05 April 2011

Map Database Error At Ancestry.com

I have emailed Ancestry.com about this before, but it seems to get lost in the queue. There are errors in the locations of plat maps in the database that is queried when using the "Indexed County Land Ownership Maps, 1860-1918" at Ancestry.com. In working on an article for Casefile Clues, I wanted a few images to use as illustrations. I searched for the last name of Fecht nationwide. Several results came up--including several that Ancestry.com indicates are in Bear Creek Township, Iroquois County, Illinois. The map they are using is for Hancock County, not Iroquois County. The first screen shot is from my results page. Clicking on the first entry for G Fecht, I obtained the following screen:


It's difficult to see in the image in the post (click on it for a larger shot), but Ancestry.com's indicating this is from Iroquois County when the image clearly states Hancock. I suspected the error based upon the name I searched for and the name of the township, but would the "unsuspecting" genealogist--I'm not certain.


I love having these things indexed, don't get me wrong. It would be nice however, if the correct county were tied to the database entry.


Of course, this does give me a nice citation issue to discuss for the newsletter, but that really is not the point.



Update: the 1916 Hancock County, Illinois atlas is listed Jersey County......