Genealogy Public Records Information?

Question:On a recent search on Ancestry.com, I came up with severals slightly disturbing public records. Two showed my brother's x-wife (divorced about 17 years ago) listed with my parents, at two of her recent addresses and another showed her at their current residence. All three addresses also list someone I've never heard of with my family's last name. My x-sister-in-law still uses our family name, even though she's been married several times since she was married to my brother.

Just for info - the divorce was not amicable and my parents have avoided contact with her as much as possible since the divorce.

My questions are:
1. How can I find out what public records the ancestry record reflects?

2. What possible reason could there be for my parents names to be listed with hers on homes that they have never had anything to do with?

Best Answer - Chosen by Asker: On a recent search on Ancestry.com, I came up with severals slightly disturbing public records. Two showed my brother's x-wife (divorced about 17 years ago) listed with my parents, at two of her recent addresses and another showed her at their current residence. All three addresses also list someone I've never heard of with my family's last name. My x-sister-in-law still uses our family name, even though she's been married several times since she was married to my brother.

Just for info - the divorce was not amicable and my parents have avoided contact with her as much as possible since the divorce.

My questions are:
1. How can I find out what public records the ancestry record reflects?

2. What possible reason could there be for my parents names to be listed with hers on homes that they have never had anything to do with?

She could possibly be using your parents as a reference or part owner for this piece of property.
They probably have good credit. Their names could have been forged.
You can check through the county records and get copies of the original document (DEED OF TRUST)
and check the signatures. If your parents know nothing about this then contact your local Police Forgery Department.

My first thought was identity theft, I suppose it could be an error on the part of ancestry.com, I think you should contact them and let them clarify the situation for you, sorry I cant help any more than that.

The public records section of ancestry.com is really just a compilation of all sorts of bits and pieces of truly public information. However, what it does is to associate common pieces together (the commonality might be just an address, or a phone number). I believe it spans public records since the mid 1980s.

It is really kind of helpful clues rather than fixed (current) information. For example, if you currently live at 123 main street, city, state - the public records section would show ANYONE they have ever associated at that address. Doesn't mean they were related, or even the same family (if an apartment, there could be many families over that time). Same with a phone number.

The primary sources are: White pages, directory assistance records, MARKETING LISTS, Postal change of address forms (this can be confusing because sometimes if a person is in transit, they will change their mailing address to a relative temporarily - thus will be flagged as living WITH that relative), public record filings, historical residential records, etc.

To find the specific source of the information would really be difficult, if not impossible. It could have been a marketing list (and there are a bazillion of those). But as said earlier, these are at best clues, and are often wrong.

I am not happy with many "public" sources of information about living persons, but they do exist. I was under the impression that ancestry.com discouraged info relating to live persons.
I do know that a search on myself one time turned up false/inaccurate information. The underlying discrepancy was the including of my name, with the name of my landlord (owned the house I was renting). What is compiled, comes from various sources, and they are not always concerned with the accuracy.
Bottom line in genealogical purposes, ALWAYS use reliable documentation and don't accept everything you find online.

I think the records are able to assume a marriage when 2 people are listed at the same address, but it can't assume a divorce when they are later living at 2 separate addresses.

My mother, who passed away in 2001, is listed as living at the 2 addresses I have lived at after she died. We jointly held some accounts which I still possess -- so I think the database doesn't know to separate us.

Personally, I'd rather HAVE the misinformation because it gives me a clue to a connection I might not otherwise have known about. It's why genealogists annoyingly insist that researchers go back to the original documents and not rely completely on what is on the Internet.

It's also a warning -- just because someone is listed in a White Pages listing online doesn't mean they're still alive.