Genealogy Chat

see below.

My maiden name was Cadd. My brother did a lot of work on the Cadds in the 1980s, and also made contact with a cousin who did even more. They managed to get the family back to 1720, mainly by going to the local churches and to Somerset House. My brother died in 1990, but the cousin is still alive, so far as I know. I started working on all my families in 2003. I discoverd that a tremendous amount of wok had been done since the 1980s on the Cadds. The first Cadd appears from nowhere in 1720, but his wife's family has been taken back to 1540 or so. There are at least 2 versions of this on rootsweb. It turns out that the family is centred on 3 or so villages around Preston Bissett in Buckinghamshire. From there they moved to Lancashire and to the Durham area. In the 1850s two siblings and their families emigrated to Australia, and then eventually went on one of 2 Mormon ships to the California goldfields. So, there is now a large group of people working on the Cadds based in both the US and in Australia/NZ, and 'members' of a Cadd group ................. which I do not seem to be able to break into! I have had brief contact with a couple of people through rootsweb ........ but it seems to go nowhere. The cousin does not answer any emails. Last year I was in Australia, and was given a copy of a Cadd Family History cd that had been made for a 'Meeting' in 1999. NOW I would really like to get in contact with someone!!! When looking at my own line, I find that my father has disappeared and my brother is my father! Other things in my grandfather's family and line are also wrong! I've tried emailing several of the names that I have ..................... and just got either no repsonse at all, or Oh yes, I've found you, your father was Frank and your mother was Hannah. Well no! But it goes nowhere!!! Any suggestions? Sylvia

It seems mad that people sit there and tell you who your parents are when you are quite plainly saying - no thats not right. It is sad when people get things so wrong and cant bear to think they are wrong. Is there a One Name Study on Cadd? They might be interested on any information you have which may correct any info they hold which has been compiled by these people. Have you tried looking up phone numbers for some of these people or addresses? They might be more likely to respond to that in case they dont check their emails much etc.

Alexandra and Von Thank you for your responses. I have joined Curious Fox, but there doesn't seem to be much on there for me. Most of this work seems to have been down by a little group in the US Sylvia

Sylvia I have discovered that people do not like being told they are wrong, even when you have rock solid proof that they are wrong! If 50,000 people say Joe married Mary and had Susan, and you come along and say I am Susan, but my parents were John and Freda, then they ignore you - 50,000 people can't be wrong, can they! Only today I had correspondence with someone, who is perpetuating a myth about someone's parentage and date of birth. I have done an awful lot of work with original records for this individual and have PROVED that the accepted birthdate and parentage is wrong (the wrong version does not appear in any parish register, lol). The contact thanked me politely, but said that he would be sticking with the version he had found 'all over the Internet', rather than my lone contribution. It makes me want to spit! OC

How Frustrating this must be. I would keep writing polite but insistent emails. I do not know how you get them to listen, but you should ensure that an alternative information source is available online. Basically start your own group. Don't give up!! Kerry from Oz

OC that is unbelievable. Did you send him the proof and he still rejected it........that's just plain stupid. Guess I've just never been a follower and that is why my tree is so small!!!!

OC and Kerry, Thank you for your input. It is frustrating to be told that your brother is your dad .................. he was older than me but only just over 10 years! And then to keep being told that this Cadd 'group' seems to be a secret society!!! Sorry this reply is so late ............................ it was dinner time here, and daughter and her husband were here. Not too long to go now before they move back to the other side of the country to their permanent home, so we are making the most of our time with them! Sylvia

OC .......... it must have been so frustrating for you to have him deny your work! All you can do is do your best ........ and hope thast he will realise one day that he is wrong! Sylvia

Someone who I am very distantly related to has their tree both on this site and on Ancestry. It has a lot of minor errors in it a small number of complete fabrications. I have corresponded with this person on numerous occasions and he did open his GR tree to me when I first started doing internet reserch, about three years ago. He obviously felt very proud of his research and was happy to show it off to people. Nothing wrong with that. At the time he knew a lot more than I did about my paternal great grandmother's family. which is the line we share, and I got a lot of useful information from him. However, as my research progressed, I found out (and had evidence to prove) that some of his research was way off the mark. In fact, some of his errors were on a branch that was mine, not his, but which he had included in his tree. This might be why he had been less diligent in checking his leads (those people not being related to him, but being there as 'padding' as it were). In good faith, I contacted him and very politely told him that I had new, incontrovertible data, that showed some of his original assumptions to be wrong (I didn't use those words and was very gentle). He replied to tell me that indeed he was NOT wrong, but that I was actually wrong. I later learned from other contacts that they had also contacted him to tell him the same thing about others on his tree and had received the same response. I had made the mistake of thinking that he would feel the same way about his tree as I do about mine and that if someone could prove to me that some of it was wrong and give me the correct data instead, I would actually be really grateful. Not the case at all. Even since that time, I have been in touch with him with a lot of new information I have found out about our mutual ancestors, from looking at original parish records . He has thanked me for it, but has not made any changes to his tree. As OC says, some people are just determined to be right and their misplaced pride won't let them accept that they may have made mistakes. Their loss!

Thanks Amanda ...... that's quite a story! I guess people do not like to be told they are wrong!

I've just checked on the G.O.O.N.S. site.... There is a One Name Study for CADD.......Contact details here. http://www.one-name.org/cgibin/search.cgi?find=3165 The researcher has an obligation to answer mail, ...It's part of the agreement of being a registered GOONS member. I hope you get some satisfactory answers. Good luck. Gwyn

Hi I admit that I have been wrong a few times and climbed trees of rellies that have had nothing to do with me, yet corrected them when I found out I had made a mistake. I didnt feel stupid over it and it actually helped me to realies that you should 'check, check and check again' to make sure that is the right ancestors. A cousin of mine had put the wrong marriage in her tree is some ancestors we share. Obviously i assumed she was right but through investigating it further, I found that she had bought the wrong marriage cert, and it was a totally different family. I emailed her and she said she wasnt surprised as the right familys, first child was born in 1864 and they wed that year, whereas the other family had wed in 1859 and had their first child in 1860 who was alive in 1881 with them. She was quite grateful for it. Some people just dont like being contradicted, even for the right reasons. Ben

The internet is great for sharing information but unfortunately it's equally good / bad at perpetuating myths. If you receive information from America and the same from France and Australia.... Well, it must be right ! ........unfortunately NO. Gwyn

Gwyn, Thanks for that. I have to go away now ........ it's early morning here in Canada and physiotherapy treatment calls! But I will see if I can contact the one-name study guy .............. again! I have tried once before. Actually ......... I have a feeling that it is the cousin I mentioned earlier who either doesn't answer emails from me or whose emails bounce back to me!!!!! Thye certainly share the same name. Sylvia.

Ben, I would hope that anyone would take information that they might be wrong, process it, check it, and accept it if it does pan out. But that's not always the case. I just don't want to have my brother as my father for too much longer!!!!! Sylvia

Just to say that I went on the one-name site, and found the researcher ................. who I do think is the person I have tried to contact before, same name anyway!! I have written a letter to him, now I have to find out where I buy 3 international reply coupons as the letter has to be accompanied by a reply-paid envelope, and British stamps are not available here!! Let's hope I do eventually get a response from him!! Sylvia

Hi Sylvia, You can get the international reply coupons from Canada Post. Good luck!

Hi Jenny,

Thnaks for that information ..................I'll be going by the post office later today.


Sylvia

Old Crone is right again (hey she always is!) There are too many people out there prepared to accept the easiest solution that comes along without proper verification. Stick to your guns, do your OWN research. Check it against others, take their advice on alternatives and check that too. At the end of the day you want to have YOUR family tree, not somebody elses incorrect version of what it might be. And if you only get back 3 generations, and you know it is right (or as near damn as you can, cos none of us can be absolutely certain), that is far better than 10 generations that you have no proof of at all. Margaret