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United States of America does not exist before 1776

Re: United States of America does not exist before 1776

Posted: 6 Aug 2011 6:42AM GMT
Classification: Query
I have tried to keep my tree clean of the mistake. I have worked on other peoples's family trees. Alot of people do not realize that the 13 colonies from 1607 counting Jamestown to 1776, or 1781 which is when the British actually surrendered was about 174 years of British rule. In my own family history research that is 4 1/2 generations where the British Crown is in charge. I think to only mention the state/colony is a good idea. It puts the history of it all in perspective for future generations.

The lead up to the Revolution didn't happen over night. It was after a long period of time that colonists started to see themselves as American. Still for official purposes it should only state the colony/state. I totally agree.

Re: United States of America does not exist before 1776

Posted: 8 Mar 2015 7:03PM GMT
Classification: Query
There are a lot of good points here.
As one individual that has many of my ancestors listed as being in the United States or USA etc. before 1776, hopefully those who see this will have some patience as I have been trying to clean this and many other errors up. It is a gedcom file I "inherited" so to speak but with over 42,000 individuals (many who are duplicates etc.) it will take me a long while to fix those errors. I am sure this is the case with most of the others on Ancestry who have these errors in their records.
Personal preference also seems to play a large roll as to whether one references a colony or merely states the place name, county, state. Another issue arises where places have changed names and or borders. {Some places are in a different state than they began in due to a border change, just as many countries have changed names and/or borders even recently.}
An example of place name changes occurs for one of my ancestors was born near a location where a French fort was later built. At the time he was born there was not even a name that I have been able to determine for the location. After the fort was built the surrounding area apparently fell under that name, but even this was only temporary as the fort was later captured and re-named by the British. Most people who I have found that share this ancestor have him as listed at being born in the fort. Which didn't exist when he was born and didn't have the name they use until after being captured by the British.
I am sure there are a wide variety of namings for this ancestors birth place among those of us who share this ancestor. Recording details in the notes becomes very important in situations like these.
I won't get too hot and bothered by those who give a State as a birthplace when it was a Territory, or use USA or United States when it was still colonial America. They may not have had time to correct these inconsistencies or if they are inexperienced may just not know better. Meanwhile, I intend to fix what errors I can find as quickly as I am able and plan to make good use of notes when needed so that those following behind understand my choice(s).
In the end, I don't expect others genealogy to plug in seamlessly to mine - I am responsible for my research, my use of place names or any other historical data that relates to the individual that I collect. I have no doubt that others will find plenty of errors in my material even after I believe I have fixed those records.
I hope others will benefit from what I am able to share through Ancestry.com and other sites and not dwell too much on the flaws and errors in my records.

Re: United States of America does not exist before 1776

Posted: 10 Mar 2015 1:42AM GMT
Classification: Query
Your right if you look at any map drawn before 1492 to 1700 the continent was known as northern Americas different from south Americas. Didn't Columbus discovered America for Spain?

Re: United States of America does not exist before 1776

Posted: 9 May 2015 3:40AM GMT
Classification: Query
Seriously - you all have the time to worry how others decide to layout their trees? I have a hard enough time checking DOB, DOD, DOM, etc. without worrying what others are doing. Petty post in MHO.

Peace out!

Re: United States of America does not exist before 1776

Posted: 14 May 2015 11:11PM GMT
Classification: Query
yeah its the ocd nuts. too much time on their hands.

Re: United States of America does not exist before 1776

Posted: 15 May 2015 1:24AM GMT
Classification: Query
: )

Re: United States of America does not exist before 1776

Posted: 15 May 2015 1:50PM GMT
Classification: Query
Thanks, useful. I would tend to make a distinction between searching and listing. I find that many of the search engines are not coded to make significant distinctions between before and after 1776 (or 1783). Germany, too, didn't become a nation in 1870, yet most search engines treat all the old Germanic states as "Germany" for search purposes. Many of my own ancestors straddle the American Revolution, so the answer to where they "might have lived" is both in the American Territories and in the United States. Yet I certainly don't quibble with the suggestion for being as precise as possible--and for making listings accurate. It saddens me to note how often someone makes George the parent of Henry, with birthdates one year apart, because I find that fifteen subsequent Trees pick up that "fact." It happens, I suppose, because some of us work too fast, myself included. That suggests we also need better processes for corrections, both within software and via message boards.

Re: United States of America does not exist before 1776

Posted: 11 Jun 2015 7:32PM GMT
Classification: Query
> a birthplace of Massachusetts or Rhode Island for ancestors born before 1620

I know that everyone has their own methods, but you don't think that perhaps this is because that is the last known location for them? I mean, it's not a good method to use, but Ancestry doesn't make it easy to keep things organized. It's click and wait and long time, then click and wait a long time again.... and when you have a number of people you're trying to edit there is no group edit for notes or whatnot.

I can see the frustration many 'hobby' researchers have in that. I'm not saying it's a good idea and I'm not saying I do the same, but everyone has their own methods and I'm not sure why it bothers others so much. If it works for them, great! If it's inaccurate, it doesn't bother me because I always verify everything anyway.

Just my two cents.
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