Let’s look at Dept. M.H. and see what we can find. It will soon become evident what Dept. M.H. is all about. This post continues on from the last – “Stalled Research”.
Dept. M.H.
Over the past year or so, I have lost count of the number of emails with these subjects:
- We made a Discovery
- You’ve got smart matches
- You’ve got record matches
- You’ve got DNA matches
- New matches found
I would think by now you may know more about Dept. M.H. Yes, I’m referring to the Department of My Heritage. I refer to them as a Department, since one may need one’s own PA to respond to the constant inflow of messages.
Looking.
I’ve selected a couple of examples which I’ll briefly list here:
“Good news, we found a new discovery for you. it can add an entire branch to your family tree with 12 people, in just a few clicks!”
“We discovered new information for you in historical records.”
A/ Add 6 names
B/ New residence (This one is for the USA, location not Australia!
C/ Right name, wrong birth location!
D/ All information looks correct, but needs to be investigated!
Confirmed smart matches.
A/ Between a family tree and yours. B/ Wow, six generations back! C/ Even further – eight and nine generations!
A note at the bottom of each listing says: “A mutually confirmed Smart Match means that it is fully validated. this will help you distinguish between correct and incorrect matches!”
Nine Generations.
So, if I just wanted to add names, dates and places, I’d be on a roll – back nine generations and those records “ smart matched” – who is smart? It’s certainly not AI. Every one of these records would need to be checked by me and verified. Do I have the time? Usually no… On average I get over 20 messages or so a month. Oh, and I get reminders that I have X number of matches frequently.
Here’s a quote by Janet Few, The History Interpreter post 10 October 2025 – “Why History Matters”… “There are unthinkable family historians following the shaky green leaves and believing impossible relationships, which they graft on to their family trees.” This sums it up perfectly.
Oh No.
But I could have my research ALL done for me, just by all these types of suggestions. It would make it so much easier… You may ask… For who?
Adding just one record from any of these messages, messes up all one’s research.
My recommendation: DO NOT DO IT.
Explore & Discover
(Do it yourself and not let a machine do it!)
Ancestor Family 
Did you do it? Expand your tree with the click of a button? I hope not… Tell us what you think. Please do not be afraid and hide in a corner… We like to know someone is out there taking notice 🙂
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