Ancestry.com "FILE RECORDS" helpful hints or Misleading bogus PR gimmick???

Ancestry.com "FILE RECORDS" helpful hints or Misleading Headache???

THIS PAST YEAR ANCESTRY.COM HAS INCREASED THE NUMBER OF HISTORICAL RECORD/FILES FOUND ON A SEARCH.

Regarding these new Individual, Birth, Millennium File, US and International Marriage, Emigration RECORDS


These new records added to hints:

I HAVE TWO QUESTIONS:

1. What level of documentation do these "Family Data Collection" files offer to validating and verifying data??

None--- they conflict, are vague and seldom cite an acceptable source.

2. Can you tell me the orgin of these records?

They seem to be computer generated "files" created by the inputs of mostly, untrained, unreliable sources.

When applying Ancestry.com instruction to find new data (and follow these green leaf hints) and while these hints use to lead you truly new data and it was not unusual to encounter 1-5 on an especially helpful search.

We are now have to deal with 15-30 "so called" new hints. The hints are vague FILE RECORDS of questionable orgin and many times full of errors. You may not only get FILE RECORDS for your individual search but duplicate FILE RECORDS for parents, spouses and/or children.

Point in case -----

My tree overview indicated Susanna Boylston had 15 "new" hints. That is pretty exciting. So if I was be led to 15 hints for say 100 out of 1000 people in my database. I am looking at the possibility of 1500 important possibilities of finding data. This scenario is really not that far fetch --- if you realize I am working with only 10% of my data base. Meaning 90% or 900 people in the database are not being investigated or examined at this time.

Ok including setting up the search, waiting for data, requesting to see hints, you spend a minimum of 3 minutes on each hint. 4500 minutes. 75 man hours (2 working weeks of work)

If only 1% is "new" news to me (15 verifiable legitimate good dates and locations) -----I will feel my two full time working weeks as time spent well worth my time and effort.

When I opened the HISTORICAL RECORDS of the 15 only 10 applied to Susanna, others where her husband's, parents', or siblings' records.

25 man hours of the 75 man hours wasted immediately.

Of the 10 HISTORICAL RECORDS I encountered 5 different birthdates for this same person!!!

If only one birthdate can be the TRUE VALUE

The orgin (who inputted the data) of each "RECORD" would need to be investigated.
The supporting documentation and sources (used to derive to that date) would need to be examined for each date.

Now this could take a while for each date,

assuming we can personally call up each submitter of data and they would of course answer on the first call. And they would be able to recall the family Bible, original birth certificate, or was able to scan over the baptismal records, we could check each record and validate or reject it within half a day for each record. 1 hour times 5 conflicting records times 100 people with "hints". Add 500 man hours to the original 75 hours. Which is 575 manhours of work!!! So 3-4 months you could expect a reasonable guesstimate of 100 birthdates!!!

MY POINT IS UNLESS I AM MISSING THE POINT COMPLETELY:
THE ADDED RECORDS/FILES ARE NOT HELPING BUT HURTING

See my example below:

Ancestry Hints for Susanna Boylston(learn more about Ancestry Hints)
Children (7)
Hannah Adams B: 1637
Samuel Adams B: 1645
Margaret Adams B: 1736
Peter Boylston Adams B: 1738
Elihu Adams B: 1741
Elihu Adams B: 1741
Thomas Adams B: 1743

Susanna Boylston
B:5 March 1698 in Brookline, Norfolk, Massachusetts, United States
D:17 Apr 1797 in Quincy, Norfolk, Massachusetts, United States Edit personJohn Adams B:8 Feb 1691 in Braintree, Norfolk, Massachusetts, United States

Family Data Collection - Individual Records RecordFamily Trees
Name: Susanna Boylston Spouse: John Adams Father: Peter Boylston Birth: 25 March 1708 in Brookline, Norfolk, MA Death: 17 April 1797 in Quincy, Norfolk, MA Marriage: 31 October 1734 Review Hint or ignore hint



Family Data Collection - Births RecordFamily Trees
Name: Susanna Boylston Father: Peter Boylston Mother: Ann White Birth: 5 March 1698 in Brookline, MA, USA Review Hint or ignore hint



Family Data Collection - Births RecordFamily Trees
Name: Susanna Boylston Father: Peter Boylston Mother: Ann White Birth: 5 March 1699 in Brookline, Norfolk, MA, USA Review Hint or ignore hint



Millennium File RecordFamily Trees
Name: Susanna Boyleston Parents: Peter Boylston, Ann White Children: John(2Nd Pres) Adams Birth: 5 Mar 1699 in Brookline, Norfolk, Massachusetts, USA Death: 17 Apr 1797 in Quincy, Norfolk, Massachusetts, USA Review Hint or ignore hint



U.S. and International Marriage Records, 1560-1900 RecordBirth, Marriage & Death
Name: Susanna Boylston Spouse: John Adams Birth: 1699 in MA Review Hint or ignore hint



U.S. and International Marriage Records, 1560-1900 RecordBirth, Marriage & Death
Name: Susanna Boylston Spouse: John Adams Birth: 1699 in MA Marriage: 1734 Review Hint or ignore hint



U.S. and International Marriage Records, 1560-1900 RecordBirth, Marriage & Death
Name: Susanna Boylston Spouse: John Adams Birth: 1709 Marriage: 1734 Review Hint or ignore hint


U.S. and International Marriage Records, 1560-1900 RecordBirth, Marriage & Death
Name: Susanna Boylston Spouse: John Adams Birth: 1708 in MA Marriage: 1734 in MA Review Hint or ignore hint


U.S. and International Marriage Records, 1560-1900 RecordBirth, Marriage & Death
Name: Susanna Boylston Spouse: John Adams Birth: 1709 in MA Marriage: 1734 in MA Review Hint or ignore hint

Solution: instead of chasing these sources and data: the collaboration screens reverence to the source for each data entry is on a scroll down sheet. These collaboration records usually match the data of these RECORD/FILES, Contact people and sources (if cited) are also found there. I warn against using ONE WORLD CONNECT as a source (often referenced in the collaboration screens) because again the criteria to post on this site has not been well established for integrity.