On-line forum for Germans from Russia Researchers

This is just a question about how the database works.
1. Will you make corrections by way of the "Suggestions" button? For example, an entry in the database is shown as Jonathan Hemminger, b.1784. In 25 years of research I have never heard of a German named Jonathan. If I can prove this is in error by way of the source given, will a change be made?
2. Can I link to an existing person or does each gedcom stand alone with its info? For example, I can probably provide the ancestry of the above mentioned Jonathan (almost certainly should be Johann or Johannes) back to 1560. Can I link directly to him or will there be 2 entries for this person which someone else has to interpret as being the same one.
3. If a link to a person is not possible, can one add a note that references the other entry?

I will do my best to answer your questions regarding the database.

1. Will you make corrections by way of the "Suggestions" button?
Depends. Our database consists of many trees submitted from a number of sources. For example, there are trees based on EWZ indexes as well as personal family trees submitted by users. If a user sends us a change using the "Suggest" form in the database, we first look to see who the tree was submitted by. If the tree is an EWZ index then we would NOT change the information we translated as that is what was recorded by the person who filled out the EWZ. In this case, we would copy the email (including header of email which includes the date and email address from the submitter) into the "Notes" section for the individual they are requesting the change for but would not make the changes to the individual record.

Each tree submitted to Black Sea German Research includes the name and email address of the person who submitted the tree. In many cases, if a user has the same person in their own personal database and information in the Black Sea German Research database conflicts with theirs, they can contact the submitter of the database or fill out the "Suggest" form and send it to us. If they email the submitter of the database, it is up to the owner of the tree to decide if the conflicting information is accurate or not. If the submitter sends the correction using the "Suggest" form we will copy and paste their suggestion into the "Notes" section of the individual and contact the submitter of the database with the suggested changes. It is the responsibility of the owner of the database to make the decision as to whether or not the suggestion is valid and if the change should be made for that individual. This is where good sourcing comes in. Just because one person says the date of birth is May 1, 1889 does not make it true. I've seen mistakes on headstones regarding dates of death, mistakes on birth and death certificates, and mistakes on other vital records.

2. Can I link to an existing person or does each gedcom stand alone with its info?
Each GEDCOM stands alone with its information. Black Sea German Research Group is not trying to connect all Germans from the Black Sea area into one big database. Our purpose is to freely share information from users around the world and help them connect to others who are researching the same surnames and/or villages. With that said, we will have duplicates of individuals in our database. You’ll want to check each tree that lists your ancestor’s name because each might have a new nugget of information you don’t know. Plus it may help you connect to those distant cousins.

3. If a link to a person is not possible, can one add a note that references the other entry?
Yes, you can certainly add to the notes section "see Friedrich Ohlhauser ID # I11126 in Grossliebental District of Odessa Families by Gayla Aspenlieter tree and also ID # I34068 in Ott by Gerald Ott tree".

I hope this answers your questions. Please let me know if you have any additional questions or if your need further explanations on the questions above.

Gayla Aspenleiter
Black Sea German Database Administrator

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Gayla Aspenleiter
Black Sea German Research Webmaster and Database Administrator

One comment on #2 – we purposely have chosen NOT to try to merge individuals who appear to be the same. Partly because it would be terribly time consuming. But also since there are SO many similar names and birth dates, unless you’re really familiar with a specific family line, it would be very easy to merge people who aren’t really the same person. We thought it better to leave the multiple entries and leave it up to the researcher to determine what they think is accurate, as they would have to with any other source material.

Viewing many databases like rootsweb for example there are many duplicates posted by different people and often have different information. Also some are copied from others and may have wrong information.
Obtaining records from Saratov and Bas-Rhin archives doesn't mean they are completely accurate. Remember many of those early
ancestors may not even know how to write or read. Record keepers simply wrote what they heard
I get messages that suggest corrections or additions need to be made. I appreciate them and often the changes are made.
If I failed to post because I didn't have a source I would never get the information to consider corrections.

Name changes are difficult to post. Names like Waldmann later became Waltmann and in America they dropped the final N.
Volk to Folk and those umlauts. One of my direct ancestors original Lowenstein with a umlaut changed to Loewenstein and his
children used Lovenstein Laevenstein Loevenstein. And my birth certificate had Lobenstein.

So just share your suggestions and corrections and maybe it will be accepted. I never feel 100% my information is correct. Also
another example records after 1816 to 1852 were not easily accessible so assumptions were made that later turned out to be
incorrect. The Bitz descendants early believed they had a direct ancestor named Balthasar in the 1816 Stumpp book when later in the 1852 census it turned out to be a son Nicholas born after 1816.