I once read a website which detailed a fellow in the 1800's who sold potted family histories to the Yanks. He was clbuttic and as good a conman as any I have heard of in this century.
He fed upon their need to be related to European royalty and made them all related to many different royal families.
It was all rather interesting but I forget the guys name. We sometimes think of conmen and scam artists only belonging to this century - this guy was as good any we have today as he made an excellent living out of it and had many rich and influential friends who supported him. Apparently they have no idea of how many thousands of families he fleeced and no way of know which family histories he corrupted. Some Yanks are still relying on the data generated by him and using it as source material for their research. He was apparently a very clever forger and Official Document generator.
So I take all info with a grain of salt and dont believe anything to be a fact until I have confirmed it and checked it.
Helen Castle
Narangba Qld
