I was recently asked to review a family tree to see what I thought of the research so far.  I looked at the names and dates for logic and then I started looking at the places and dates.

Now as much as I wish I could be in two places at once at times, there is no way that in 1860, someone could be in New York and in Texas on the same day, and in two different weddings.  The couple in question had common names and were married in New York.  This was recorded as the primary fact.  A secondary fact was listed that the same couple were married in Texas on the same day.

Somewhere in the data a mistake was made.  Using the other data recorded in the family tree and the sources used, it was determined that the New York location was the correct location, and a merge from data received online was the culprit for the second entry.

When you find data online, please do not import it into your tree without reviewing it first.  Everyone makes mistakes and you do not want those mistakes added to your tree.  The Genealogist’s Internet by Peter Christian has a great section on Good Practice for family trees found online.