Fraudulent Genealogies

Genealogy is affected by forgeries, fakes, and frauds. Numerous fraudulent genealogies are known to exist and can be found in any major genealogical library, online or off. "'Armchair historians, family-tree climbers, and professionals are all among the guilty. Many are well-meaning folk who 'just got carried away' by imagination, enthusiasm, or inexperience. Others are, yes, quite calculating in their deceit.'" As a result genealogy reseacher, Carmen J. Finley, warned that it is important to track down the original records cited in compiled genealogies. Carmen said, "'Serious genealogists know not to believe everything in print. Honest mistakes happen. The accuracy of published record abstracts depends on many factors... Even more difficult to detect can be the misguided alterations and deliberate deceptions by seemingly sincere authors who tamper with evidence or manufacture it outright. No researcher really wants to consider such a likelihood.'"

The Horn Papers
The Horn Papers were records of western Pennsylvania, southeastern Ohio, western Maryland, and northern West Virginia from 1765 to 1795. For more information, see:


 * Arthur P. Middleton and Douglass Adair, "The Mystery of the Horn Papers," William and Mary Quarterly, 3d ser., 4 (October 1947): 409-45; report proving the Horn Papers were a hoax.
 * W. F. Horn, The Horn Papers: Early Westward Movement on the Monongahela and Upper Ohio, 1765-1795 (Scottsdale, Penn.: Herald Press for the Green County Historical Society, 1945); published copy of the Horn Papers.
 * Jane A. Leavell, The Horn Papers; includes a bibliography.

Gustav Anjou (1863-1942)
Gustav Anjou is perhaps the most famous author of fraudulent genealogies. Many of his works are available online and at reputable libraries like the Family History Library.

Articles discussing fraudulent works:
 * Gordon L. Remington, "Gustave We Hardly Knew Ye: A Portrait of Herr Anjou as a Jungberg," Genealogical Journal (Utah Genealogical Association), Special Issue, Genealogical Deception: Vol. 19, Nos. 1 & 2 (1991).
 * Harold Oliver, Director, America's First Families. More Fraudulent Lineages. Contains a list of 305 Anjou genealogies. Online at: Archive.org, Genealogy.com (More Fraudulent Lineages extract is a section of this article).
 * Robert Charles Anderson, CG, FASG, "We Wuz Robbed! The Modus Operandi of Gustave Anjou," Genealogical Journal (Utah Genealogical Association) Special Issue, Genealogical Deception: Vol. 19, Nos. 1 & 2 (1991). Describes the manner in which Anjou fabricated genealogies. Extracts of this article online at Fraudulent Lineages forum at Genealogy.com.
 * Gustave Anjou at Wikipedia, the Free Encyclopedia.

Charles Henry Browning (1846-1926)
Articles discussing fraudulent works:


 * Charles Henry Browning Fraud at WikiTree

Harriet (Bainbridge) De Salis (1829-1908)
Articles discussing fraudulent works:


 * Reed, Paul C. "Whitney Origins Revisited ..." The American Genealogist. Vol. 69 (1994): 9-14. Online at: Whitney Research Group, article posted with permission.

Charles Arthur Hoppin (1866-?)
Articles discussing fraudulent works:

Brian Leese (1931-1989)
Articles discussing fraudulent works:
 * Thompson, Neil D., Ph.D., C.G., FASG, "A Twentieth-Century Genealogical Charlatan," Genealogical Journal, Special Issue, Genealogical Deception: Vol. 19, Nos. 1 & 2, pp.77-80 (1991).

Orra Eugene Monnette (1873-1936)
Articles discussing fraudulent works:

Louis Raphael Nardini, Jr. (1938-2007)
Articles discussing fraudulent works:
 * Mills, Elizabeth Shown, C.G., C.G.L., F.A.S.G. "Deliberate Fraud and Mangled Evidence." The American Genealogist. Vol. 72, Nos 3-4 (July/October 1997): 353.

Horatio Gates Somerby (1805-1872)
Articles discussing fraudulent works:


 * Paul C. Reed. Two Somerby Frauds or "Placing the Flesh on the Wrong Bones", The American Genealogist, Vol. 74, No. 1 (January 1999).

Frederick Adams Virkus (1879-1955)
Articles discussing fraudulent works:

John S. Wurts (1876-1958)
Articles discussing fraudulent works:

Additional Articles about Fraudulent Genealogies

 * Finley, Carmen J., Ph.D., CG. "Checking the Authenticity of Cited Documents: A Finley-Hess Hoodwink in Colonial Pennsylvania." National Genealogical Society Quarterly. Vol. 87 (1999): 295.


 * Goodwin, Aaron. "Genealogical Fraud". NGS Monthly: Methodology, News, and Views, digital newsletter. Fraudulent claim regarding Tobias Bickel parentage. Only NGS members have access to full article.


 * Gormley, Myra Vanderpool, CG. "Grafting Family Trees". RootsWeb Review: RootsWeb's Genealogy News. Volume 3, number 17 (26 April 2000). Archived on Internet Archive.


 * Oliver, Harold, Director, America's First Families. "Genealogy Frauds". Archived on Internet Archive.


 * Oshle, Mahina. Fakes, Frauds and Forgeries. Seattle Public Library. Downloadable pdf of presentation.


 * Pylant, James. "Watch Out for Fake Family Trees". GenealogyMagazine.com.


 * Wild, Ron. "Beware of Fraudulent Genealogies". Family Chronicle. Archived on Internet Archive. Citing print edition, January/February 2001. Lists multiple fraudulent genealogists, including Anjou works.