It is no wonder that the Pope family ancestry is so danged hard to trace. It looks like everyone is just copying everyone else's trees and not even bothering to look for and examine historic records and other sources.

Let's take a look at a few quick examples...

ISAAC RICKS POPE, son of John Pope and Mary Ricks - I have found more than 50 trees with this relationship. According to every one of these trees, John Pope died in 1722 and Isaac Ricks Pope was born between 1740 and 1745. How is this possible? How can Isaac Ricks Pope be born more than 20 years AFTER the death of his biological father?

MARY RICKS, wife of Thomas Pope and mother of Holland, Mary and Thomas Jr - There are more than a dozen trees showing that Mary Ricks was the daughter of Isaac Ricks, Jr and Sarah McKinnie. A few had her parents named as William Ricks and Sarah McKinnie. Most trees show her son to be named "Wilson" instead of Thomas. HOWEVER, if people would just take the time to read and do some research then they'd know that Isaac Ricks and Sarah McKinnie were the GRANDPARENTS of this particular Mary Ricks. This was learned and documented as far back as 1908 in a book called History and Genealogy of The Ricks Family of America (Salt Lake City, Utah, Skelton Publishing Co., 1908), by Guy S. Rix.

WILLIAM H. POPE, husband of Nancy Treadaway (in Marengo, AL in 1860) - There are dozens of trees showing that William's parents were Jabez Pope and Clarissa Presnell, and a few trees showing his parents to be Jacob Pope and Mary LNU. Some of those trees have renamed him to be "William A. Pope" in order to force a fit of data. The census and his CSA military records clearly show this William's middle initial to be "H" (as in "Henry"). Jabez and Clarissa had a son named William ALEXANDER Pope. This is a different William than my 3rd-great grandfather. Amongst the children of Jabez and Clarissa were William Alexander (b.1829), Harrison Wiley (b.1835), and Francis Marion (b.1840). You can find these three brothers - William A., Harrison W., and Francis M. - all living in the household of Thomas McNeill in Cherokee, Tx in the 1850 census. In the 1860 census, Harrison is enumerated as "H.W. Pope", married to Jane E Mansell and living in Smith, TX, so this cannot be William H. Pope in Marengo, AL in 1860. William ALEXANDER Pope is enumerated as "W. A. Pope" in the 1880 census for Precinct 2, Smith, TX. His wife, enumerated as "S.E. Pope", was Sarah Elizabeth Sanders. Their oldest child listed, Martha E., was born 1859 in Texas. His second oldest son, George B., was born 1860 in Texas. This cannot be the same William H. Pope in Marengo, AL in 1860.