Learning about 'family tree hints' at Ancestry.com and other genealogy web sites.

Well I am learning more about Ancestry.com and their family tree hints which at times lack good documenting resources beyond family lineage.  It appears that a family tree can be created and or lengthened without multiple information sources.  My initial desire to research our family was to find good documentation and facts supporting the linkage to our real ancestors.  I should add that lack of documentation or simple leaps to an assumed ancestor looks to occur more readily on other genealogy websites.  Some that I have in some instances relied upon.  So while I have gone ahead and built this substantial family tree, I am now going back and seeking to find more solid sourcing for each generational link.

I am not going to immediately delete those believed ancestors I have now have in our family tree that don't have perfect lineage sources, however I am going to code those that do lack good sourcing or in some instances where research has conflicting views by entering them as *name*.

Most notable in our family tree is first *Thomas Styner* understood as the father of Warren A Styner from solid marriage documents.  Though conflicting information may indicate his real name could have been Jacob Styner and that he possibly changed his name at some point to Thomas.  That is certainly speculation, but it's not unthinkable given that I found records of both a Thomas Styner and a Jacob Styner with the same exact 'DOB' date of birth in the same exact town in Iowa.  Certainly this seems very unusua, though records show along with passed down family information that Thomas was indeed a transient individual.   More research to do.

The next possible ancestor with real conflicting research and lack of good records is that of Samuel K Barlow's 2nd great grandfather *Thomas Barlow*.  Lots of research has been done on this with several possible Thomas Barlow's and it looks to be a pretty solid brick wall.  Another problematic link is further back to Arthur Balowe and his marriage to *Ann West* who beyond her it does have a solid family line going all the way back to England's Royal family and Henry III with actually very good documentation.  However the research I was following here looks to have significant conflicts, and suggests she may not have been his wife.  Again more research to do.