General Chat

Thanks for that June. I can narrow it down to 10 years too. The children's father was Mann on the 1871 census and Hale when he married in 1881. He is Hale on the 1881 census but then goes back to Mann in 1891. Just realised, I don't have the marriage cert for this chap, so it might be worth sending for that and see if his father is named as Hale or Mann. Jeanette x

I've often wondered the same...when i reply to a mail , i only get the option to reply or delete...where is my auto-reply..i wouldn't use it, i too think it's very 'to the point'..but i want one if everyone else has got one...

Try again, with a different person you have in common. Point out all the shared names and state how the people relate to each other. Perhaps if you show some knowledge of the tree they will respond. I know some people are quite wary of people-snatchers.

Jeanette, it sounds as though for some reason he changed his name. I believe my grandfather did but I dont know the reason why, I have narrowed the possibility down to within 10 years and emailed the National Archives on name changes, if they do the research for me, the cost is £15 per 15 minutes, although they do have a list of private researches who will charge less. But at the end of all their researching there is still no guarantee, that they can anwer it, apparently anyone can change their name, as long it isn't for fraudulent reasons. Good luck with your searches. June xx

I think I'm a bit disappointed! I was expecting great things as this family are a bit of an enigma. They are all born with the surname Hale but appear on the censuses as Mann. I was hoping he was going to tell me why! lol Jeanette x

Jeanette I always put it down to the fact that a lot of people don't come on the message boards and don't realise how it comes across. They perhaps just pop on occassionally and think everything is mainly automated. I've received one or two and they do look abrupt don't they. Chrissie

Hi Jeanette, I dont use the automated reply either, it sounds too impersonal for this site. Sometimes, the person is only related to me by marriage and I haven't got any more details, so I explain that. Sometimes, it is the right name but years apart but I always tell them the date of my relative and his/her offsprings. After all, we are all related at some point. June xx

Thanks for that peeps! The thing is he has listed 6 out of 7 of the children. If they're not related to you, why bother. I too have people in my tree that aren't too closely related to me, but I always send a personal reply telling them as much as I can Jeanette x

I think it means that YOUR relative that you enquired about is not THEIR relative- eg they are saying there is no connection. I agree it is very abrupt sounding though, I never use it.

it could be like parts of my tree where I have people that marry into my line and/or their parents/siblings if I find them on a census. So, whereas techincially I'm related, I dont know about them to be any help . Saying that I'd send my relpy explaining that that's the situation and if I come across anything that might help them I'll get back in touch Zoe

Hi Jeanette, When you send a message, the recipient can either respond by typing in their own message or select an 'auto reply' option. Personally, I don't use the auto reply option as I think it comes across as too abrupt. Regarding your second question, I wish I knew the answer, this has happened to me a couple of times. Kate

When someone gets a message through GR, and they click to reply, they have the option to type out a message personally, or just click on a button which sends an automated reply (such as the one you got, though there are a few different options). As to your second question - you've got me! They probably can't be bothered to check if there's a connection. Carole

I've sent out a few messages this afternoon to people who have possible links to my tree. So far I've had a couple of answers. Usually when someone replys to me, in my Outlook Express it says you have a personal reply from whoever. I have a message which says So-and-so has sent you an auto-reply which says 'this is not my relative'. Firstly what is an auto-reply? And secondly, why have they got the person in their tree if they are not their relative? Thanks. Jeanette x