How do ancestry websites work? Is it even possible to link back generations like that?

[Shirley T]

Whatever website or websites you use, be very wary of family trees. They are subscriber submitted and there are tons of errors in them. Even if you see the absolute same information on the same people from many different subscribers that doesn't mean the information is accurate as too many people copy without verifying. So look for records. Don't view family trees as records. Actually if you find wrong information on some of your family in any website, free or fee, those that run the websites will tell you that is between you and the other subscriber. They don't get involved. It would be too costly for them to hire people to verify all the information their subscribers submit. Also don't expect to find information on the living on genealogy websites as that can be an invasion of privacy and can lead to identity theft.