Genealogy Chat

Peter,

My son is the only person who was given the deed poll name at birth, so he is the only person on my tree who bears the name.

The person who contacted me was searching the surname that my son has, but the glitch in the message system means that the query comes in relation to me, and lists my tree (maiden) name on the relation column on the contacts page. Easily checked by changing my tree name - hey presto, the name in the relation column on the contacts page changes also!!

Seems the only guess by the person who sent the query was in assuming that my current name is the same as my son's, but to me it looked as if she had enquired about my maiden name and then somehow obtained my married name from genes.

Not sure how the glitch works, but in testing it with another member the system quite happily gave me their tree name which should only be available to people who have access to their tree - which I don't. We know it is the tree name as the name I was given is not available anywhere else on genes!!

Hope that makes sense!!

Maggie

I have just read this thread again and I'm still not clear on one key point. Is this "Deed Poll" name held anywhere on the GR database, and if so where? Also, have you asked the other person where they got the information?

Found lots of sites with info about deed polls - this one gives some insight - has implications for marriage searches as well - register only shows new name, tho former name should be on certificate!!

http://www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/familyhistory/name/default.htm

Mark,

Have pm'd you re: personal bits.

Genes are aware of the blip that is revealing info and are working to correct it.

Re: Deed Poll - was told that for genealogy purposes there is no central register so they seem quite hard to track down, case of searching newspapers and the like. Modern ones may of course be different!!

Don't know about census checks, but on CRB checks one is obliged to reveal name prior to deed poll.

Over to the experts........!!

Maggie

Hi Maggie,

[EDIT]

Found it again! It was the "Search Trees" button BUT the surname field is compulsory so entering your screen name will not work. The person would have had to know that in advance.

[end of edit]

You don't need any tree matches with other tree owners to send messages, they just have to be people you happen to know [edit: full name, as mentioned above] and they also happen to be GR users (sub'd or non-sub'd).


What really concerns me is that *all* of the following are in GR's databases and a determined hacker might be able to find the links between one and another.


1) Your User Name
2) Your Screen name
3) The surname on your entry in your own tree
4) The surname on your credit card details


By rights, (4) is the only place where GR have stored any reference to your deed-poll name.

Speaking of which, I still can't work out whether your son was born before or after the deed poll change. (I don't need to know myself but the answer may help resolve what happened).

Some things I refrained from asking previously are for the records experts out there:
1) How long are deed poll records kept confidential?
2) When did deed poll laws come into being?
3) How do they affect census searches? (Is the person obligated to reveal their previous identity to the recording officer?)


regards,

Mark

Peter,

That only works if Mary Smith has put the name Mary Brown on her account page - if you click on my name all you get on the reply page is Maggie in Leics.

On my contacts page I have messages refering to me in my tree name which is something quite different!! The confusion arose when my tree name was my maiden name and messages came about that name, even tho the enquirer had searched for my son's name.

If you search for my sister in law, her name comes up as Mary Smith, which is her maiden name.

If you then Click on the name to send her a message, then Mary Smith appears in the message heading but Mary Brown, her married name appears in the Address box. You now refer to her as Mrs Brown blah blah in your message.

Definitely displays the name on the tree - have been playing around to test it!!

Be interesting to know who genes says the test message I just sent you is from!! ;-))

Person was searching for my married name - but system displayed my maiden name on message - so it wasn't clever guesswork by the sender - it WAS genes giving the game away!!

I'd forgotten that, Maggie - that's been going on for ages, and still isn't fixed. I thought it'd show your maiden name, though (I think it shows the name of the tree owner).

Think I've solved it!!

Think the problem may be linked to the glitch in the message system the other day as pms to a board name seem to have as their subject line on the contacts page the name of the account owner as displayed on the tree - tho queries about a possible relative still seem to have their subject listed correctly.

Grrrr......!!

Thanks all for your interest.

Mark - can't find the page you are talking about.

Claire - Don't think there has been any previous contact with mutual contact.

Bob/Historyman - my concern not about the "discovery" of my name - which is readily available on another site - my concern is that by searching one name on this site it seems possible to access a linked name, without any prior knowledge - person concerned said it was pure guesswork - something that shouldn't be possible where the names in question are very common - too many for it to have been a guess!! My skeleton tree is on here because I do want to make contacts but there does seem to be a glitch here which genes can't explain.

I presume most members put trees on the site in the hope of getting new contacts. If, say, you are researching name Voxe every two weeks you can search that name added within 14 days. If, say, new member Susan puts her tree details on all the names she adds will appear within that enquiry list.
By clicking to contact that person full name and membership number is shown. Person doing the one name study will have a good idea which Branch the member belongs to as all GRO records will have been previously extracted to file. In any event modern names are distinctive, and if say Geraldine born 2004 XXX Josephine 2002 XXX Tristan 2000 XXX
search of births 1984 to 2005 shows maiden name of mother, and full second names of Children. By searching marriage Voxe you then have full maiden name of Mother. Death indexes Voxe 1984 to 2005 give birth date. All the above notes are search methods that will assist any family historian. However, if I were to contact a person I certainly would not let on that I already knew their married name. It is just possible that this may give a clue to a possible answer to the question raised.

..be safe, remove your tree, most of us old timers have.

GR manages nothing. Except for moans or blips like my reply.

As 3 years ago, check for ancestors to Mickey Mouse b.1900-25, still there, I message them occassionally with "squeek", no reply they are visiting ghosts.

So how many others just come in, take info & give nothing.

Bob

I suspect that this person has been in touch with someone who has access to your tree. The old contact has then had a look at your tree & said something like "Ah you need to speak to Maggie (married surname picking it up from your son) as she is a closer relation than I am"
New person will then have looked for a match with Maggie & found you.
I've done much the same in the past but only ever given out first names

Hi Maggie,

I only found it the other day but there's a GR page where you can search for members by name and message them. (With no tree-matching involved)

Try this on some people whom you've only ever known by their married surname and see if it displays their maiden name on the line underneath it.

Whatever it says is down to how they entered themselves in their own tree.


M

Think I follow the theory Mark - but since the query is about my married name, which only linked to my maiden name by deed poll, there can be no question of growing a tree forwards in this case.

They were searching for my married name, and have somehow found my maiden name - a thing I didn't think was possible. There is no question of a link being made via hot matches in this case. Waiting for an answer back from genes, but the problem they have with messages to support at the moment means that there has been a delay.

Hi Maggie,

in terms of /mechanism/ the messages are just travelling from (Account#12345678) to (Account#8765432).

The names, handles, clickable links or whatever are mere appendages to the account number in use and the hotmatch system puts one account in touch with the other.

To arrive at your maiden name, they would only need to have been growing their tree 'forwards'. They got your parents details before they got you.

That trick of putting "Living" in the tree records - they could have learned about that from reading the forums. (??????).....(!!!!!!!!!!!)

As for your married name... it's a long-shot idea but that can only have got to them by means of contact with one of your contacts, because they had some other tree member in common.

The trouble is, the more we discuss this, openly, the more we just clue up the clueless.

Can I ask the moderators to please remove this post after you've had a chance to cut and paste it to your PC?


M

Name on tree is Living (maiden name) - message came about that person - me - but addressed to Maggie (married name) - shouldn't be possible on genes to make the surname connection from names on tree without access to the tree which she doesn't have, and in all fields on "My Account" I am Maggie in Leics.

Lady says she was searching for the married name and came across my son and made the assumption about my name - but that doesn't explain how she made the connection to "Living (maiden name)" to be able to send the message - if it was just a case of assuming a name, the query should have come about "Living (married name)" which is how my son is registered.

What is your actual name in your tree on this site?

Krystyna

Doesn't apply in this case as the person knew my name before contact had been made, and both names are "in Leics" in any case - no clue in my contact name as to what maiden/married names are!!