Corrections to some online Pike genealogies

Let me start this webpage by quoting my cousin Wayne Pike, who is a Certified Genealogist. In a message posted to the NFLD-ROOTS-L mailing list in April 2005, he cautioned people as follows:
The world wide spread of the World Wide Web has been a bonanza for genealogists. We can now share and access information that otherwise would not be available to us. However, everyone should be aware that not everything on the Internet is accurate.

In particular I want to warn genealogists who are researching the surname "Pike". There are several websites that contain much misinformation about early Newfoundland Pikes - one actually traces his ancestry back to the early 1600's and legendary Gilbert Pike and his Irish Princess, Sheila Na Geira. Another makes family connections back through the 1700's to the first Pikes that came to Newfoundland from Poole, Dorset in the late 1600's.

After nearly 25 years of Pike research, I HAVE NOT found any documentation to show Pike family relationships back through the elusive 1700's. And I know of no other person who has found such documentation. No doubt, those early settlers were the forefathers of many, if not all present day Newfoundland Pikes - but where is the evidence to tie them together? I also know of no evidence of the existence of legendary Gilbert & Sheila. These web sites are misleading at the very least.

This warning applies equally well to many other families. Because of the lack of surviving church records and other primary sources, few families are traceable in Newfoundland prior to the early 1800's.

Please be careful about anything that you obtain from the Internet. Especially if traceable sources are not quoted. Even those who mean well sometimes lead the rest of us astray.

In December 2005, I was contacted by Debbie Jeans (also a Certified Genealogist with experience researching the Pike family) who said that I could add her support behind Wayne's remarks.
Regarding the Pike families of Newfoundland, the following websites are known to contain inaccurate information: The first of the pages listed above is originally due to Don Shankle, who had a wonderful passion for genealogy. He regularly corresponded with both Wayne and me as we all tried to sort out and piece together the various branches of the Pike family tree. However, Don is now deceased and so there is no means to make revisions to his data as new information comes to light. Regarding the other sites, I have occasionally written to the site managers, but have never gotten any response.

So my purpose with this webpage is to

  1. Reiterate the warning to unsuspecting genealogists to be wary of online genealogies, especially when there is no means to verify for oneself that the information is accurate.
  2. To point out certain errors and inconsistencies that are known to exist with some of these online genealogies.

As for the corrections and comments that follow, I do not claim that I have compiled a complete list. If you see clear problems with other items from the various genealogies noted above, feel free to contact me at dapike@mun.ca.

Lastly, those with an interest in the Pike families of Newfoundland might find it useful to refer to my website, where extracts from a number of primary sources have been posted.


Some Corrections & Comments:


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Last Modified: Wednesday, 28-Mar-2018 21:33:04 NDT