tree is designed so you can edit and correct mistakes. Here is a link to a knowledge article that will help you with the process of removing James Henry Barnes from the parents he has been linked to in Family Tree.
We see in the Latest Changes section on his details page that you have added a story to explain why James does not belong to these parents. That will be very helpful for others who may also be related. (Or in this case, think they are related.)
It is a good idea to send a message to the individual who attached him to these parents, and explain your reasons for removing him.
You can also click the Follow link (next to the star) on James' details page so you will be notified if someone makes a change to his record.
We hope this helps.
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BlueJay1981,
Given your well thought out reasons and detailed history, and the presence of the correct son James Harold Barnes, b. 1862 d. 1929 now linked to Marion and Nancy Barnes (I added already) .....you should feel confidant in testing your "unlinking incorrect parents" skills as shared by CJTobler for your direct James Henry Barnes, aka Henry Young.
For preventing the same from happening in the future... random suggestions:
- Add "Henry Young" as an alternate name with a detailed appropriate explanation in the reason field underneath.
- Add "Research Caution Note - Do Not Confuse with" (or choose and edit wording you like) to Notes with an explanation you are comfortable with. (I've added one already, but choose and edit to your liking). I suggest use of the Notes section as stories in memories sometimes get overlooked IMO depending on the device the other user might access the shared tree with.
- If you choose to work on your great's profile further, you might consider uploading the will and any other documentation which you think others 50 to 100 years from now would guide them in a better understanding of his life and parentage reminisced "threads".
- As CJTobler suggested, this profile is perfect fit for using the "following" tool...
If you get stuck ....drop a note and other users around here might be able to give guidance, links or better ideas..
cheers~
ps. never TMI on relationship scenarios as you outlined. you hit the trifecta+ ...similar name, changed name, illegitimate child, passed down history vs. standard primary sources for parentage, etc..
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LR1S-MQJ James Henry Barnes clearly is not a child of GZZL-X36 Marion Barnes because in the 1870 census he is not present in the household of Marion Barnes. Simply detach him, giving this explanation about the household members.
Given your family history of LR1S-MQJ James Henry Barnes there should be many more sources attached; census records in particular.
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