I downloaded Ancestry's 'We're Related' app on my ipad2. The app uses 70+ million user trees private and public. It's such an exciting tool which could be a useful tool or it could wreck havoc on an already twilight zone of inaccurate trees. So one must not take the app as the gospel truth, but instead use it as a possible guide to do their own research to prove or disprove the line. Sure it's exciting to say you're related to a famous person but it's better to have a correct detailed bountiful tree full of records and documentation to prove your claims. What's great about the app is not only does it search it's data base to find famous relatives but you can always invite your friends off Facebook to download the app and see if you're related to your dearest friends! (I did family history several years back for my best friend. I found out her and I share our 3rd great-grandparents, Daniel Hartzog and Susannah Zorn, as common ancestors. So putting more friends in my tree is exciting for me.)
That's what my screen looks like. It has a family tree icon to view the celeb's tree to see how you're related. The heart to favorite the celeb. And a share feature so you can share with all your Facebook friends.
Below is my line on the left, Donald Trump's line on the right.
Wow. My ancestor Finley McCaskill in Scotland's father being an 8 year old father and grandfather's name as MacSweyrn. Talk about someone not paying attention. Of course it was wrong. Luckily, in the app at the bottom it as a thumbs up and thumbs down you can click on to say if it was a correct line or not. That way ancestry knows that line is incorrect and not to use it again.
Over the next couple days, I saw new matches to Michael Jackson, Jessica Simpson, Johnny Depp, Walt Disney, Christina Aguilera and Carrie Fisher. I saw immediately Michael Jackson, Christina Aguilera and Jessica Simpson's lines were incorrect. It had used most of my tree for my line up to Robert Coleman. I know the line is incorrect because the app confused my Robert Coleman (line from England) to the Robert Coleman (line from Scottish General.)
On the 3rd day, I had 2 new matches from my Facebook friends. I was able to quickly confirm both lines to be correct. Thanks to the 'We're Related' app it has gotten many people talking about their ancestors. I've been able to say "me too" when someone mentions that Mayflower ancestor such as Edward Doty, Edward Fuller and Stephen Hopkins to name a few. I've gotten friends who were not interested in family history to download the app and try it out.
The app has inspired me to track down other famous relatives such as Gov. Sarah Palin and Norman Rockwell who shares Stephen Hopkins (the Mayflower passenger) to add to my tree on my father's side.
The app is fun and exciting, but one must use common sense.
