Using the FamilySearch Family Tree: A Reference Guide (18

Using the FamilySearch Family Tree:

A Reference Guide (18 October 2013)

This document may be copied and downloaded for incidental, noncommercial Church or your own personal

use.

Using the FamilySearch Family

Tree: A Reference Guide (18

October 2013)

Contents

Copyright and Trademarks. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . ?

Chapter 1: Getting to Family Tree. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9

Chapter 2: Seeing Ancestors on a Pedigree Chart or Fan Chart. . . . . . . . 11

A Person’s Summary Card. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11

A Person’s Details Page. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12

Navigating the Pedigree View. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 14

Displaying More Generations of Ancestors on the Pedigree View. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 16

Displaying a Person’s Children and Descendants on the Pedigree View. . . . . . . . . . . 17

Closing Generations on the Pedigree View. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 18

Moving the Pedigree View Horizontally and Vertically. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 18

Moving a Person to the Main Position of the Fan Chart or Pedigree View. . . . . . . . . 19

Displaying Correct Spouses and Parents on the Pedigree View. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 19

Resizing the Pedigree View. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 20

Navigating the Fan Chart View. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 21

Returning to a Previously Viewed Person. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 23

Chapter 3: Seeing Details about People. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 25

Viewing an Ancestor’s Photos and Stories in Family Tree. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 25

Viewing a Person’s Family Members on the Details Page. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 26

Viewing a Couple’s Relationship Information, Including Marriage and Divorce

Information. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 28

Viewing Child-Parent Relationships . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 29

Viewing Sources. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 32

Seeing Contributor Information. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 33

Seeing Information about Living Relatives. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 34

iiiFamilySearch Family Tree (18 October 2013)

How Family Tree Displays Living People. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 34

Rules Used to Determine If a Person May Still Be Living. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 35

Chapter 4: Adding and Correcting Information about People and

Relationships. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 37

Why Others Can Change Your Information and How to Prevent Improper Changes. . . . . . 40

Reason Statements for Adding, Editing, and Deleting Information. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 40

Restricted Records. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 41

Building Your Tree. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 41

Starting with a Blank Family Tree. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 41

Adding a New Person to Your Existing Tree. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 42

Finding a Person Who Is Already in the Tree and Linking Him or Her into Your

Family Line. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 45

Entering Standardized Dates and Places. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 46

Entering Characters from the World’s Languages. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 47

Searching for Records from a Person’s Details Page. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 48

Correcting, Adding to, and Deleting Information about People Who Are Already in

Family Tree. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 49

Correcting Information about a Person. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 49

Changing a Person’s Living or Deceased Status. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 50

Adding More Information about a Person Who Is Already in Family Tree. . . . . . . . . 52

Adding a Custom Event or Fact to a Person. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 53

Types of Information That You Can Add about a Person. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 55

Deleting Information about a Person. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 57

Correcting, Adding to, and Deleting Relationship Information. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 58

Relationships. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 58

Adding, Editing, and Deleting a Couple’s Marriage Information, Including

Divorce Information. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 60

Adding, Changing, and Deleting Relationship Types between Parents and

Children. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 64

Removing a Person from a Family (Deleting Relationships). . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 66

Replacing a Wrong Parent in a Family with the Correct One. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 68

Adding Reason Statements to People and Relationships. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 70

Deleting a Person from the System. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 71

Restoring a Deleted Person. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 72

Seeing the Change History and Undoing Changes. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 73

Seeing and Undoing the Changes Made to a Person or Relationship. . . . . . . . . . . . . 73

Filtering a Person’s Change History. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 75

Correcting Information Moved from new.FamilySearch.org to Family Tree. . . . . . . . . . . . . 76

FamilySearch Family Tree (18 October 2013)iv

Recommendations for Correcting Names Moved from new.FamilySearch.org. . . . . . 76

Recommendations for Correcting Events and Other Information Moved from

new.FamilySearch.org. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 77

Recommendations for Correcting Relationships Moved from

new.FamilySearch.org. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 78

Uploading GEDCOM Files and Copying the Information to Family Tree . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 79

Part 1. Upload Your GEDCOM File, and Compare It to Family Tree. . . . . . . . . . . . . . 79

Part 2. View the Results. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 81

Part 3. Review People Who Are Potential Matches. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 82

Part 4. Review People Who Can Be Added to Family Tree. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 84

Part 5. Review People Who Are Already in Family Tree. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 86

Transferring Information between Family Tree and a Personal Genealogical Database. . . . . 88

Chapter 5: Adding Photos and Stories to Your Ancestors in Family

Tree. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 89

Guidelines for Using Photos and Stories. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 90

Using Photos. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 91

Adding a Photo Using Family Tree. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 91

Changing a Preferred Portrait . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 91

Attaching an Uploaded Photo to a Person in Family Tree. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 92

Tagging a Photo. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 93

Resizing and Repositioning Tags. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 95

Removing Tags. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 96

Deleting a Photo. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 96

Identifying the Contributor of a Photo. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 97

Adding Stories. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 97

Adding a Story. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 97

Attaching a Previously Written Story to a Person in Family Tree. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 98

Tagging a Story. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 99

Editing a Story and Its Photo. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 99

Removing a Story. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 100

Deleting a Story. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 100

Adding Comments . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 101

Using Social Media or Email to Share A Specific Photo or Story. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 101

Reporting Questionable Material. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 102

Chapter 6: Finding Deceased People in Family Tree. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 103

How the Exact Check Boxes Affect Search Results. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 106

How the Exact Check Box Affects Finding Names . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 108

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How the Exact Check Box Affects Finding Dates. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 109

How the Exact Check Box Affects Finding Places. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 109

Chapter 7: Printing Information. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 111

Using Certified Third-Party Computer Programs to Print Information. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 111

Chapter 8: Attaching Sources to People and Relationships. . . . . . . . . . . 113

Adding Sources to Your Source Box. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 116

Your Source Box. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 116

Typing a New Source into Your Source Box. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 117

What to Enter in Source Fields. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 118

Copying a Source. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 121

Adding a Record from FamilySearch.org to Your Source Box. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 122

Adding a Source That Is Already Created into Your Source Box. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 123

Adding, Changing, and Removing Tags from Sources. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 124

Correcting and Improving Sources. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 126

Editing Sources. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 126

Detaching Sources from People and Relationships. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 128

Seeing and Undoing the Changes Made to a Source. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 129

Managing Your Source Box. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 131

Using Folders to Organize Your Source Box. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 131

Renaming Folders in Your Source Box. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 132

Deleting Unneeded Folders from Your Source Box. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 133

Removing Sources from Your Source Box. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 134

Deleting Sources from Family Tree. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 135

Seeing a List of the People a Source Is Attached To. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 136

Reporting Abuse in Sources. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 138

Why Sources Are Valuable. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 139

Sources in Family Tree. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 140

Source Icons. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 140

Chapter 9: Merging Duplicate Records. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 141

Resolving Common Merge Situations. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 144

Records That Cannot Be Merged. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 146

Undoing a Merge. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 147

Restoring a Record That Was Deleted after a Merge. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 149

Indicating Two Records Are Not a Match. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 152

Removing a Record from the Not a Match List. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 152

Fixing Incorrectly Combined Records from new.FamilySearch.org. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 154

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Chapter 10: Working with Other Users. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 155

Appropriate Use of Contact Information and Discussions. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 155

Seeing Contributor Information. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 155

Participating in Discussions. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 157

Editing Your Discussions and Comments. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 158

Deleting Your Discussions and Comments. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 158

What Causes Discussions to Disappear. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 159

Reporting Inappropriate Discussions and Comments. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 159

Watching and “Unwatching” Information. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 161

Watching and “Unwatching” Records about People in Family Tree. . . . . . . . . . . . . 161

Watching and “Unwatching” Sources in Family Tree. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 162

Using Your Watch List. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 163

Glossary. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 165

viiFamilySearch Family Tree (18 October 2013)

Chapter 1

Getting to Family Tree

Family Tree is an updated approach to organizing and preserving your genealogy online.

Family Tree is free, available to everyone, and provides an easy way to share information,

compare research, and go further faster by working together.

In Family Tree you can:

• See what the system already contains about your ancestors.

• Work with others to fill in missing information and correct errors.

• Add sources and explanations to show that information is accurate.

• Find and merge records that are about the same person.

• Add photos and stories of your ancestors.

1. Go to familysearch.org.

2. Click Family Tree.

3. If you are not signed in, sign in.

Tip: If you click Stay signed in for 2 weeks, each time you go to FamilySearch.org

and click Family Tree, the system automatically signs you in. At the end of two weeks,

you can select the option again. Do not use the Stay signed in for 2 weeks option

if you are on a shared computer.

9FamilySearch Family Tree (18 October 2013)

Chapter 2

Seeing Ancestors on a Pedigree

Chart or Fan Chart

In Family Tree, you can display your ancestors on different types of views. The pedigree

view makes it easy to focus on one part of your ancestry. The fan chart view makes it easy

to see several generations of your ancestors at one time and identify the places where more

research is needed.

The fan chart does not currently work on Internet Explorer 8. Use Internet Explorer 9 or

an equivalent version of Firefox or Chrome. If the computer has Windows XP, which does

not support Internet Explorer 9, download Firefox or Chrome.

1. On the FamilySearch.org home page, click Family Tree or Fan Chart.

2. To switch to a different view, use the links in the upper-left corner of the screen:

• To switch to the fan chart, click Fan Chart.

• To switch to the pedigree view, click Pedigree.

3. To move a different person to the main position of the chart, click the person’s name,

and click Tree.

4. To see all of the person’s details, click the person’s name, and click Person. To return

to the pedigree chart or fan chart, click the Tree link that is next to the person’s name

at the top of the page.

The next time you use Family Tree, you will see whichever view was displayed when you

ended your previous session.

A Person’s Summary Card

The summary card is a useful navigation tool that you can use in many places throughout

Family Tree. It lists basic facts about a person. You can also use it to put a person in the

main position of the tree and view the person’s details page.

You can display a person’s summary card from your Family Tree, from the details page

of a family member, and from the Find results. To display it, click a person’s name.

What It Looks Like

A person’s summary card appears as a pop-up on top of whatever else is shown on the

screen:

11FamilySearch Family Tree (18 October 2013)

What You Can Do

On a summary card, you can do the following:

• See the person’s portrait photo if one has been uploaded.

• See the number of sources, discussions, photos, and stories that are attached to this

person.

• See the person’s name and basic events.

• See the ID number (formerly called the person identifier). This number identifies each

person in the system. It appears beneath the name.

• To display this person in the main position on Family Tree, click Tree.

• To display the person’s details page, click Person.

• To display the person’s sources, click Sources.

• To display the person’s discussions, click Discussions.

• To display the person’s photos, click Photos.

• To display the person’s stories, click Stories.

•

To watch the person, click Watch. To unwatch the person, click Unwatch.

A Person’s Details Page

A person’s details page shows all of the information about him or her. From the details

page, you can also add information about a person, correct information, attach sources,

and participate in discussions.

You can display the details page from almost anywhere in Family Tree. To display it,

click the person’s name. Then click Person.

Tip: If you want to have a details page open for more than one person, you need to

open the details page in another tab or window of your browser. In many browsers, you

can do this by doing a right-click on the Person link. Then select the option to open

the link in a new tab or window. Check your browser’s help system for specific

instructions.

FamilySearch Family Tree (18 October 2013)12

Seeing Ancestors on a Pedigree Chart or Fan Chart

What It Looks Like

A person’s details page is a long page that contains all of the information about him or

her. It is divided into sections. To get to each section, you can click the Vitals, Other,

Family, Sources, and Discussions links in the header. You can also scroll down the

page to see all of the information. The screen is too big to effectively show here, but the

top part looks like this:

What You Can Do

On a person’s details page, you can do the following:

• See, add, edit, and delete the person’s name, gender, events, and other details.

• See the ID number (formerly called the person identifier). This number identifies each

person in the system. It appears directly beneath the name.

• See the person’s family members. You can also:

- Click the name of any person in the family to display his or her summary card.

- Add new spouses, children, parents, and siblings.

- See, edit, and delete information about couple and parent-child relationships.

• See, attach, detach, and edit sources about the person.

• Search for the person in the historical records on FamilySearch.org.

• Participate in discussions.

• Watch the person so that you can receive notifications when information about him

or her changes.

• See a history of the changes that were made to the person’s information.

• See how many discussions have been added and when the last activity occurred.

• Return to one of the last 50 people whose information you viewed previously.

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Seeing Ancestors on a Pedigree Chart or Fan Chart

• See and merge duplicate records.

• Print a pedigree chart and family group record.

• Delete the person from Family Tree.

Navigating the Pedigree View

When you see your family information on a pedigree, you can display more generations,

resize the tree, move families to different places on the screen, and change to different

spouses or parents if a person had more than one.

On the pedigree view, click the appropriate option for what you want to do:

ResultOption to Click

Switch between viewing the tree on

the pedigree view and on the fan

chart view.

Display the person’s summary card

that shows more information about

the person.

A person’s name

• To move this person to the main

position of Family Tree, click

Tree.

• To see the person’s details page

(which contains all of the

available information), click the

Person link.

Display a screen that you can use to

add a person’s husband or wife. By

Add Husband or Add Wife

default, the system shows the screen

where you can find a person who is

already in the system. If you want

to enter a new person instead, click

Add Person.

Move the tree around on the screen.

(The background of the pedigree

view, when the cursor shows as a

four-headed arrow)

See two more generations of

ancestors for the line.

Note: This icon appears next to the last

generation of ancestors that are

displayed in a line.

Display the children of the couple

in the main position.

Close an opened line of descendants

for the couple in the main position.

FamilySearch Family Tree (18 October 2013)14

Seeing Ancestors on a Pedigree Chart or Fan Chart

ResultOption to Click

Close an opened line of ancestors.

Display a couple’s children.

Tip: To see this option, hover your

mouse cursor over a couple’s box on

the tree.

See a list of the other husbands or

wives that a person is linked to, and

choose a different one to display.

Tip: To see this option, hover your

mouse cursor over a couple’s box on

the tree.

See a list of the other parents that a

person is linked to, and choose a

different one to display.

Tip: To see this option, hover your

mouse cursor over a couple’s box on

the tree.

Increase or decrease the size of the

FamilySearch Family Tree.

Tip: In many browsers, you can also

press Ctrl plus + and Ctrl plus - to

increase and decrease the font size.

If this does not work in your

browser, see your browser’s help

system.

Move the tree to the left, right,

down, or up. To recenter the tree

after moving it, click the center

circle.

Note: You can also move the tree

by clicking your mouse on the

screen and dragging it until you can

see the information you want to see.

Print a four-generation pedigree

chart.

Return to your Family Tree from

another screen in Family Tree.

Tree

Display the details page of the last

person you displayed. If you have

Person Tree

not yet displayed a person’s details

page, your own details page appears.

15FamilySearch Family Tree (18 October 2013)

Seeing Ancestors on a Pedigree Chart or Fan Chart

ResultOption to Click

Return to the details page of an

ancestor you viewed previously.

Tip: Click the arrow at the end of

the icon to see the list of ancestors

you viewed previously. Then click

the ancestor you need.

Find an ancestor by name or ID

number (person identifier).

Find

See a list of all of the people that you

are watching.

Watch List

Return to an ancestor who was

previously in the main position.

Tip: Click the arrow at the end of

the icon to see the list of ancestors

you viewed previously. Then click

the ancestor you need.

of someone else.

Note: The following requirements

must be met before you can help

someone else:

• The person who is helping must

be a member of The Church of

Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.

• The person being helped must

have an account on

FamilySearch.org.

• You must know the contact name

of the person being helped.

• You must know the helper

number of the person being

helped.

Displaying More Generations of Ancestors on the Pedigree View

When you first display a person on the pedigree view, you may not see all of the

information that the system contains about that family line. You can display more

generations if the system contains them.

The fan chart displays four generations of a person’s ancestors. It cannot be expanded

to show more generations.

1. Find the last person that is currently displayed in the family line that you want to

see more of.

2. Click the appropriate icon:

FamilySearch Family Tree (18 October 2013)16

Seeing Ancestors on a Pedigree Chart or Fan Chart

To display two more generations of the person’s tree, click Expand Tree,

which appears to the right of the person’s name.

•

You may need to wait for a few seconds while the information appears.

You can extend one line of ancestors at a time. For example, if you click to expand

the tree for one set of your grandparents, you can keep expanding one line of that

tree back until the system has no more information about that line. If you then click

to expand the tree for your other set of grandparents, the lines for your first set

of grandparents close, and the lines for your second set of grandparents appear.

If you do not see the arrow icon, the system either does not contain any more

information, or it cannot display the information because the people may still be

living.

If nothing happens when you click the arrow, it means that the same person is already

shown on the tree. This could be the result of these situations:

• The same person is in more than one line in the tree. For example, if your

great-grandparents were first cousins, then two of your lines connect to the same

people. If the tree already displays this line, the system cannot display it again.

The tree can display the shared line once.

• The person is part of a looping pedigree. A looping pedigree is a tree in which

people are incorrectly linked back to themselves in future or previous generations.

For example, a person may be mistakenly combined with a father or grandfather

of the same name. Consequently, he is linked to himself as his own father or

grandfather.

Displaying a Person’s Children and Descendants on the Pedigree View

You can display a person’s children and grandchildren on the pedigree view.

1. To display a couple’s children, follow these steps:

a. Pause your cursor anywhere over the box that contains the names of the father

and mother.

An option to display the children appears beneath the box.

b. Click Children.

The Children option appears if the system contains information about the

couple’s children and if you are authorized to see the information.

You can display the children of one couple at a time.

c. When you no longer want to see the children on the tree, click Children again.

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Seeing Ancestors on a Pedigree Chart or Fan Chart

2. When a couple is in the main position on the tree, you can display their descendants

on the left side of the tree:

a. If the couple is not in the main position, click the name of one of the parents,

and click Tree.

The couple moves to the main position on the family tree.

b. Click Expand Tree, which appears to the left of the couple.

The icon appears if the system contains the couple’s children and if you are

authorized to see the information.

The couple’s children appear.

c. To see another generation of descendants, repeat the previous step.

You can extend one line of descendants at a time. For example, if you click

to see a couple’s children, you can keep clicking to display more generations

in that line. If you then click to display the descendants of a different child,

the descendant lines that you previously opened then close.

d. To close a generation of descendants, click the icon of the children that you

no longer want to display.

Closing Generations on the Pedigree View

If the pedigree view contains too many generations of ancestors or descendants, you

can close some to make navigation easier.

1. On the pedigree view, find the line that you want to close.

2. Click the appropriate icon:

• If you are viewing a tree and want to close one generation of ancestors, click ,

which appears to the right of the couple’s names.

• If a couple’s descendants appear on the tree and you want to close that generation,

click , which appears to the left of the couple’s names.

If you do not see the arrow icon, you cannot close the line any farther.

Moving the Pedigree View Horizontally and Vertically

The fastest way to move the pedigree view around on the screen is to click your mouse

anyplace on the screen except a person’s name, and drag your mouse until the pedigree

appears where you want it. With the click and drag method, you can move the screen

diagonally, up, down, to the left, and to the right.

If you prefer to not use click and drag, you can use the move icon:

To move the pedigree view, use the icon:

FamilySearch Family Tree (18 October 2013)18

Seeing Ancestors on a Pedigree Chart or Fan Chart

To move up, click .•

• To move down, click .

• To move left, click .

• To move right, click .

• To move the pedigree view to its original position, click the small circle in the

center ( ).

Moving a Person to the Main Position of the Fan Chart or Pedigree

View

You can move a person and his or her spouse to the main position on the pedigree view

or fan chart.

The main position shows the person or couple that the rest of the view is based on. For

example, if you are in the main position, the tree shows your children, parents,

grandparents, and so forth.

You can move a person to the main position from either the tree or the person’s details

page.

Display the person that you want to move to the main position. You can do either

of the following:

• Click the person’s name, then Tree.

• Display the person’s details page, then View Tree. This link appears at the top

of the page, next to the person’s ID number.

Displaying Correct Spouses and Parents on the Pedigree View

A person can be linked to more than one spouse and more than one set of parents. If

the fan chart or pedigree view does not show the parents or spouse that you want, you

can display a different one.

Tip: When you display a different spouse or parent on the pedigree view, that person

remains selected until you choose someone else. This selection remains from one time

you use Family Tree to the next.

• If the tree displays the wrong set of parents and ancestors for a person, follow the

process that displays a different set of parents. Do this even if one parent is displayed

correctly and the other is not.

• If the tree displays a person’s wrong spouse and descendants, follow the process to

display a different spouse.

1. Display the family on the pedigree view.

2. Pause your cursor over the box that lists the person whose other spouses or parents

you want to display.

If one of the people in the box is linked to other spouses or parents, the options to

display those other spouses or parents appear.

19FamilySearch Family Tree (18 October 2013)

Seeing Ancestors on a Pedigree Chart or Fan Chart

The links to display Other Husbands or Other Wives appear next to the name of the

currently displayed husband or wife. For example, the Other Husbands link appears

next to the husband’s name. This does not mean that the husband is linked to other

husbands. Rather, it means that there are other husbands who could appear in that

spot on the pedigree view.

3. To display a different set of parents, click the names of the parents that you want.

a. Click All Parents.

This option appears to the right of the couple’s box.

A list of the other parents appears.

b. Click the parents that you want to be displayed on the pedigree view.

The parents that you selected appear on the pedigree view.

4. To display a different husband or wife, follow these steps:

a. Click All Husbands or All Wives.

These links appear to the left of the couple’s box.

A list of the husbands or wives appears.

b. Click the husband or wife that you want to display.

The person’s summary card appears.

c. Click Tree to display that spouse.

That couple now appears in the main position of the pedigree view.

Note: Currently, there is no way to display a different spouse on the pedigree view

without moving that couple to the main position.

The selected spouse or parents remain on the pedigree view until you switch to a different

spouse or parent.

Resizing the Pedigree View

If you open many generations of ancestors or descendants on the pedigree view, it can

be difficult to see all of the information. Resizing the view allows you to alternate between

seeing the entire pedigree at once and being able to read the names of the people shown.

FamilySearch Family Tree (18 October 2013)20

Seeing Ancestors on a Pedigree Chart or Fan Chart

To resize the pedigree view, use the icon:

• To make the view larger, click +.

• To make the view smaller, click –.

Tip: You can resize both the fan chart and the pedigree view with your browser. In

most browsers, this option is on the View menu. See your browser’s help system for

more information. This option also works to resize the font on a person’s details page.

In many browsers, you can press Ctrl plus + and Ctrl plus - to increase and decrease

the font size.

Navigating the Fan Chart View

When you view your family information on a fan chart, you can easily see where you

could identify more generations of ancestors. You can print the fan chart. You can also

change the person who is at the center. This lets you see the person’s children and more

generations of ancestors for that person.

1. If you are not already in Family Tree, go to it:

a. Go to www.familysearch.org, and sign in.

b. Click the Family Tree link.

c. Click Fan Chart.

By default, you appear in the main position.

2. On the fan chart view, click the appropriate option for what you want to do:

ResultOption to Click

Switch between viewing the tree on

the pedigree view and on the fan

chart view.

Display the person’s summary card

that shows more information about

the person.

A person’s name

• To move this person to the main

position of the fan chart, click

Tree.

• To see the person’s details page

(which contains all of the

available information), click the

Person link.

See more children. If there are more

than 5 children in the family, these

arrows appear to let you move

between the children.

See another spouse. If there is more

than one spouse, these arrows appear

to let you move between the

spouses.

21FamilySearch Family Tree (18 October 2013)

Seeing Ancestors on a Pedigree Chart or Fan Chart

ResultOption to Click

Print the fan chart.

On a person's summary card, move

that person to the main position on

the fan chart.

Tip: To see a person’s summary

card, click the name.

Tree

On a person's summary card, go to

the person’s details page.

Tip: To see a person’s summary

card, click the name.

Person

Return to an ancestor you had

viewed previously.

Tip: Click the arrow at the end of

the icon to see the list of ancestors

you viewed previously. Then click

the ancestor you need.

Return to the details page of an

ancestor you viewed previously.

Tip: Click the arrow at the end of

the icon to see the list of ancestors

you viewed previously. Then click

the ancestor you need.

Find an ancestor by name or ID

number (person identifier).

Find

See a list of all of the people that you

are watching.

Watch List

of someone else.

Note: The following requirements

must be met before you can help

someone else:

• The person who is helping must

be a member of The Church of

Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.

• The person being helped must

have an account on

FamilySearch.org.

• You must know the contact name

of the person being helped.

• You must know the helper

number of the person being

helped.

FamilySearch Family Tree (18 October 2013)22

Seeing Ancestors on a Pedigree Chart or Fan Chart

Returning to a Previously Viewed Person

You can easily return to people that you previously viewed in Family Tree. Family Tree

saves a list of the last 50 people you viewed. To return to a person, you click the name

in the list.

You can either go to the tree view or to the details page of the person.

The first 10 people appear in the drop-down list, and you can scroll to see the remaining

40. The people that you most recently worked with appear at the top of the list.

The system saves this list of previously viewed people from one session to the next. This

means if you quit using Family Tree, this list will be available the next time you use

Family Tree.

1. Decide whether you want to go to the tree view or to the details page for the person.

• To go to the person in the tree, near the top of the screen, click the triangle at

the end of Tree.

• To go to the person’s details page, near the top of the screen, click the triangle

at the end of Person.

A list of the people you previously viewed appears.

2. If the person is not among the first 10 people in the list, scroll down the list.

3. Click the person that you want.

23FamilySearch Family Tree (18 October 2013)

Seeing Ancestors on a Pedigree Chart or Fan Chart

Chapter 3

Seeing Details about People

In Family Tree, you can see details about a person in two ways: On a person’s summary

card and on a details page.

The person’s summary card lists the most important pieces of information about the person.

To see all of the information, you need to display the person’s details page.

1. Open the person’s details page.

a. On the pedigree view or fan chart view, click the person’s name.

b. On the person’s summary card, click Person.

2. (Optional) To see all of the information about each field in the Vital Information or

Other Information sections, click that section’s Open Details link. To close all of the

details, click Close Details.

The reason field and the Modified field appear. The Modified field identifies the date

when this field was last changed and who made the change.

3. (Optional) To hide an entire section of the details, such as the Vital Information section,

click its Close button. To reopen it, click Open.

The sections that you close remain closed on every details page that you display

afterward. For example, if you close the Vital Information and Other Information

sections on one person’s details page, the same sections remain closed on every details

page that you view until you open them again. This is helpful, for example, if you are

working with sources and want to reduce the amount of scrolling that you have to do

to see the Sources section of each details page that you display.

4. (Optional) to see, edit, or delete all of the information about one piece of the

information, click the information. To close it, click Close.

5. To see photos or stories about this person, click Photos or Stories. To switch back to

the details, click Details.

Viewing an Ancestor’s Photos and Stories in Family Tree

You can see the photos and stories that have been attached to a person in Family Tree.

1. On the fan chart or pedigree view, click the person’s name.

2. Display the photos or stories, using either of the following methods:

• On the summary card, click Photos or Stories.

• On the summary card, click Person. Then, on the person’s details page, click the

Photos or Stories link in the header.

3. From the Photos page, you can do the following:

• To add a new photo, click Add Photo.

• To choose a different portrait, click the current portrait photo by the person’s

name. The system shows the photos for the person. At the bottom of the photo

25FamilySearch Family Tree (18 October 2013)

you want to use for the portrait, click the circle to select the photo. Click Set

Portrait.

If you added the photo, you can also do the following:

• If the portrait photo is off center or shows the wrong part of the photo, click the

portrait photo. On the right of the next screen, in the list of people in the photo,

click the one whose tag you want to edit. Click Edit Tag. Adjust the size or

position of the circle, and click Save.

• If the portrait photo contains more than one person, click the photo, and adjust

the tag. Then add new tags for the other people in the photo.

• To remove this photo from this person without deleting it from the system, you

need to remove the tag that links this photo to this person. Click the photo. On

the right of the next screen, in the list of people in the photo, click the name

whose tag you want to delete. Click Remove Tag.

• To delete a photo from the system, click it. Then click Details, and then Delete

Photo.

4. From the Stories page, you can do the following:

• To add a new story, click Add Story.

• If the story lists more than one person, click the story, and in the Who is in this

story field, add the names of the other people.

If you added the story, you can also do the following:

• To edit the text of the story or to add, change, or delete the story’s photo, click it.

Then, on the left near the top, click Edit Story.

• To remove this story from this person without deleting it from the system, you

need to remove the tag that links this story to this person. Click the story. On the

right of the next screen, in the list of people in the story, click the name whose

tag you want to remove. Click Remove Tag.

• To delete a story from the system, click it. Then click Delete.

Viewing a Person’s Family Members on the Details Page

A person’s details page shows a person’s families, including the person as a child with

his or her parents and the person as a spouse with his or her children.

From the Family Members section of a person’s details page, you can do the following:

• See, add, edit, and delete a couple’s marriage information.

• Add missing spouses, parents, or children. You can also remove incorrect family

members.

Spouses are listed in chronological order, based on the earliest marriage event date. If

the spouses are listed in the wrong chronological order, you can edit the marriage events.

If all of the marriage events are correct, you can choose which spouse is displayed by

default.

1. Open the person’s details page.

2. Scroll down to the Family Members section.

The person is shown with spouses and children on the left side, and with parents

and siblings on the right side.

FamilySearch Family Tree (18 October 2013)26

Seeing Details about People

3. (Optional) Determine what you want to do next:

• To display the children in a specific family, click Children. To hide them,

click Children.

• To display all of the children in all of the families, click Show All. To hide them,

click Hide All.

• To display the couple’s marriage information, click the Edit Couple link that is

in the couple’s box. From there, you can also edit or add marriage events. The

available marriage events are marriage, annulment, common law, and divorce.

• To display a child’s parent-child relationship, hover your mouse cursor over the

child’s name. Click the Edit Relationship link that appears. From there, you

can fix incorrect parents and indicate the relationship type between each parent

27FamilySearch Family Tree (18 October 2013)

Seeing Details about People

and the child. The available relationship types are biological, adopted, guardianship,

step, and other.

• To add a new person or link in a missing person, click the appropriate link: Add

Spouse (located at the top of the Spouses and Children section), Add Parent

(located at the top of the Parents and Siblings section), or Add Child (located at

the bottom of the box listing a couple’s children).

• If the person had a child and you do not know the other parent, click Add Child

with an Unknown Father or Add Child with an Unknown Mother. This

link is located at the bottom left of the Family Members section, beneath any other

spouses and children that are already listed.

Viewing a Couple’s Relationship Information, Including

Marriage and Divorce Information

From a person’s details page, you can display a couple’s marriage information, such as

the marriage date and place. From there, you can add and correct information about

the couple.

1. Open the details page of either the husband or wife.

2. Scroll down to the Family Members section.

The marriage date and place appears in the box that shows the names of each couple.

3. If you want to see more information about the marriage, click the Edit Couple link

that appears in the box that shows the couple and their marriage information.

The Couple Relationship page appears.

4. (Optional) Determine what you want to do next:

FamilySearch Family Tree (18 October 2013)28

Seeing Details about People

To add or edit the reason statement that explains how you know each person is

part of this couple, click the person’s name. Then click the appropriate link.

•

• If one of the spouses is incorrect, click the spouse’s name, and then click Change.

• If these two people were never a couple, click Delete Relationship.

• To edit or delete a marriage event, click the marriage event. A box opens up so

that you can review the existing information. If you still want to make the change,

click the Edit or Delete links.

• To add a new marriage event, click Add an Event. A box opens up in which you

can enter the event information. Click the drop-down lists to select the type of

marriage event. The available marriage events are marriage, annulment, common

law, and divorce.

• To enter a new a source about this couple’s relationship, click Create a New

Source. You can select a source that is already in your source box or create a new

source.

• To attach a source that is already in your source box, click Go to Source Box.

• To see a history of the changes made to this couple’s relationship, click the Show

All link that is in the Latest Changes box.

5. To display the details of a person in this relationship, use the Go to links that are

located beneath the FamilySearch tree logo.

Viewing Child-Parent Relationships

From a person’s details page, you can display information about his or her parent-child

relationships. This information includes the relationship type, which indicates whether

the relationship was biological, step, adopted, and so forth.

1. Open the details page of the child, father, or mother.

2. Scroll down to the Family Members section.

3. Hover your mouse over the name of the child whose parent-child relationship you

want to see.

A Edit Relationship link appears.

29FamilySearch Family Tree (18 October 2013)

Seeing Details about People

4. Click the Edit Relationship link.

The Parent-Child Relationship page appears.

FamilySearch Family Tree (18 October 2013)30

Seeing Details about People

5. (Optional) Determine what you want to do next:

• To add a reason explaining why this parent-child relationship is correct, click the

child’s name, and then click Edit.

• If one of the parents is incorrect and you know the correct parent, click the

incorrect parent’s name, and then click Change. From there, you can either add

the person to the Family Tree or link in a person who is already in the Family Tree.

• If one of the parents is incorrect and you do not know the correct parent, click

the incorrect parent’s name, and then click Remove.

• If this child should be unlinked from both parents, click Delete Relationship.

This link is located in the Tools box.

• To change an existing relationship type or explain why the existing relationship

type is correct, click the relationship type, and then click Edit.

• To delete a relationship type, click the relationship type, and then click Delete.

• To add a new relationship type, click Add. The available relationship types are

biological, adopted, guardianship, step, and other.

• To enter a new a source about this relationship, click Create a New Source. You

can select a source that is already in your source box or create a new source.

• To attach a source that is already in your source box, click Go to Source Box.

• To see a history of the changes made to this parent-child relationship, click the

Show All link that is in the Latest Changes box.

6. To display the details of a person in this relationship, use the Go to links that are

located beneath the FamilySearch tree logo.

31FamilySearch Family Tree (18 October 2013)

Seeing Details about People

Viewing Sources

You can see what sources have been attached to the people, couple relationships, and

parent-child relationships in Family Tree.

1. On the fan chart or pedigree view, click the person’s name.

2. To display the sources that are attached to the person, do one of the following:

• On the summary card, click Sources.

• On the summary card, click Person. Then, on the person’s details page, click the

Sources link in the header. (You can also scroll down to the Sources section.)

3. To display the sources that are attached to a relationship that this person is in, follow

these steps:

a. On the summary card, click Person.

b. Scroll down to the Family Members section.

c. To view the sources to a couple relationship, click the Edit Couple link that is

in the box that shows the husband and wife. When the Couple Relationship page

appears, scroll down to the Sources section.

d. To view the source to a parent-child relationship, hover your mouse cursor over

the child’s name. Click the Edit Relationship link that appears. When the

Parent-Child Relationship page appears, scroll down to the Sources section.

4. View the details of the sources:

• To see the details about one of the sources, click its title. To close the details, click

Close.

• To see all the details about all of the sources, click Open Details. To close all of

the details, click Close Details.

FamilySearch Family Tree (18 October 2013)32

Seeing Details about People

5. If you want to change the order in which the sources are listed, click the source’s

title, and drag it to a new position in the list.

Seeing Contributor Information

Family Tree keeps track of who adds, changes, and deletes information. You can quickly

display that contributor’s contact information if he or she allows it to be displayed.

You can contact other users under these circumstances:

• The contributor is a current user of the system.

• The contributor allows the system to display contact information. FamilySearch

Support cannot give you contact information when a user chooses not to display it.

Note: To change how much contact information Family Tree displays about you,

click your username in the upper-right corner of the screen. Click Settings, and

scroll down to the Contact section. Click the Public option for each piece of

information that you want displayed with your contact information.

If someone entered the information in behalf of someone else, you see both a contributor

and a submitter. The contributor is the person who provided the information. The

submitter is the person who entered it for the contributor.

1. To display the contributor’s contact card, click his or her contact name.

You can display the contact card from a person’s details page, a change history, the

search results, or any other screen on which the contributor’s name is displayed.

2. Use the contact information.

• If the contributor provided an email address, click it. Your computer’s default

email program opens, and you can write your message.

Note: On most personal computers with Windows, the default email program is

Microsoft Outlook. If you use an online e-mail service, such as MSN or Google,

you will need to go to your email account online, create a new email, and copy

the contributor’s email address into the To field.

33FamilySearch Family Tree (18 October 2013)

Seeing Details about People

• If you prefer to communicate by other means, either print the contact information,

or write it down so you can use it to call or write a letter.

Tip: The printout does not contain any information that reminds you what

information this contributor provided. You may want to also print the information

in question or keep notes that help you remember what you wanted to discuss.

• If a contributor chooses not to display contact information, try starting a discussion.

That user may choose to respond through the discussion board. If not, please

respect the privacy of users who choose not to display contact information.

FamilySearch Support cannot give you contact information when a user chooses

not to display it.

3. When you are finished, click on the screen somewhere outside of the contact card.

The contact card closes.

In your communications with other contributors, it is helpful if you do the following:

• Explain how you got the other person’s contact information.

• List the person or family line of interest to you. It is especially helpful if you can

include ID numbers (formerly called person identifiers) so the other person can quickly

find the information of interest to you.

• Remember that other users might not see exactly the same information as you when

they look at their family line. For example, they may not see the same living people.

Or they may see a different family line because they descend through a different

spouse.

Seeing Information about Living Relatives

To protect the privacy rights of living people, the system limits the amount of information

that you can see about living relatives. In Family Tree, the word “Living” is displayed

with the person’s information.

To see your living relatives on your pedigree in Family Tree, you need to enter their

information. Only you will be able to see these records.

• Since you cannot use the Search feature to find living relatives, use these options to

find a living person whose information you have the rights to see:

- Display the tree, and navigate to the person.

- Search for a close relative who has birth or death information, and display the

tree. Then navigate to the person that you want to find.

How Family Tree Displays Living People

You can identify people who may be living because the word “Living” appears beneath

their names instead of a death year.

• In the tree, the word “Living” appears beneath the names instead of a death year.

• On the person’s summary card and details page, the word “Living” appears beneath

the name instead of a death year.

• On a person’s details page, the word “Living” appears in the header instead of a death

year. In the Vital Information section, the word “Living” appears instead of a date in

the Death field.

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Seeing Details about People

Rules Used to Determine If a Person May Still Be Living

The system uses rules to determine whether a person may still be living.

The system considers that a person may be living if both of the following situations

apply:

• He or she was born 110 or fewer years ago, married 95 or fewer years ago, or had a

child born 95 or fewer years ago.

• The record contains no death information.

Note: Any text in the fields for death and burial causes the system to determine that

the person is deceased.

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Seeing Details about People

Chapter 4

Adding and Correcting

Information about People and

Relationships

In Family Tree, you add and correct information about people and the relationships that

connect them into families.

As you add or edit information, you follow a general process in which you review the

information that has already been entered, including the sources and reason statements

that have already been added. If you have more accurate information, you can enter it,

explain how you arrived at this conclusion, and attach the sources that you used.

Tip: Before you add, edit, or delete information in Family Tree, you should make sure that

your user profile is set to display your contact information, at least an e-mail address. To

set your contact information, click your username in the upper-right corner of the screen.

Click Settings, and scroll down to the Contact section. Click the Public option for each

piece of information that you want displayed with your contact information.

1. Open the details page of the person whose information you need to add, edit, or delete.

a. On the pedigree view or fan chart view, click the person’s name.

b. On the person’s summary card, click Person.

2. Make the changes.

Tip: Click the Open Details link to see all of the available links for making corrections

to the information in a section

The following chart lists the types of changes that you can make and provides the first

few clicks.

DescriptionOption

Add the person’s gender,

birth, christening,

1. Scroll to the Vital Information section.

2. Click the Add link that appears beneath the name

of the field.

Important: Be sure to select the correct template if

you need to enter names in Spanish, Portuguese,

Cyrillic, or an Asian language.

death, or burial

information.

3. Enter the information, and click Save.

Add a new piece of

information to the

1. Scroll to the Other Information section.

2. Click the Add link that appears beneath the Other

Information heading.

Other Information

section.

3. Click the type of information that you want to add.

37FamilySearch Family Tree (18 October 2013)

DescriptionOption

4. Enter the information, and click Save.

Edit or delete

information that has

1. Scroll to where the information is displayed in either

the Vital Information or Other Information section.

already been added to

2. Click the information that you want to edit or delete.

For example, to edit the birth date, click the birth date.

the Vital Information

and Other Information

sections.

3. To replace the information that is already there with

more correct information, click Edit. To remove the

information, click Delete.

Note: Sometimes, Family Tree does not allow you to edit

a person’s gender. In these cases, create a new person

with the correct gender, and add him or her to the family.

You can then remove the person with the incorrect

gender from the family.

• Add a spouse.

1. Scroll to the Family Members section. Spouses and

children are listed on the left side of this section.

• Add a child.

2. Click the correct option:

• To add a new spouse, click Add Spouse.

• To add a new child, click the Add Child option

that appears at the bottom of the box that lists the

couple’s children.

• To add a child to that person when you do not

know the other parent, click the Add Child

with an Unknown Father or Add Child

with an Unknown Mother option. This option

appears beneath all of the person’s spouses and

children.

3. By default, the system shows the screen where you

can find a person who is already in the system. If you

want to enter a new person instead, click Add Person.

• Add a parent.

1. Scroll to the Family Members section. Parents and

siblings are listed on the right side of this section.

• Add a sibling.

2. Click the correct option:

• To add a new parent, click Add Parent.

• To add a new sibling, click the Add Child

option that appears at the bottom of the box that

lists the couple’s children.

3. By default, the system shows the screen where you

can find a person who is already in the system. If you

want to enter a new person instead, click Add Person.

FamilySearch Family Tree (18 October 2013)38

Adding and Correcting Information about People and Relationships

DescriptionOption

• Add, edit, or delete a

couple’s marriage

date or place.

1. Scroll to the Family Members section, and find the

box containing the names of the husband and wife.

2. Click the Edit Couple link that is in the box.

• Unlink a couple.

3. Make your change:

• Indicate that a couple

had a common-law

marriage.

• If these two people should not be connected as

spouses, click Delete Relationship.

• If one of the spouses is incorrect, click the incorrect

spouse’s name, and click Change.

• Indicate that a couple

divorced.

• To correct or delete an existing marriage event, click

the incorrect marriage event. Then click Edit or

Delete.

• Replace an incorrect

spouse with a correct

one.

• To add a new event about the marriage, click

Add an Event. You can add marriage, divorce,

annulment, and common law.

• Add, edit, or delete a

relationship type to

1. Scroll to the Family Members section, and find the

box containing names of the father and mother.

indicate that the

2. If the couple’s children do not show up, click the

Children option that is beneath their box.

relationship was

biological, adopted,

3. Hover your mouse cursor over the name of the child

whose relationship information you want to see.

foster, guardianship,

or other.

4. Click the Edit Relationship link that appears.

• Unlink a child from

the parents.

5. Make your change:

• Remove an incorrect

parent.

• If this child should not be connected to either

parent, click Delete Relationship.

• Replace an incorrect

parent with the

correct one.

• If one of the parents is incorrect, click that parent’s

name. If you know the correct parent, click

Change. If you do not, click Remove.

• To correct the relationship type, click the incorrect

relationship type.

• To add a new relationship type, click the Add

option that appears for the father or mother.

3. As you enter changes, be sure that you do the following:

• Review the information that has already been entered, especially the reason statements

and the sources. Make changes only when you have more accurate information.

• In the reason field, enter a good explanation for the change.

4. If you have a source, attach it to show that the information is correct.

Family Tree saves your changes, identifies you as the contributor, and updates the change

history.

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Adding and Correcting Information about People and Relationships

Why Others Can Change Your Information and How to

Prevent Improper Changes

In Family Tree, any user can change almost any piece of information, regardless of

whether he or she originally added it. You may be concerned that other people may

change your carefully researched and documented information to something less correct.

Family Tree is intended to become a genealogical record that is correct, that contains

sources to prove its accuracy, and that endures longer than any of the people that add

information to it.

Most contributors do their best to ensure that their information is correct. However,

sometimes the records required to prove something are not available. It is possible that

future researchers will have access to better records than we do now. We need to allow

future researchers the ability to correct and add better information as it becomes available.

It is not always easy to collaborate with other researchers. Evidence may be contradictory.

Incorrect family legends are common. Disagreement can arise. Family Tree has several

features that are intended to encourage people to provide accurate information and to

prevent improper changes:

• The watch feature tells you when changes are made to people. You can then go to

that person’s record to see the change and analyze the evidence for it.

• The change history feature keeps track of all changes made. You can restore a previous

version of information when needed.

• The ability to attach the sources can prove that information is correct.

• Every screen where you can add, edit, or delete information contains a field where

you can enter a reason for your change. In this field, you should enter the reasons

why you think the information is correct, perhaps in spite of family legend or

contradictory source records.

In the future, additional features will be added to increase your ability to track and

monitor the changes and resolve any disagreements that may arise about a particular

piece of information.

Reason Statements for Adding, Editing, and Deleting

Information

Whenever you add, edit, or delete information about a person in the tree, you should

explain the reasons for your change. This reasoning is intended to prevent improper

changes and to direct other interested researchers to the sources that prove the

information.

In your explanation, include the following types of information, as appropriate to the

situation:

• Write clearly. Use complete sentences.

• Avoid using “I” statements (such as “I found that…” or “My research indicates...”).

Write in third person (such as “The census shows that…”). This keeps the tone

professional and neutral. It also focuses the explanation on the ancestor whose data

is being recorded and the sources used to find the information.

• Indicate what information is clearly supported by sources and which is not. For

example, if the birth month and year came from a census, say so.

• Identify the sources you used. If possible, you should also attach those sources to the

person, and tag the sources so that they appear with the information that they show.

FamilySearch Family Tree (18 October 2013)40

Adding and Correcting Information about People and Relationships

• If the records contain contradictory or incorrect information, explain why you think

the version that you added is the most correct in spite of the evidence provided by

other records.

• Explain why the information contradicts family stories.

• Explain why the information is correct, even though it may seem illogical.

• If you derived or estimated the information, explain how you reached your conclusion.

• If you are deleting information, explain why the information you are deleting is not

correct and why it should be deleted instead of corrected.

• Point out relevant discussions.

• If you are unsure, ask someone to read what you have written to make sure that you

communicated your reasons clearly.

The reason fields are not the place to hold a dialog or debate with other users. Do not

use them to post questions or requests for information. If an issue needs to be discussed

or if you need to request additional information, use the Discussions feature rather than

a reason field.

Restricted Records

In Family Tree, a restricted record is one that cannot be edited or deleted or have

relationships added to it.

The most common reason a record is restricted is to protect the privacy of people who

are or might be living. Basically, people are considered to be living unless there is death

information in the record or else 110 years have passed since their birth. Other records

are restricted because all changes must be made only through authorized processes.

If you notice these problems, you may be working with a restricted record:

• The changes you make to a record cannot be saved. You may notice this when you

try to edit, delete, or add information.

• In the change history, the latest changes to a record are not available.

• You cannot attach sources to a person or the relationships that he or she is part of.

• A record cannot be merged with a duplicate.

Building Your Tree

Starting with a Blank Family Tree

If your tree has fewer than two generations of ancestors (you, your parents, and your

grandparents), Family Tree can guide you through the process of entering that

information.

1. Sign in to FamilySearch.org, and click Family Tree.

2. From the pedigree view, click Start Here.

A box appears for your father. If he is not already in Family Tree, there are fields in

which you can enter information about him. If he is already in Family Tree, you see

the information it contains about him.

3. Enter the requested information for the person indicated on the screen.

If you do not know some of the information, leave the fields blank. If you do not

know any of the information, leave all the fields blank.

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Adding and Correcting Information about People and Relationships

If you indicate that a person is living, only you will be able to see that information

in Family Tree. This helps protect the privacy of living people.

4. To enter information about the next person, click Next.

When you have entered or reviewed all of the information for your parents and

grandparents, the pedigree view appears and displays the newly entered information.

Adding a New Person to Your Existing Tree

If you find that a person is missing from the tree, you can add him or her. Although

Family Tree is primarily a tool for recording information about deceased ancestors, you

sometimes also need to add living people to Family Tree.

Tip: Before you add, edit, or delete information in Family Tree, you should make sure

that your user profile is set to display your contact information, at least an e-mail address.

To set your contact information, click your username in the upper-right corner of the

screen. Click Settings, and scroll down to the Contact section. Click the Public option

for each piece of information that you want displayed with your contact information.

Mostly you should add deceased ancestors to Family Tree. Adding living people is useful

when you need to do these types of tasks:

• Connect yourself to your deceased ancestors. If your tree is blank or nearly blank,

you probably need to add some living people before you can link yourself to your

deceased ancestors. For example, you may need to add your parents so that you can

connect to your deceased grandparents.

• Print information to share with living family.

Tip: These instructions explain how to add a new person, starting from a family member’s

details page. You can also add a new person by clicking Tree, and then find the place

where that person should appear. An Add… link appears on the tree instead of the name.

To add the missing person, click the Add… link, and start with step 4.

1. Open the details page of someone in the person’s family.

a. On the pedigree view or fan chart view, click the person’s name.

b. On the person’s summary card, click Person.

2. Scroll down to the Family Members section.

3. Click the appropriate link to add the person:

• To add a spouse or another spouse, click Add Spouse (located at the top of the

Spouses and Children section).

• To add a child with another, unknown parent, click Add Child with an

Unknown Parent. This link is located beneath all of the person’s spouses and

children. You may need to scroll down to see it.

• To add a parent, click Add Parent (located at the top of the Parents and Siblings

section).

• To add the person’s child, click the Add Child link that is located in the box that

appears beneath the person and his or her spouse.

Tip: The Add Child links appear at the bottom of the box that lists a couple’s

children. If the list of children is not displayed, click Children.

• To add the person’s sibling, click the Add Child link that appears beneath the

person’s parents.

The Add or Find Person page appears.

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Adding and Correcting Information about People and Relationships

Note: By default the screen to find a person who is already in Family Tree appears.

4. Click Add Person.

Fields appear in which you can enter the person’s name, gender, birth, and death

information.

Note: Add as much information as you know. More information helps distinguish

this person from others who have similar names or who lived at the same time or in

the same place.

5. (Required) Enter the person’s name.

43FamilySearch Family Tree (18 October 2013)

Adding and Correcting Information about People and Relationships

Enter the person’s main name. This is generally the complete name that he or she

was given at birth. You can add other versions of the name, such as nicknames or

married names, later as alternative names.

Templates allow you to enter the person’s name

a. If the template that you want to use is not already showing, click the Template

drop-down list, and select the template that you need to use.

Use the standard template unless you need to enter names in Spanish, Portuguese,

Cyrillic, or an Asian language.

b. (Optional) In the Title field, enter the person’s title if he or she had one.

Titles include titles used for nobility, clergy, military ranks, professional affiliations,

and scholastic achievements. Examples include duke, bishop, captain, or Dr.

c. Enter the first, middle, and last names in the appropriate fields.

For a married woman, enter her maiden name if you know it.

d. (Optional) In the Suffix field, enter terms like junior, senior, or other words that

appear after the name.

You must enter at least a first or last name.

• If you do not know a mother’s or wife’s name, enter the husband’s last name. Do

not enter a first name. Do not enter “Miss” or “Mrs” in any of the name fields.

• For a husband with an unknown name or a child who died without receiving a

name, enter only the father’s last name. Do not enter a first name. Do not enter

Mr., Miss, son, or daughter. Be sure that the gender is correctly entered as male or

female if you know it.

6. (Required) Select the gender.

The gender is preselected if you are entering a person whose gender is assumed based

on his or her relationship to others. For example, Male is preselected when you enter

a person’s father.

7. Enter the birth date and place-name.

If you do not know an exact date, you can enter one of the following words along

with the date:

About

Before

After

8. (Required) Indicate whether the person is living or deceased.

If you select Living, only you will be able to see this person in Family Tree.

9. If the person is deceased, enter the death date and place.

If you need to add other information about the person, finish entering the person’s

information on this page. After you have finished adding the person, display his or

her details page, where you can add more information:

• In the Vital Information section, you can add dates and places of christening and

burial.

• In the Other Information section, you can add many types of information, such

as occupation, religious affiliation, and so forth. This is also where you can enter

information that indicates a child was stillborn.

10. Click Continue.

You are returned to the details page of the person that you started from. If you started

from the tree instead of a details page, you are returned to the tree.

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Adding and Correcting Information about People and Relationships

11. If you have a source, attach it to show that the information is correct.

The person is added to the tree. If you entered a living person, remember the following

items:

• Only you can see the living person’s information. Not even the person the record is

about can see it.

• You cannot use the Family Tree search feature to find living people.

Finding a Person Who Is Already in the Tree and Linking Him or Her

into Your Family Line

You may find that a person is missing from your family line. If that person is already in

the tree somewhere, you can link that existing person into your family line rather than

having to reenter the information.

Tip: Before you add, edit, or delete information in Family Tree, you should make sure

that your user profile is set to display your contact information, at least an e-mail address.

To set your contact information, click your username in the upper-right corner of the

screen. Click Settings, and scroll down to the Contact section. Click the Public option

for each piece of information that you want displayed with your contact information.

Tip: These instructions explain how to link in a new person, starting from a person’s

details page. You can also link in a new person by clicking Tree, and finding the place

where that person should appear. An Add… link appears on the tree instead of the name.

To link in the missing person, click the Add… link, and start with step 4, below.

1. Open the details page of the person whose family member is missing.

2. Scroll down to the Family Members section.

3. Click the appropriate link to add the person:

• To add a spouse or another spouse, click Add Spouse.

• To add a child with another, unknown parent, click Add Child with an

Unknown Parent. This link appears beneath all of the person’s spouses and

children. You may need to scroll down to see it.

• To add a parent, click Add Parent.

• To add the person’s child, click the Add Child link that appears in the box that

appears beneath the person and his or her spouse.

Tip: The Add Child links appear at the bottom of the box that lists a couple’s

children. If the list of children is not displayed, click Children.

• To add the person’s sibling, click the Add Child link that appears beneath the

person’s parents.

4. Find the person:

• If you know the name and other information, click Find Person, and enter what

you know.

• If you know the ID number, click Find by ID Number, and enter the number.

5. Click Search.

6. If the right person appears on the search results, click Select.

Tip: If you are unsure, click the name to see the ancestor card.

7. If the right person does not appear on the search results, you can add him or her:

45FamilySearch Family Tree (18 October 2013)

Adding and Correcting Information about People and Relationships

Click Add.

The information that you entered onto the search screen appears in the fields.

b. If needed, add to or change the information that is in the fields.

c. Click Continue.

8. If you have a source, attach it to show that the information is correct.

You are returned to the details page of the person that you started from. If you started

from the tree instead of a details page, you are returned to the tree. The person is linked

into the tree.

Entering Standardized Dates and Places

When you enter dates and place-names, Family Tree helps you select a standardized

place. Using standardized dates and places helps clarify the information that you enter.

It also helps the system locate people with the Find feature.

You can enter place-names in your native language. However, the database that

standardizes place-names is not yet complete. If the system does not have a standardized

place-name for the place that you enter, select as specific a standardized place as you

can, even if it is only the district, province, or country name. The standards will improve

over time.

Tip: If you type dates as all numbers, it is very important that you select a standardized

date. For example, 6/7/1890 can mean 6 July 1890 or 7 June 1890, depending on where

you live in the world. If you do not select a standard, the system shows both possible

dates. You can avoid this confusion by either selecting a standard or by typing out the

name of the month instead of using numbers.

1. Begin typing the date or place.

If Family Tree cannot identify the date or place that you mean, a drop-down list of

standardized dates and places appears.

2. Select the correct option:

• If you want the system to use only the standardized date or place, click the standard

date or place in the drop-down list. The standard replaces what you entered.

• If you want the system to keep exactly what you entered, select None of the

Above. This option appears at the bottom of the list of standard dates or places.

The standardized date and place appears beneath the field. If the Family Tree can

apply a standard, it does so, even if you did not choose an option from the drop-down

list.

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Adding and Correcting Information about People and Relationships

3. If you want to include extra information that does not appear in the standardized

place, such as the name of a hospital, cemetery, or church where the event took place,

do the following:

a. Begin typing the place as you want it to appear.

As you type, the system displays the closest matches in the drop-down list of

standardized places.

b. Type the final part of the place as it appears in the standardized place.

The system now displays the place you typed and the standardized place.

c. Instead of clicking the standardized place, click somewhere else on the screen.

The system leaves the place as you typed it but connects the place with the

standardized place.

Tip: Connecting with the standardized place makes it easier for other people who

use the Find feature to find this person. If they look for a name and a place, the system

can match the place they enter with the standardized place.

Entering Characters from the World’s Languages

If your computer and keyboard are set up to enter the characters that you need, enter

them as you normally would. If they are not, then you will have to use the Character

Map feature of your operating system.

47FamilySearch Family Tree (18 October 2013)

Adding and Correcting Information about People and Relationships

You can add diacritics and special characters such as í, ü, ç, ß, and æ that are used in

languages that use the Roman alphabet, such as Spanish, German, Swedish, and other

European languages. You can also enter the characters used in Chinese, Japanese, Korean,

Greek, Russian, and other languages.

Note: These instructions work on a Windows operating system. If you are using a different

operating system, please check the instructions that came with your operating system.

1. Click the Windows Start button.

2. Select Programs, then Accessories, then System Tools, and then Character

Map.

3. Click the character that you want to add. If you do not see the character, select a

different font, such as Andale or Tahoma.

4. Click Select.

5. Click Copy.

The character is copied into the Windows clipboard.

6. Place the cursor in the field where the character should go.

7. In your browser, select Edit, and then Paste.

The character is entered into the field.

Searching for Records from a Person’s Details Page

On a person’s details page, you can search for historical records (like census records or

birth records) for that person with one click. The system uses the person’s name and

information to search all the records and user submitted genealogies on FamilySearch,

and then displays all the records it finds. The records can help you find more information

and people to add to your tree.

1. Go to a person’s details page.

a. On the pedigree or fan chart view, click the person’s name.

b. Click Person.

2. On the right side, under Research Help, click Search Records.

FamilySearch searches and displays all the records it finds.

3. To see the information in a record, click the person’s name.

Use the information to determine if the record is about your ancestor. Read the record

to see if it has more people or information that you can add to your tree.

You can use the links on the page to do several things:

• If the record is for your ancestor, to attach the record to Family Tree, click Attach

to My Family Tree.

• To add the source to your source box, click Add to My Source Box.

• To share the record through social media, click Share.

• If an image is available online, to view the digital image, click the View Image

button on the right side of the page.

• To download the image to your computer, click Save image.

• To view the other search results, click Back to Search Results.

4. On the Search Results page, to find User Submitted Genealogies for the person, scroll

to the bottom of the page.

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Adding and Correcting Information about People and Relationships

5. If you want to search for more records, on the left side of the Search Results page,

change the information for the person, and click Search.

Tip: Searching with different information can help you find more records. For

example, searching for a woman's maiden name may find records that were made

before she was married. Searching for her married name may find records that were

made after she was married.

Correcting, Adding to, and Deleting Information about

People Who Are Already in Family Tree

Correcting Information about a Person

You can correct information that is in a person’s Vital Information and Other Information

sections.

You can edit the information of any person in Family Tree. Family Tree keeps track of

all of the changes made to a person in a change history. If someone makes a change that

you do not agree with, you can use this list to restore a previous version of the

information. You can undo changes made to any person, regardless of whether you

entered the information or made the change.

• If possible, attach a source that shows your information is correct.

• Every time you make a change, you can enter a detailed reason that explains why

you believe the information that you entered is correct.

You can edit a person’s gender if he or she is not linked into a relationship that implies

a gender. For example, if the person is linked to another person as a mother, you cannot

change the gender to male.

Note: If you need to correct a person’s gender, and Family Tree prevents you from

making the correction, create a new person with the correct gender and add him or her

to the family.

1. Open the person’s details page.

2. Click the information that you want to change.

A box with more details about this information appears.

3. Review the existing information, especially the field containing the reasoning.

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4. If you still want to make a change, click Edit.

The fields appear.

Note: If the person’s name has been entered using multiple templates, such as with

both Russian and Thai templates, you see all of the fields from all of the templates

that were used. To delete one of the languages, delete the characters from the

appropriate field, and save the change. For example, if the name was entered in

Russian, Roman, and Thai, and the Russian is not needed, you would delete all of the

text from the Russian fields, and save the name.

5. Make your changes, including a reason to explain why this information is correct.

Tip: If the existing reasoning is applicable, leave the existing explanation, and add

your own comments to it.

6. When you are finished, click Save.

7. To close the details box, click .

8. If you have a source, attach it to show that the information is correct.

Changing a Person’s Living or Deceased Status

To change a person’s status as living or deceased, you edit the person’s death information.

If you are changing the status from deceased to living, a system administrator must

review and approve the change.

1. Open the person’s details page.

2. In the Vital Information section, click the person’s death information.

3. Click Edit.

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4. To change a person’s status from living to deceased, follow these steps:

a. Click Deceased.

b. Enter the death date and place, if you know them.

c. Enter a reason explaining how you know that the person is deceased.

d. Click Save.

e. (Recommended) Scroll down to the Sources section, and attach a source that

validates the death information that you entered.

5. To change a person’s status from deceased to living, follow these steps:

a. Click Living.

b. Enter a reason explaining how you know that the person is living.

Include the person’s current address if you know it.

c. Click Save.

A message appears in which you can add an explanation for the system

administrator, who will review and approve this change.

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d. Enter the explanation.

e. Click Submit.

A screen appears that lists the case number of your request.

f. Write down the case number and any pertinent details that you will need later to

remember the case.

If you want to check on the status of your request, click the Feedback link in the

footer of FamilySearch.org. Then click My Cases.

A change request is sent to the FamilySearch system administrators. If a person’s

record is changed from deceased to living, the FamilySearch Privacy Policy may

prevent you from seeing the person’s record in Family Tree. If you want the person

to show on your pedigree, add the person back into the tree.

Adding More Information about a Person Who Is Already in Family

Tree

In Family Tree, you can add the person’s name, gender, birth and christening information,

and death and burial information. You can also enrich the record by adding information

such as alternate versions of the person’s name or the person’s occupation, naturalization,

military service, titles of nobility, and so forth.

1. Open the person’s details page.

2. If you want to add a new event to the Vital Information section, follow these steps:

a. Click the Add… link for the information.

Fields appear where you can add the information.

3. If you want to add new information to the Other Information section, follow these

steps:

a. In the Other Information section, click Add.

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b. Click the event that you want.

The fields in which you enter information appear.

4. Enter the information, including a reason to explain why this information is correct.

If you are adding an alternate name, you can select the type of name that you are

entering.

5. When you are finished, click Save.

6. If you have a source, attach it to show that the information is correct.

Adding a Custom Event or Fact to a Person

If Family Tree does not provide a field for the type of information that you want to add,

you can add your own custom fields for it.

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Custom events are especially helpful if they meet the following criteria:

• The information is significant.

• The information helps distinguish the person from other people with similar names.

• The information is helpful for identifying the person in records.

You can add custom events and custom facts for deceased people.

1. Open the person’s details page.

2. Scroll down to the Other Information section.

3. Beneath the Other Information heading, click Add.

4. From the list of options, click the appropriate option:

• Click Custom Event if you need date and place fields.

• Click Custom Fact if you do not need date and place fields.

You may need to scroll down to see these options.

The fields in which you enter information appears.

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5. Enter the information, including your analysis about why this information is correct.

In the Title field, enter a label for the field. For example, if you are entering

information about a person’s missionary service, you might enter the word Mission

in the Title field.

6. When you are finished, click Save.

7. If you have a source, attach it to show that the information is correct.

Types of Information That You Can Add about a Person

A person’s details page can contain many different types of information, or “fields,” in

which you can enter information about him or her. For some types of information, a

person’s details page can contain only one version of this information. For other types

of information, a person’s details page can contain multiple versions of that information.

Vital Information Section

Are Multiple Versions

Allowed?

PurposeField

NoThe name given to this person at his or

her birth, or the main name that the

person used throughout his or her life.

Important: Be sure to select the correct

template if you need to enter names in

Name

Spanish, Portuguese, Cyrillic, or an Asian

language.

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Are Multiple Versions

Allowed?

PurposeField

NoMale, female, or unknownGender

NoThe date and place that the person was

born.

Birth

NoThe date and place that the person was

baptized as an infant.

Christening

NoThe date and place that the person died.Death

NoThe date when and place where the per

son was buried. If a person was not

buried, you can do one of the following:

Burial

• Add a Cremation event to the Other

Information section.

• Add a custom event for burial at sea

and other types of interment.

Other Information Section

To add one of these events or facts to a person’s record, click the Add link that

appears beneath the Other Information heading.

Are Multiple Versions

Allowed?

PurposeField

YesOther names by which this person was

known, such as a nickname.

Alternate

Name

NoThe date and place that an infant was

born dead.

Stillborn

NoThe date and place where a Jewish boy

had his bar mitzvah ceremony.

Bar Mitzvah

NoThe date and place where a Jewish girl

had her bat mitzvah ceremony.

Bat Mitzvah

YesThe details of a person’s service in a

country’s armed forces.

Military Ser

vice

YesThe details about where and when a per

son became a citizen of a different coun

try.

Naturalization

YesThe dates and address where a person

lived.

Residence

YesThe date and place that a person was af

filiated with a secular organization.

Affiliation

YesThe date and place that a person was a

member of a religious organization.

Religious Affili

ation

YesA word that describes the person’s posi

tion within the noble class of a country.

Title of Nobili

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Are Multiple Versions

Allowed?

PurposeField

YesHow a person earned a living.Occupation

NoThe date and place that a person’s body

was burned after his or her death.

Cremation

YesThe date and place that something hap

pened to the person that Family Tree does

not provide a field for.

Note: You can add custom events for

deceased people.

Custom Event

YesThe name of the caste that the person

belonged to.

Caste Name

YesThe name of the clan that the person

belonged to.

Clan Name

YesThe number used to identify a person for

government purposes. In the United

National Identi

fication

States, this might be a Social Security

Number.

NoThe country where this person was born.National Ori

gin

NoWhat the person looked like.Physical De

scription

NoA person’s ethnic group.Race

YesThe name of the tribe that the person

belonged to.

Tribal Name

YesInformation about the person that the

Family Tree does not provide a field for.

Note: You can add custom facts for de

ceased people.

Custom Fact

Deleting Information about a Person

If a person’s details page contains an event or fact that should not be there, you can

delete it. You can delete information, regardless of whether you added it.

You cannot delete the following types of information about a person:

• The name. You can, however, delete alternate names.

• The gender.

• Birth information.

• The indicator for living or deceased. You can, however, delete the death date and

place.

1. Open the person’s details page.

2. Click the information that you want to delete.

A box that contains the information and its reasoning appears.

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3. Review the existing information, especially the field containing the reasoning.

4. If you still want to delete the information, click the Delete link that is in the box.

If the box does not contain a Delete link, it means that the information cannot be

deleted.

5. In the field for the reason, explain why you are deleting the information.

6. Click Delete.

7. If you have a source, attach it to show that the information is correct.

Correcting, Adding to, and Deleting Relationship

Information

Relationships

In Family Tree, relationships connect people into families. There are two types of

relationships: couple relationships and parent-child relationships.

Couple Relationships

Couple relationships connect a man and woman as husband and wife.

The couple relationship contains the following information:

• The identities of the man and woman in the relationship.

• The marriage date and place.

• The date and place of a couple’s divorce or annulment.

• Whether the marriage was a common-law marriage.

• Sources that provide evidence about the creation or ending of the relationship.

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Parent-Child Relationships

Parent-child relationships connect children to parents. A child has a parent-child

relationship to the mother and a separate relationship to the father.

The parent-child relationship contains the following information:

• The identities of the child and all of the parents that he or she is connected to.

• The relationship type. The “relationship type” specifies how a child and parent are

related. By default, the system uses “Biological” as the relationship type. You can

change that relationship type to adopted, step, guardianship, or other.

A child has a relationship type for the relationship to the father and a relationship

type for the relationship to the mother. This lets you indicate, for example, that a

child had a step relationship to the father and a biological relationship to the mother.

Each parent-child relationship can have more than one relationship type. This lets

you indicate, for example, that a child first had a step relationship to a parent and

was then adopted later on.

• Sources that provide evidence about the creation of the relationship.

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Brother and Sister Relationships

In Family Tree, brothers and sisters do not have a specific relationship. Instead, they are

known to be related because they all have parent-child relationships to the same parents.

Adding, Editing, and Deleting a Couple’s Marriage Information,

Including Divorce Information

You can add the date and place of a couple’s marriage. You can also indicate that the

couple had a common-law marriage, that they divorced, or that the marriage was

annulled. If a couple’s marriage information is wrong, you can edit it or delete it.

Tip: Before you add, edit, or delete information in Family Tree, you should make sure

that your user profile is set to display your contact information, at least an e-mail address.

To set your contact information, click your username in the upper-right corner of the

screen. Click Settings, and scroll down to the Contact section. Click the Public option

for each piece of information that you want displayed with your contact information.

1. Open the person’s details page.

2. Scroll down to the Family Members section.

The marriage date and place appears in the box that shows the names of each couple.

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3. Click the Edit Couple link that appears in the box that contains the couple’s name

and marriage information.

The Couple Relationship page appears.

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4. If you want to edit or delete a marriage event that is already on the record, follow

these steps:

a. Click the event.

A box that contains the information and its reasoning appears.

b. Review the existing information, especially the field containing the reasoning.

c. If you want to delete the information, click Delete. In the box that appears, enter

the reason why you are deleting the information, and click Save. Skip the

remaining steps.

d. If you want to edit the information, click Edit, and continue with step 6.

5. If you want to add a new marriage event, click Add New Event.

Fields appear where you can enter the information.

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6. In the drop-down list, select the type of marriage event.

• Select Marriage if the couple participated in a ceremony or ordinance in which

a man and woman are united as husband and wife.

• Select Common Law if the couple’s marriage was created by mutual consent and

public behavior (such as living together as husband and wife) rather than with a

formal ceremony.

• Select Divorce to record the date and place when a couple’s marriage ended

legally.

• Select Annulment if the couple’s marriage was canceled with a decree that states

that the marriage was never valid.

A couple can have more than one marriage event (such as Common Law and Marriage

and Divorce) and more than one marriage event of the same type (such as more than

one Marriage).

7. Enter the date and place.

8. Enter a reason that explains how you know that the information is correct.

Tip: When you edit an existing event, if the existing reasoning is applicable, leave

the existing explanation, and add your own comments to it.

9. When you are finished, click Save.

10. To display the details of a person in this relationship, use the Go to links that are

located beneath the FamilySearch tree logo.

11. If you have a source, attach it to show that the information is correct.

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Adding, Changing, and Deleting Relationship Types between Parents

and Children

The “relationship type” specifies how a child and parent are related. By default, the

system uses “Biological” as the relationship type. You can change that relationship type

to adopted, step, guardianship, or other. You can also add more than one relationship

type and delete relationship types.

Tip: Before you add, edit, or delete information in Family Tree, you should make sure

that your user profile is set to display your contact information, at least an e-mail address.

To set your contact information, click your username in the upper-right corner of the

screen. Click Settings, and scroll down to the Contact section. Click the Public option

for each piece of information that you want displayed with your contact information.

1. Open the details page of the child, father, or mother.

2. Scroll down to the Family Members section.

The marriage date and place appear in the box that shows the names of each couple.

3. Hover your mouse cursor over the child whose parent-child relationship you want

to see.

An Edit Relationship link appears.

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4. Click the child’s Edit Relationship link.

The Parent-Child Relationship page appears.

5. If you want to edit or delete a relationship type that is already listed, follow these

steps:

a. Click the relationship type.

For example, click Biological.

A box appears that contains the information and the contributor’s reasoning for

why it is accurate.

b. Review the existing information, especially the field containing the reasoning.

c. If you want to delete the relationship, click Delete. In the box that appears, enter

the reason why you are deleting the relationship, and click Save. Skip the

remaining steps.

d. If you want to edit the relationship type, click Edit, and skip to step 7.

A box in which you can enter the information appears.

6. If you want to add a new relationship type, click Add New Relationship Type,

and continue with the next step.

A box in which you can enter the information appears.

7. From the drop-down list, select the type of relationship:

• Select Adopted if the parent legally adopted the child.

• Select Biological if the relationship is biological.

• Select Guardianship if the relationship was created through fostering or other

arrangements made for a child’s care when the biological parents could or would

not care for the child.

• Select Step if the relationship was created when the child’s biological parent

married someone other than the other biological parent.

8. (Optional) Enter the date when the relationship was established.

You can enter a date for all relationship types except biological. It is assumed that a

biological relationship was created at the child’s birth.

For example, for an adoption, you could enter the date when the adoption was

finalized. For a step relationship, you could enter the date when the child’s biological

parent married the step-parent.

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9. Enter a reason that explains how you know that the information is correct.

Tip: When you edit an existing event, if the existing reasoning is applicable, leave

the existing explanation, and add your own comments to it.

10. When you are finished, click Save.

11. To display the details of a person in this relationship, use the Go to links that are

located beneath the FamilySearch tree logo.

12. If you have a source, attach it to show that the information is correct.

Removing a Person from a Family (Deleting Relationships)

When the wrong person appears in a family, do not delete the person. Just delete the

person’s relationship to the family.

Tip: Before you add, edit, or delete information in Family Tree, you should make sure

that your user profile is set to display your contact information, at least an e-mail address.

To set your contact information, click your username in the upper-right corner of the

screen. Click Settings, and scroll down to the Contact section. Click the Public option

for each piece of information that you want displayed with your contact information.

When you delete a relationship between people, the people stay in the Family Tree

database, but they are no longer connected to each other.

Tip: If you need to remove a person from one family and add him or her into another

family, write down the person’s ID number. After you remove the person from the wrong

family, you can use the ID number to quickly find the person when you add him or her

to the right family.

1. Open the details page of a person who is in the family:

• To delete a couple relationship, open the details page of either the husband or

wife.

• To delete a child-parent relationship, open the details page of the child, mother,

or father.

2. Scroll down to the Family Members section.

3. Click the Edit... link of the relationship that you want to delete.

• To delete the couple relationship between the parents, click the Edit Couple link

that appears in the box that shows the parents and their marriage date and place.

• To delete the relationship between a child and his or her father or mother, hover

your mouse cursor over the child’s name, and click the Edit Relationship link

that appears.

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• To delete the couple relationship between one of the children and his or her

spouse, click the child’s name, and click Person. This takes you to the child's

details page. Scroll down to the Family Member’s section, and repeat this step.

The relationship page appears.

4. Review the existing information, especially the sources.

5. To delete a parent-child relationship between a child and either the father or mother

(but not both), follow these steps:

a. Click the name of the parent whose relationship should be removed.

b. Review the existing information, especially the sources and the field containing

the reasoning.

c. If you still want to remove the relationship, click Remove.

6. To delete the couple relationship or the relationship between the child and both

parents, click Delete Relationship.

This link appears on the right side of the screen in the Tools box.

7. Enter a reason that explains how you know that the relationship should be deleted.

Tip: When you edit an existing event and if the existing reasoning is applicable,

leave the existing explanation, and add your own comments to it.

8. Click Delete.

9. To display the details of a person in this relationship, use the Go to links that are

located beneath the FamilySearch tree logo.

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10. If you have a source, attach it to show that the information is correct.

Replacing a Wrong Parent in a Family with the Correct One

Sometimes Family Tree lists the wrong person as a child’s father or mother. You can

easily replace the wrong parent with the right one.

Tip: Before you add, edit, or delete information in Family Tree, you should make sure

that your user profile is set to display your contact information, at least an e-mail address.

To set your contact information, click your username in the upper-right corner of the

screen. Click Settings, and scroll down to the Contact section. Click the Public option

for each piece of information that you want displayed with your contact information.

1. Open the details page of the child, father, or mother.

2. Scroll down to the Family Members section.

The marriage date and place appears in the box that shows the names of each couple.

3. Hover your mouse cursor over the name of the child.

A link appears.

4. Click the Edit Relationship link that appears.

The Parent-Child Relationship page appears.

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5. Click the name of the parent that does not belong in the family.

6. Review the existing information, especially the field containing the reasoning.

7. If you still want to replace the parent with someone else, click Change.

8. Find or add the correct parent:

DescriptionOption

The parent already exists

and you know the name

and other information

1. Click Find Individual.

2. Enter the name and other information about the

person.

3. Click Search.

4. On the list of search results, find the right

person.

Tip: If you are unsure, click the name to see the

person’s summary card.

5. Click Select.

The parent already exists

and you know the ID

number

1. Click Find by ID Number.

2. Enter the ID number.

3. Click Search.

4. On the list of search results, find the right

person.

Tip: If you are unsure, click the name to see the

person’s summary card.

5. Click Select.

The parent doesn't exist

and needs to be added

1. Click Add Individual.

2. Enter the person’s name and other information.

3. Click Continue.

9. Enter a reason that explains how you know that the information is correct.

Tip: When you edit an existing event, if the existing reasoning is applicable, leave

the existing explanation, and add your own comments to it.

10. Click Change.

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11. To display the details of a person in this relationship, use the Go to links that are

located beneath the FamilySearch tree logo.

12. If you have a source, attach it to show that the information is correct.

Adding Reason Statements to People and Relationships

If Family Tree already contains correct information about a person or relationship, you

can add a reason statement that explains how you know it is correct. This leaves valuable

information for yourself and other researchers about the accuracy of the information is

and whether further research is required.

Tip: Before you add, edit, or delete information in Family Tree, you should make sure

that your user profile is set to display your contact information, at least an e-mail address.

To set your contact information, click your username in the upper-right corner of the

screen. Click Settings, and scroll down to the Contact section. Click the Public option

for each piece of information that you want displayed with your contact information.

1. Open the person’s details page.

2. If you want to add a reason statement to information about the person, follow these

steps:

a. Click the information whose reason statement you want to add.

A box with more details about this information appears.

b. Click Edit.

The fields appear.

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3. If you want to add a reason statement about a relationship that the person is in,

follow these steps:

a. Scroll down to the Family Members section.

b. Click the Edit... link of the relationship that contains the information.

• To enter a reason about information on the couple relationship, click the Edit

Couple link that appears in the box that shows the couple and their marriage

date and place.

• To enter a reason about information on a parent-child relationship, hover your

mouse cursor over a child’s name, and click the Edit Relationship link that

appears.

c. Click the information whose reason statement you want to add.

• To enter a reason that explains why this person belongs in the relationship,

click the person’s name. If there is not a reason statement yet, click Add. If

there is an existing reason statement, click Edit.

• To enter a reason that explains why a marriage event on a couple relationship

is correct, click the marriage event, and then click Edit.

• To enter a reason that explains why a relationship type on a parent-child

relationship is correct, click the relationship type, and then click Edit.

4. Enter a reason that explains how you know that the information is correct.

Tip: When you edit an existing event, if the existing reasoning is applicable, leave

the existing explanation, and add your own comments to it.

5. When you are finished, click Save.

6. If you have a source, attach it to show that the information is correct.

Deleting a Person from the System

You can delete a person from the system. This also deletes the person’s relationships to

everyone in the tree. If you delete a person by mistake, you can restore that person.

Important: It is recommended that you delete a person only if the person never existed.

If you create a duplicate record by mistake, merge the two records rather than delete the

person. The merge process allows you to compare the records and choose which

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information to keep. If you later find that the merge was a mistake, you can undo the

merge and restore the deleted record. It is much harder to find and restore a person that

was deleted.

1. Open the person’s details page.

2. Review the person’s information carefully, especially the sources and reason

statements. If you still want to delete the person, follow these steps:

a. In the Tools box, click Delete Person.

A message appears that lists the information that will also be deleted when you

delete the person.

b. Read the message.

c. If you still want to delete the person, enter a clear reason to explain why.

d. Click Delete.

A screen that confirms the deletion appears.

3. If you delete a person by mistake, follow these steps to restore the person:

a. In Family Tree, go to a deceased spouse, parent, or child of the person you need

to restore, and click that person’s name.

You will use the change history of the spouse, parent, or child to restore the deleted

person.

b. In the Latest Changes box, click Show all.

The person’s change history appears.

c. In the change history, click the name of the person you want to restore. You will

see the deleted person’s summary card.

Tip: If you don’t see the entry you need, click the More link at the bottom of the

list. If the change history is long, scan the right side of the change history, and

look only at the entries that contain a Reference link. All deleted relationships

have a Reference link. This is often faster than looking at each entry individually.

You can also use your browser’s Find feature to search for the word “Deleted” or

for the name of the person that you want to restore. In most browsers, press Ctrl+F

to use the Find feature.

d. On the person’s summary card, click Person.

e. At the top of the screen, read the reason why the person was deleted.

f. If you still want to restore the person, click the Restore Person button.

g. Enter a reason that explains why the person and relationship should be restored.

h. Click Restore.

Restoring a Deleted Person

You can restore a person whose record has been deleted from the system.

1. Go to the details page of the father, mother, spouse, or child of the deleted person.

Important: The father, mother, spouse, or child must be deceased. To restore a

deleted person using a details page, you use the change history, and the change

history is not available for living people. You will use the change history for the

spouse, parent, or child to restore the deleted person.

2. In the Latest Changes box, click Show all.

The person’s change history appears.

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3. In the change history, click the name of the person you want to restore. You will see

the deleted person’s summary card.

Tip: If you don’t see the entry you need, click the More link at the bottom of the

list. If the change history is long, scan the right side of the change history, and look

only at the entries that contain a Reference link. All deleted relationships have a

Reference link. This is often faster than looking at each entry individually. You can

also use your browser’s Find feature to search for the word “Deleted” or for the name

of the person that you want to restore. In most browsers, press Ctrl+F to use the Find

feature.

4. On the person’s summary card, click Person.

5. At the top of the screen, read the reason why the person was deleted.

6. If you still want to restore the person, click the Restore Person button.

7. Enter a reason that explains why the person and relationship should be restored.

8. Click Restore.

Seeing the Change History and Undoing Changes

Seeing and Undoing the Changes Made to a Person or Relationship

Family Tree tracks all changes made to the information about a person and the

relationships that he or she is part of. If someone makes a change that you do not agree

with, you can use the change history to restore a previous version of the information.

You can undo changes regardless of whether you originally added the information or

made the change.

Tip: Before you add, edit, or delete information in Family Tree, you should make sure

that your user profile is set to display your contact information, at least an e-mail address.

To set your contact information, click your username in the upper-right corner of the

screen. Click Settings, and scroll down to the Contact section. Click the Public option

for each piece of information that you want displayed with your contact information.

1. Open the person’s details page.

2. Open the change history that you want to see:

DescriptionOption

In the box that lists recent changes made to this person,

click Show All. The box is located on the right side of

See all of the changes

about the person and

the person’s details page in the Vital Information

section.

the couple

relationships and

parent-child

relationships that he or

she is part of.

See the changes for

only one type of

1. To see the change history for one type of

information, click the information. (For example, to

information about the

person.

see the change history for just the death event, click

the person’s death information.)

2. Click History. This link is located above the name

of the user who last entered or changed the

information.

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DescriptionOption

Tip: The button near the top identifies the type of

information being displayed in the change history. In

the following example, the Death button indicates that

only changes made to the person’s death event are being

displayed in the change history.

To display this person’s entire change history, click the

X button that appears next to the information being

filtered (in this example, the X next to Death). The

system then displays the entire change history.

See all of the changes

made to a couple

relationship.

1. Scroll down to the Family Members section.

2. Click the Edit Couple link that appears for that

couple.

3. Click the Show All link that appears in the change

history box, which appears on the right side of the

couple relationship screen.

See all of the changes

made to a child-parent

relationship.

1. Scroll down to the Family Members section.

2. Hover your mouse cursor over the name of the child

whose parent-child relationship you want to see.

3. Click the Edit Relationship link that appears.

4. Click the Show All link in the change history box,

which appears on the right side of the screen.

The change history appears.

3. Find the change that shows the correct information.

On the change history for a relationship, you can click Show Relationship or Hide

Relationship to see more information.

If the change history contains more changes than can be shown on the list, click the

More link that is found at the bottom of the list.

4. Restore the correct information:

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If the entry has a Restore button, click it.

Note: If a change does not have a Restore button, then you cannot undo that

change. For example, the following types of entries do not have Restore buttons:

•

• Entries that identify the current information that is shown in Family Tree. You

do not need to restore what is already there.

• The entry that identifies when the information was first added to Family Tree.

You can recognize these because of a description that says something like,

“Name Created.”

• If the information has a Reference link, click it.

If restoring the information requires more review, a screen appears to let you do that

review.

5. If a screen appears to allow you to see more information about what you are restoring,

review the information.

6. If you want to restore the information, click Restore.

To return to previous screens, use the Go to links that are located beneath the

FamilySearch tree logo.

On the person’s details page, click the information that you just restored. Add to the

reason an explanation of why you restored the information.

Filtering a Person’s Change History

You can filter a person’s change history if you want to see the changes made to one type

of information.

This feature does not work for the change history of relationships.

You can use either of the following approaches:

• If you are already on the person’s change history, click the link that tells you what

type of change was made.

For example, click Name Created or Name Changed to see all the changes made

to a person’s name.

The list narrows to that type of information. A button appears at the top of the list

to show what type of filter has been used. Click this button to remove the filter and

redisplay the entire change history.

• If you are on a person’s details page, follow these steps:

a. Click the information whose change history you want to see.

b. Click History.

The change history for that information type appears. A button appears at the top

of the list to show what type of filter has been used. Click this button to remove the

filter and display the entire change history.

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Correcting Information Moved from

new.FamilySearch.org to Family Tree

Recommendations for Correcting Names Moved from

new.FamilySearch.org

Many records that were moved from new.FamilySearch.org have many name variations.

In Family Tree, these name variations can be kept or deleted.

How Names Get Moved from new.FamilySearch.org to Family Tree

In new.FamilySearch.org, a person’s record might contain many variations of the name.

On the Summary tab, one version of the name is selected as the correct one. In Family

Tree, this version of the name appears in the Vital Information section of the details

page.

In new.FamilySearch.org, the variations of the name appear on the Details tab. In Family

Tree, they are displayed as Alternate Names in the Other Information section.

What Name to Use in the Vital Information Section

The Name field in a person’s Vital Information section should contain the most official

or recognizable version of a person’s name. This is usually the name that the person was

given at birth. If a woman changed her name after marriage, you would use her maiden

name if you know it rather than her married name.

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However, there may be circumstances where it is appropriate to use a different version

of the name in the Vital Information section. If you do this, please enter a thorough

explanation for this choice in the reason field.

Alternate Names in the Other Information Section

In the Other Information section, keep the Alternate Names that will help other users

recognize the person in Family Tree and identify him or her in the historical records.

For example, keep the following:

• Spelling variations that were used on the records.

• Variations in the name form that were used on the records, such as a different middle

name.

• Nicknames.

• Names that the person used to identify himself or herself during his or her life.

• Name changes caused by adoption, divorce, or other legal actions.

• Names that the person used after moving to a new country.

• Names that a person used while hiding out, such as runaway slaves or people hiding

from the law.

• Names that were given to the person or adopted by the person at various stages of

life.

Delete the following types of alternate names:

• Names with capitalization differences, such as the last name in all capital letters.

• Names with punctuation differences, such as the lack of a period after an initial.

• Spelling errors.

• Names that are wrong, such as have a wrong middle name.

Note: You may choose to keep wrong versions of a name that keep getting

resubmitted. In this case, you would want to add a reason statement that explains

why this version of the name is incorrect, where the error appears to have originated,

and what sources have been used to disprove it.

Recommendations for Correcting Events and Other Information Moved

from new.FamilySearch.org

Many records that were moved from new.FamilySearch.org contain information that

gets displayed in the Other Information section of the details page.

How Vital Events Get Moved to Family Tree

A person’s vital events are the birth, christening, death, and burial.

In new.FamilySearch.org, a person’s record might contain many versions of these vital

events. On the Summary tab, one version of each can be selected as the correct version.

In Family Tree, this version of the name appears in the Vital Information section of the

details page.

In new.FamilySearch.org, the variations of the vital events appear on the person’s Details

tab. These variations do not get moved to Family Tree.

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How Other Events and Facts Get Moved to Family Tree

Nonvital events that appear on the Details tab show up in Family Tree in the Other

Information section of the person’s details page.

Information to Keep

In the Other Information section, keep information that is correct, appropriate for

publication, and genealogically useful. Delete everything else.

Recommendations for Correcting Relationships Moved from

new.FamilySearch.org

Family Tree should contain only relationships that are genealogically correct.

How Relationships Get Moved

All of a person’s couple and parent-child relationships get moved from

new.FamilySearch.org to Family Tree.

Couple Relationships

Keep couple relationships for which there is evidence that two people were a couple,

such as:

• Couples who married, even if that marriage later ended in annulment or divorce.

• Couples who lived together as husband and wife but never had a formal marriage

ceremony (“common-law” marriages).

Delete the following types of couple relationships:

• Incorrect relationships, in which the two people never were a couple.

• A couple who had children together but never married. You can create parent-child

relationships to show the two people as the parents of a child. You do not have to

link the parents together as spouses.

Parent-Child Relationships

Always link children to their biological parents if you know them. Link a child to

step-parents, foster parents, or guardians only when there is a compelling reason to do

so. The following are good reasons to link a person to other parents:

• A living person wants to be linked to nonbiological children or parents.

• The people had adopted, sealing, foster, and other parent-child relationships that

were created during their lifetimes, particularly when the child was young or the

people involved considered the relationship as meaningful or more meaningful than

their biological relationships.

• Nonbiological relationships that are helpful in understanding the historical records

about the child and parent.

• A person’s biological parent is not known but another parent is. Use the relationship

type and reason statements to clarify the situation.

• Records are unclear or provide contradictory evidence about a person’s parents.

You do not necessarily need to link a child to step-parents. Sometimes this is appropriate,

such as when a step-parent raises a child as his or her own. But sometimes, a child’s

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biological parent simply remarried. The child did not have a parental relationship with

the new spouse. In cases like this, you can simply enter the parent’s marriage to the

other spouse.

Delete parent-child relationships that are incorrect.

Uploading GEDCOM Files and Copying the Information

to Family Tree

All registered users of FamilySearch.org can upload GEDCOM files for inclusion in the

Pedigree Resource File. If you have access to Family Tree, you can also copy information

from an uploaded GEDCOM file into Family Tree.

GEDCOM (GEnealogical Data COMmunications) is a computer format that lets computer

users transfer genealogical data from one computer program to another. GEDCOM files

have the file extension .GED.

This GEDCOM upload process has many planned enhancements. Until they are complete,

please be aware of the following issues:

• You cannot currently add the notes, sources, and multimedia links that are in your

GEDCOM file to Family Tree.

• During the upload process, you compare what is in your GEDCOM file to what is

already in Family Tree. If you stop before you finish comparing, simply make a note

of which filter and person you left off on.

• You can include records of living people in your GEDCOM file. However, they are

not available for searching on FamilySearch.org. Nor can you add those records to

Family Tree.

The upload process has several parts:

1. Upload your GEDCOM file, and compare it to Family Tree.

2. View the results.

3. Review people who are potential matches. Determine whether they are matches.

4. Review people who can be added to Family Tree. Choose which ones to add.

5. Review people who are already in Family Tree. Determine whether your GEDCOM

file contains more accurate information than the information Family Tree already

contains.

Each of these steps is discussed in more detail below.

Part 1. Upload Your GEDCOM File, and Compare It to Family Tree

The first step is to upload your GEDCOM file and compare it to Family Tree. If you have

previously uploaded a GEDCOM file to Pedigree Resource File and if that file appears on

your list of uploaded files, you do not have to upload it again. Simply skip to step 3.

Your GEDCOM file can be up to 100 MB.

To upload a GEDCOM file, you must be signed in to FamilySearch.org. Uploading your

GEDCOM file makes it available for other FamilySearch users to search.

1. To begin, follow these steps:

a. In the header of FamilySearch.org, click Search.

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b. Click the Genealogies link.

The GEDCOM upload feature is located beneath the fields used for searching

Ancestral File and Pedigree Resource File data.

c. Scroll down past the search fields.

a. Click Submit Tree.

2. If you have not already uploaded this GEDCOM file, upload it:

a. Click Add GEDCOM.

b. Click Choose File, and find the GEDCOM file that you want to upload.

c. Enter a name and description for your GEDCOM file.

d. Click Upload.

The name of the GEDCOM file is added to a list of your uploaded files. In the

Status column of that list, the word “Uploading...” appears until the file is uploaded.

The larger your GEDCOM file, the longer this upload process takes. When it is

finished, the word “Uploaded” appears, and the Compare button is now available

to click.

Your GEDCOM file uploads and is processed for inclusion in the Pedigree Resource

File. When your file is finished processing, the information about the deceased

individuals in your file is immediately available for searching in the Pedigree

Resource File. Information about people who might still be living is not published.

3. Compare your file to what is in Family Tree:

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Click Compare.

In the Status column of that list, the word “Comparing...” appears until the

comparison is done. Instead of a Compare button, you see a View button. You

cannot click the View button until the comparison is finished.

b. Wait while the system compares your GEDCOM file to Family Tree.

The larger your GEDCOM file, the longer this compare process takes.

When the system finishes comparing your GEDCOM file, the word “Ready” appears as

the Status, and the View button becomes active.

Part 2. View the Results

After the system has compared your GEDCOM file to Family Tree, you can see the results.

1. On the list of GEDCOM files that you added, click View for the file containg the

results you want to see.

A summary appears. The summary identifies how many people in your GEDCOM

file are already in Family Tree:

• Potential Matches. This number tells you how many people in your GEDCOM

file might already be in Family Tree. The records are close but not identical. You

compare the records and decide whether they are matches.

• Add to Family Tree. This number tells you how many people in your GEDCOM

file are not in Family Tree. You can review each person and decide whether to add

him or her to Family Tree.

• Already in Family Tree. This number tells you how many people in your

GEDCOM file are in Family Tree. However, your GEDCOM file may have different

details about the person. You can decide which details to move from your GEDCOM

file into Family Tree.

• Invalid and Living. This number tells you how many people in your GEDCOM

file the system identified as living. The record may also be corrupted or invalid in

some other way. You cannot add these people to Family Tree.

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Each of these categories becomes a filter that you can use to see the people in your

GEDCOM file. For example, you can see all of the potential matches in one list. You

can also use an All Individuals filter to see an alphabetical list of all of the people in

your GEDCOM file.

2. To see the detailed results and begin transferring information to Family Tree, click

Review Results.

The first potential match appears. If the file contains no potential matches, then you

see the individual from the All Individuals list.

The rest of this process explains how to work through your GEDCOM file by using the

filters. If you want to look at an alphabetical list of the people in your GEDCOM file

instead, click All Individuals. In the list of individuals, look at the icon to the left of

the person’s name. That tells you which process to use to move information into Family

Tree.

Part 3. Review People Who Are Potential Matches

Potential matches are people in your GEDCOM file who might already have a record in

Family Tree. The record in your GEDCOM file is different enough that you need to review

the information and confirm the match.

Potential matches are marked with a triangle icon ( ).

1. If the list of potential matches is not already shown, click Potential Matches, which

is located in the Filter box.

The filter box is in the upper-left part of the screen. The list of names that is beneath

the Filter box contains all of the people from your GEDCOM file who are potential

matches.

The first potential match appears. The person from your GEDCOM file is on the left.

The person from Family Tree is on the right.

2. Compare the person from your GEDCOM file with the person in Family Tree.

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3. Decide if the person is a match.

DescriptionOption

The person is

a match

1. Click Yes.

The system adds this person to the Already in Family Tree group.

If the record from your GEDCOM file contains information that

is different from what is in Family Tree, that information

appears in a blue box.

2. Review each piece of information that is displayed in a blue

box.

3. If the information in your GEDCOM file is more correct than

the information Family Tree already has, click Replace. The

blue box moves to the Family Tree record, and Save and Cancel

buttons appear in the upper-right corner. If you change your

mind and decide that Family Tree contains more accurate and

complete data, click Undo.

4. Click Save. Your changes are also saved when you simply click

the name of the next person on the list.

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DescriptionOption

The person is

not a match.

1. Click Not a Match.

2. If you want to add this person to the Family Tree, click Add,

or simply move to the next record.

Note: The system does not currently have a way to prevent this

record from being added to Family Tree.

4. (Optional) If the system found more than one possible match for the person in your

GEDCOM file, click Other Possible Matches to see the rest of them.

a. Click the first name on the list.

The person’s information appears.

b. Indicate whether the person is or is not a match

c. Repeat this process for every person on the list of other possible matches.

5. To go to the next person in this filter, click the name of a specific person on the list.

The list displays ten people at a time. If a filter contains more than ten people, use

the Next and Prev (Previous) buttons to move through the list 10 people at a time.

Part 4. Review People Who Can Be Added to Family Tree

If your GEDCOM file contains people who are not in Family Tree, you can easily add

them to Family Tree.

Records that can be added to Family Tree are marked with a plus icon ( ).

Caution: When you use the Add to Family Tree filter, each person that you display is

automatically added to Family Tree. The system does not yet have an option that lets

you prevent information from being added to Family Tree. Therefore, if your GEDCOM

file contains a person that you do not want to add to Family Tree, do not click that

person’s name.

1. In the Filter box, click Add to Family Tree.

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The filter box is in the upper-left part of the screen.

The list changes to display only the people who are not in Family Tree. The record

of the first person on the list is displayed.

2. Review the person’s information.

3. To add this person to Family Tree, click Add. The person is also added to Family Tree

when you display the next person

The Add button is located in the upper-right corner of the screen.

Note: The system does not currently have a way to prevent this record from being

added to Family Tree. If you do not want to add any more people from your GEDCOM

file to Family Tree, click a different filter.

4. To go to the next person in this filter, click the name of a specific person on the list.

The list displays ten people at a time. If a filter contains more than ten people, use

the Next and Prev (Previous) buttons to move through the list ten people at a time.

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Part 5. Review People Who Are Already in Family Tree

Some people in your GEDCOM file may already be in Family Tree. However, your

GEDCOM file and Family Tree may have different details about them. You can review

the differences and decide whether to replace what is in Family Tree with what is in your

GEDCOM file.

Records that are already in Family Tree are marked with a check mark icon ( ).

1. In the Filter box, click Already in Family Tree.

The filter box is in the upper-left part of the screen.

The list changes to display only the people who are already in Family Tree. The record

of the first person on the list is displayed. The person on the left is from your GEDCOM

file. The person in the right is from Family Tree.

2. Compare each detail of the person from your GEDCOM file with the details of the

person in Family Tree.

If your GEDCOM file contains information that is different from the information

about this same person in Family Tree, that information appears in a blue box.

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3. Review each piece of information that is displayed in a blue box. If the information

in your GEDCOM file is more correct than the information that Family Tree already

has, follow these steps:

a. Click Replace.

The box moves over to the right side, and the Save and Cancel buttons appear in

the upper-right corner. A field in which you can enter the reason for your change

also appears.

b. In the reason field, enter a statement that explains how you know that the

information from your GEDCOM file is more accurate than the information that

Family Tree already has.

You can enter only one reason for all of the information that you replace. If you

need to add a different reason for different pieces of information, make a note of

the ID number of the Family Tree record. When you are finished with your

GEDCOM file, you can go into Family Tree and update your reason statements

there.

If you change your mind and decide that Family Tree contains more accurate and

complete data, click Undo.

c. To save the Family Tree record with the changes from your GEDCOM file, click

Save. The changes are also saved if you simply move to the next person in the

list.

4. To go to the next person in this filter, click the name of a specific person on the list.

The list displays ten people at a time. If a filter contains more than ten people, use

the Next and Prev (Previous) buttons to move through the list ten people at a time.

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When you copy information from your GEDCOM file to Family Tree, your entire

GEDCOM file is still available for searching on FamilySearch.org.

If you delete the GEDCOM file from FamilySearch.org, the information is no longer

searchable on FamilySearch.org. However, any information that you copied into Family

Tree remains in Family Tree.

Transferring Information between Family Tree and a

Personal Genealogical Database

Some personal genealogical databases exchange information with Family Tree.

1. For a current list of certified programs, see https://www.familysearch.org/products.

2. Look for programs with a check mark. These are certified to work with Family Tree.

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Chapter 5

Adding Photos and Stories to

Your Ancestors in Family Tree

Adding photos and stories to your ancestors in Family Tree lets you preserve and share

your precious family memories.

You can add photos and stories either from Family Tree or from the Photos section of

FamilySearch. It doesn’t matter which option you choose; the photos or stories will appear

with the ancestor’s record in Family Tree:

• Family Tree. When you go to an ancestor’s record in Family Tree to add photos and

stories, the system automatically tags and connects the photos and stories to that person

in the tree. You don’t have to tag or make connections unless there are multiple people

in the photo or story. However, on photos, you may occasionally choose to adjust the

tag to a better position.

• Photos. When you use the Photos section in FamilySearch, you need to manually add

tags and connect the photos and stories to the tree. After you add a photo or story and

create a tag for a person, you can use the tag over and over again. When the tag is reused,

it automatically connects the photo or story to that person in the tree. The Photos

section makes it easier to place the tag where you want it on photos. The Photos section

may also be a little easier to use if you have multiple people in a photo or story.

These instructions focus on using Family Tree. To add photos and stories to your ancestors

using Family Tree, you follow three general steps:

1. On the fan chart or pedigree view, click the person’s name.

2. Display the pictures or stories, using either of the following methods:

• On the summary card, click Photos or Stories.

• On the summary card, click Person. Then, on the person’s details page, click the

Photos or Stories link in the header.

3. From the Photos page, you can do the following:

• To add a new photo, click Add Photo.

• To choose a different portrait, click the current portrait photo by the person’s name.

The system shows the portrait photos available for the person. Click the photo you

want to see as the portrait.

• If a portrait photo contains more than one person, click the photo, and add a new

tag for each person in the photo. If the photos is one you added, you can adjust the

original tag and then create tags for the rest of the people in the photo.

If you added the photo, you can also do the following:

• If the portrait photo is off center or shows the wrong part of the photo, click the

portrait photo. On the right of the next screen, in the list of people in the photo,

click the one whose tag you want to edit. Click Edit Tag. Adjust the size or position

of the circle, and click Save.

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• To remove this photo from this person without deleting it from the system, remove

the tag that links this photo to this person. Click the photo. On the right of the

screen, in the list of people in the photo, click the name whose tag you want to

delete. Click Remove Tag.

• To delete a photo from the system, click it. Then click Details, and then Delete

Photo.

4. From the Stories page, you can do the following:

• To add a new story, click Add Story.

• If the story lists more than one person, click the story, and in the Who is in this

story field, add the names of the other people.

If you added the story, you can also do the following:

• To edit the text of the story or to add, change, or delete the story’s photo, click the

story. Then, on the left near the top, click Edit Story.

• To remove this story from this person without deleting it from the system, remove

the tag that links this story to this person. Click the story. On the right of the screen,

in the list of people in the story, click the name whose tag you want to remove. Click

Remove Tag.

• To delete a story from the system, click it. Then click Delete.

Guidelines for Using Photos and Stories

There are a few guidelines for adding photos and stories of your deceased ancestors to

Family Tree.

• Privacy and Permission. Currently, the photos and stories can be viewed by

anyone, so you are strongly encouraged to add items only for deceased ancestors. If

you add any photo or story that includes living people, you must first get permission

from each living person in the photo or story.

• Appropriateness. Content in photos and stories must be consistent with

FamilySearch.org standards. Photos are viewed and screened before they are published.

• What Others Can Do with the Photos You Add. Others can view your photos,

add tags to help identify people in the photo, add stories to the photo, and add the

photos to their albums. They cannot change or delete your photos. If you don’t want

the tags that were added by others, you can delete them.

• What Others Can Do with the Stories You Add. Others can read your stories,

add the stories to an album, and add comments. They cannot edit or delete your

story.

Photo Requirements

To add a photo, you need a digital copy. The digital files must be 5 MB or smaller. That

should let you create copies at a higher resolution. The content must be consistent with

FamilySearch.org standards.

Many people make copies with a scanner or with a phone that takes photos at high

resolution. Because adding a photo to Family Tree is a way to preserve and share the

photo, providing the best copy you reasonably can is important.

Photos must meet these requirements:

• They must be in a digital format. Currently the system accepts PNG and JPG files.

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• The digital files must be 5 MB in size or smaller.

• The photo content must meet the upload guidelines and submission agreement.

Using Photos

Adding a Photo Using Family Tree

From a person’s record in Family Tree, you can upload a photo. The system tags the

photo for you, and then, with a couple of clicks, you connect the photo to the person

in the tree.

You do 2 tasks when you add a photo using Family Tree.

• Upload a digital copy of the photo.

• Connect the photo to the person’s Photos page in Family Tree.

1. Upload the digital copy of the photo.

a. In Family Tree, go to the person you want to add the photo to.

b. Click the person’s name.

The person’s summary card appears.

c. On the summary card, click Photos.

d. Click Add Photo.

Important: The first time you add a photo or story, a message appears about the

FamilySearch submission agreement. Indicate that you will comply with the

FamilySearch submission agreement.

e. Click Upload.

f. Click the green upload area that has a white plus sign.

g. Browse to the photo on your computer, click the photo file, and click Open.

A message that the photo has been uploaded appears.

h. Refresh the screen.

Tip: For most browsers, press F5 to refresh the screen.

A box appears for the photo you just added.

2. To connect the photo to the person’s Photos page in Family Tree, click the Attach

Photos button.

The photo is now connected to the person’s Photos page in Family Tree.

Tip: To adjust a tag, add tags for other people in the photo, add a title for the photo,

or add a description, go to the page where you edit tags. (To go to the page, on the

person’s Photos page, click the photo.)

Changing a Preferred Portrait

In Family Tree, the preferred portrait is the face of your ancestor that appears next to

the ancestor’s name. You can select the preferred portrait that you want to use; it does

not affect what others see. You can choose any photo that has been uploaded for an

ancestor, even if you did not upload it.

Tip: If you do not select a preferred portrait for an ancestor, the system chooses one of

the currently uploaded photos as the preferred portrait.

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1. Go to either the Photos section of FamilySearch.org or to Family Tree:

• To change a preferred portrait photo of a person using Family Tree, click Family

Tree. On the fan chart or pedigree view, click the person’s name. On the summary

card, click Photos.

• To change a preferred portrait using the Photos section, click Photos, and then

click People. Then click the person that you want.

2. Click the current preferred portrait.

A pop-up with the possible preferred portraits for the person appears.

3. Click the preferred portrait that you want to use.

Tip: When a photo is added through Family Tree, the system puts the tag around

the entire photo. For a photo that you uploaded, you can resize and reposition the

tag. If someone else uploaded the photo, you can add another tag just around the

person’s face. Go to the person’s Photos page, click the photo, and fix or add the tag.

The area in the tag then appears in the preferred portraits that can be selected.

Wait and then refresh the screen. The new preferred portrait appears.

Tip: For most browsers, pressing F5 on the keyboard refreshes the screen. If the new

preferred portrait doesn’t appear when you press F5, wait a little longer, and try again.

Attaching an Uploaded Photo to a Person in Family Tree

If you are working on a person in Family Tree and know that you have already uploaded

one or more photos of him or her, you can attach the photos without leaving Family

Tree.

1. Click Family Tree.

2. On the fan chart or pedigree view, click the person’s name.

3. Click Photos.

4. Click Add Photo.

The photos that you previously uploaded and that are not already attached to this

person appear.

5. Click the check box of each photo that you want to attach.

6. Click Attach Photos.

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Tagging a Photo

Tags let you add the names of people to a photo, and they help keep all the photos for

an ancestor together (similar to keeping the ancestor’s photos in one album).

Tags are added to a photo in two ways:

• You can add the tags yourself from the Photos section of FamilySearch.org.

• You can add tags to a photo that is already connected to a person in Family Tree.

When a photo is attached to a person in Family Tree, the system creates a tag. If the

photo contains more than one person, you might need to add tags for each person

in the photo.

These instructions explain how to add the tags yourself.

1. Go to either the Photos section of FamilySearch.org or to Family Tree:

• To tag a person’s photos using the Photos section, click Photos, and then click

My Photos.

• If you want to add another tag to a photo you added using Family Tree, click

Family Tree. On the fan chart or pedigree view, click the name of the person

you already added the photo to. Click Photos.

Note: You would typically add other tags if more than one person is in the photo.

2. Click the photo that you want to tag.

3. Click the head of a person in the photo.

A circle and box appear. (You will fit the circle around the person’s head and type

the name into the box.)

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4. Fit the circle around the head.

• To move the circle, click the center of the circle, and drag it to where you want it.

• To make the circle larger or smaller, click one of the white corner boxes. A

double-sided arrow appears. Click and drag the arrow to make the circle larger or

smaller.

5. Click in the box, and type the person’s name.

As you type, tags that you created for similar names appear in a drop-down list. If

you have already created a tag for this person, click the tag in the list instead of typing

the name.

Important: Click a name in the drop-down list only if you are adding another photo

for that person. When you click in the list, the new photo is linked to the ancestor

that you have already tagged.

Tips:

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• Before you create the tag, you could decide how you want to list the ancestor’s

name. You will reuse the tag if you add other photos for that ancestor.

• You might find it helpful to use a woman’s maiden name in the tag. The name

matches her name in Family Tree and is appropriate, even if the woman married

more than once and had different married surnames.

• If you have ancestors with similar names (for example, Marc Henri Lefevre and

Marc Philippe Lefevre), you might want to use the entire name in the tag. That

way you can tell which ancestor the tag is for.

6. If there are other people in the photo, tag each person.

a. Click the head of another person in the photo, and fit the new circle around the

person’s head.

b. Type the person’s name into the box.

c. Continue until you have tagged all the people you can.

The name of each person you tag appears in a list on the right side of the screen.

7. To add a title for the photo, on the right side of the screen, click Click to edit title.

Tip: The title appears with just this photo. It does not affect the tags for the people

in the photo. You can also use the title to share a little information about the photo

(for example, Ferdinand Schmidt in 1920 or Wedding Photo of Carl and Augusta

Becker Schultz).

8. To add a description of the photo, click Details, and type in the description.

Tip: You can use the description to give more information about the phot. For

example, you can explain where or when or why the photo was taken.

Resizing and Repositioning Tags

If a tag is not sized and positioned correctly, the photo may not display correctly in

Family Tree. For example, in the portrait photo, you may see the wrong part of the

photo, or the person may be off center. You can change the size of the circle around a

person’s head or move the circle on the photos you have added.

Important: When you use Family Tree to add a photo, the system automatically creates

a tag, but it places the tag around the entire photo. You can change the tag so that it

fits around one person’s face. This is especially useful if you want to use the photo as

the portrait photo or if you need to tag more than one person in the photo.

1. Go to either the Photos section of FamilySearch.org or to Family Tree:

• To use the Photos section of FamilySearch.org, click Photos, and then click My

Photos.

• To use Family Tree, click Family Tree. On the fan chart or pedigree view, click

the person’s name. On the summary card, click Photos.

2. Click the photo that has the tag you want to edit.

3. In the list of people in the photo, click the name of the person whose tag you want

to edit.

A list of icons appears beneath the tag.

4. Click Edit Tag.

5. Adjust the size or position of the circle, and click Save.

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Important: If you corrected a tag to improve a portrait photo, the system will correct

the original photo, but it does not automatically correct the portrait photo. To fix the

portrait, you also need to go through the steps for changing a portrait photo:

1. In the Photos section, click People.

2. Click the person whose portrait you want changed.

3. Click the current portrait photo (the photo in a circle that appears with the name

near the top of the screen). A pop-up with all of the photos uploaded for the person

appears.

4. Click the photo with the corrected tag.

5. Wait and then refresh the screen. The corrected portrait appears.

Tip: For most browsers, pressing F5 on the keyboard refreshes the screen. If the new

portrait doesn't appear when you press F5, wait a little longer, and try again.

Removing Tags

You can remove tags from photos you have added.

If you remove the tag from a photo that is linked to a person in Family Tree, the photo

is removed from that person’s Photos page. The photo remains in your collection of

photos.

1. Go to either the Photos section of FamilySearch.org or to Family Tree:

• To remove a tag using the Photos section, click Photos, and then click My Photos.

• To remove the tag from a photo using Family Tree, click Family Tree. On the

fan chart or pedigree view, click the person’s name. On the summary card, click

Photos.

2. Click the photo that has the tag you want to remove.

3. On the right, in the list of people in the photo, click the name whose tag you want

to remove.

A list of icons appears beneath the tag.

4. Click Remove Tag.

5. If needed, create a new tag to replace the one that you removed.

Deleting a Photo

You can delete only the photos you added to Family Tree.

Caution: If you delete a photo, the photo is deleted from all the Photos pages and

albums where you added it. If you just want to remove the photo from one person’s

Photos page, remove that person’s tag from the photo.

1. Go to either the Photos section of FamilySearch.org or to Family Tree:

• To delete a photo using the Photos section, click Photos, and then click My

Photos.

• To delete a photo using Family Tree, click Family Tree. On the fan chart or

pedigree view, click the person’s name. On the summary card, click Photos.

2. Click the photo you want to delete.

3. Click Details.

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4. Click Delete This Photo.

The system asks if you are sure you want to delete the photo.

5. Click Delete.

Note: If you don’t want to delete the photo, click Cancel.

The system displays a message that says the photo has been successfully deleted.

Identifying the Contributor of a Photo

You might be able to identify the contributor of a photo, if the person has chosen to let

his or her name be displayed in FamilySearch.

1. Go to the photo.

• In Family tree, on the fan chart or pedigree view, click the person’s name. On the

summary card, click Photos. Click the specific photo.

• In the Photos section of FamilySearch, click People. Click the person. Then click

the specific photo.

The system displays the photo on the page where tags are added.

2. Click Details.

The system displays information about the photo, including the name of the

contributor.

Adding Stories

Adding a Story

You can add stories about your ancestors to Family Tree. You can link the story so that

it appears on the Stories pages of everyone in the story. If you add a story, you can attach

a photo, edit the story, or delete the story. And you can add comments to stories others

have written.

Tip: If you want, you can write your story in a word processing program. You can then

copy and paste the story into FamilySearch.org.

You do 2 tasks when you add a story.

• Add the story.

• Connect the story to the Stories pages in Family Tree.

1. Go to either the Photos section of FamilySearch.org or to Family Tree:

• If you want to add a story using the Photos section, click Photos, and then click

Stories. Then click Add New Story.

• If you want to add a story using Family Tree, click Family Tree. On the fan chart

or pedigree view, click the person’s name. On the summary card, click Stories,

and click the green plus sign above Add New Story.

2. Add the story.

a. In the Title box, type a title for the story.

b. In the larger box, type or paste in the story.

c. If you want to add a photo to the story, follow these steps:

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Click Attach Photo.

The system displays small thumbnails of all the photos you have uploaded.

•

• To select a photo, click the little circle at the bottom of the thumbnail.

The circle fills in to show that the photo was selected.

• Click Save.

d. Click Add.

A screen appears that lets you indicate who is in the story and lets you connect the

story to their Stories pages in Family Tree.

3. Connect the story to the Stories pages in Family Tree.

a. Under Who Is in This Story, click the down arrow.

A list of people you have tagged appears.

b. If the name of the person in the story is in the list, click the name.

Tip: When you click a name in the list, the system automatically connects the

story to that person’s Stories page. You can use the drop-down list several times

to select all the people in the story.

c. If someone in the story does not appear on the drop-down list, add the person.

• Click in the blank box, and type the person’s name. The system displays the

name as a link.

• Click the link for the person’s name. The name appears in the list of people in

the story.

• Click the name in the list of people in the story.

• Click Link to Family Tree.

• Search for the person in Family Tree.

Tip: If the name does not appear in the search results, go to Family Tree, copy

the person’s ID number, and search using the ID number.

• When the name appears in the search results, click the Select button for the

name.

The story is now connected to that person in Family Tree.

In Family Tree, the story now appears on the Stories page of each person in the story.

Attaching a Previously Written Story to a Person in Family Tree

If you are working on a person in Family Tree and know that you have already entered

a story about him or her, you can attach them without leaving Family Tree.

1. Click Family Tree.

2. On the fan chart or pedigree view, click the person’s name.

3. Click Stories.

4. Click Add Story.

The stories that you have written appear.

5. Click the check box of each story that you want to attach.

6. Click Attach Story.

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Tagging a Story

Tagging lets you add the names of the people in the story. The tags also help to link the

people in the story to the same people in Family Tree.

Tags are added to a story in two ways:

• You can add the tags yourself.

• If you add a story from within Family Tree, the photo is tagged and linked

automatically to the person whose record you started from. If the story mentions

more than one person, you need to tag the additional people yourself.

These instructions explain how to add the tags yourself.

1. Go to either the Photos section of FamilySearch.org or to Family Tree:

• If you want to tag a story using the Photos section, click Photos, and then click

Stories.

• If you want to tag a story using Family Tree, click Family Tree. On the fan chart

or pedigree view, click the person’s name. On the summary card, click Stories.

2. Click the story that you want to tag.

3. Click in the Who Is in This Story? box.

A drop-down list of the people you have tagged in other stories and photos appears

in the box.

4. If a person you need is in the drop-down list, click the name.

If you have already linked the person to Family Tree, the story is linked to that ancestor

in Family Tree.

Tip: To see if a person needs to be linked to Family Tree, click People, and look

under People not connected to Family Tree.

5. If the person you need is not in the drop-down list, type the name in the Who Is in

This Story box, and press Enter.

This creates a tag for the person.

6. Keep clicking and adding names until you have listed all the people in the story.

Editing a Story and Its Photo

You can change or correct stories that you have added. You can also add a photo to a

story or remove a photo from a story that you have added.

1. Go to either the Photos section of FamilySearch.org or to Family Tree:

• To edit a story using the Photos section, click Photos, and then click Stories.

• To edit a story using Family Tree, click Family Tree. On the fan chart or pedigree

view, click the person’s name. On the summary card, click Stories.

2. Click the story you want to edit or add a photo to.

3. In the upper-right corner, click Edit Story.

The text and title appear in boxes where you make changes.

Note: If the story has a photo, you need to scroll down to see the boxes where you

can edit the text.

4. If you want to change the text of the title or story, type your changes.

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5. If you want to add a photo to this story, follow these steps:

a. Click the Attach Photo button.

The system displays small thumbnails of all the photos you have uploaded.

b. To select a photo, click the little circle at the bottom of the thumbnail.

The circle will fill in to show that the photo was selected.

c. Click Add.

6. If you want to remove the photo that is attached to this story, click the Remove

Photo button.

7. Click Save Story.

Removing a Story

If you add a story to the wrong person, you can remove the story. This does not delete

the story; it only removes the story from that specific person’s Stories page.

1. Go to the story from Family Tree or from the Photos section of FamilySearch.

• In Family Tree, go to the person you want to remove the story from. Click the

name. Click Stories. Click the story you want to remove.

• In the Photos section of FamilySearch, click Stories. Click the story you want to

remove.

The system opens the story on the page where you can remove tags.

2. Under People in This Story, click the name of the person.

A list of options appears.

3. Click Remove Tag.

The story is removed from the Stories page for that person.

Deleting a Story

You can delete a story that you have added.

Caution: If you delete a story, the story is deleted from all the Stories pages and albums

where you added it. If you want to remove the story from one person’s page, remove

that person from the list of people in the story.

1. Go to either the Photos section of FamilySearch.org or to Family Tree:

• To delete a story using the Photos section, click Photos, and then click Stories.

• To delete a story using Family Tree, click Family Tree. On the fan chart or pedigree

view, click the person’s name. On the summary card, click Stories.

2. Click the story you want to delete.

3. Click Delete.

The system asks if you are sure you want to delete the photo.

4. Click Delete.

Note: If you don't want to delete the photo, click Cancel.

The system displays a message that says the story has been successfully deleted.

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Adding Comments

You can add a comment to a photo or a story. Typically, you add a comment to provide

more information about a photo or story added by someone else.

1. Go to either the Photos section of FamilySearch.org or to Family Tree:

• If you want to add a comment to a photo or story using the Photos section, click

Photos. Then, click either People or Stories.

• If you want to add a comment using Family Tree, click Family Tree. On the fan

chart or pedigree view, click the person’s name. On the summary card, click either

Photos or Stories.

2. Click the photo or story that you want to add a comment to.

3. Click the link that lets you add a comment.

• For a photo, click the Comments icon , and click the Add

Comment link.

• For a story, click Add Comment.

4. Type your comment in the box.

5. Click the Add Comment button.

Using Social Media or Email to Share A Specific Photo

or Story

You can use social media or email to share a specific photo or story that has been added

to Family Tree.

1. Go to either the Photos section of FamilySearch.org or to Family Tree:

• To use Family Tree to share a photo, click Family Tree. On the fan chart or

pedigree view, click the person’s name. On the summary card, click Photos.

• To use Family Tree to share a story, click Family Tree. On the fan chart or pedigree

view, click the person’s name. On the summary card, click Stories.

• To use the Photos section to share a photo, click Photos, click People , and then

click the person.

• To use the Photos section to share a story, click Photos, and then click Stories.

2. Click the photo or story that you want to share.

3. Select how you want to share the photo or story.

• To use social media, click the icon for the social media you want to use.

• To send a link to the photo or story in an email, click Share Photo or Share

Story, and click E-mail.

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Reporting Questionable Material

If a photo, story, or comment added by someone else does not seem appropriate, you

can notify FamilySearch.org.

1. Go to either the Photos section of FamilySearch.org or to Family Tree:

• If you want to report the material using the Photos section, click Photos. Then

click People.

• If you want to report the material using Family Tree, click Family Tree. On the

fan chart or pedigree view, click the person’s name. On the summary card, click

either Photos or Stories.

2. Click the specific photo or story that you want to report.

3. Click Report Abuse.

4. Type in the reason you are reporting the material.

5. Click the Report Abuse button.

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Chapter 6

Finding Deceased People in

Family Tree

You can use the Find feature to find out whether a deceased person is in the system. You

cannot use the Find feature to look for living people.

Before you can look for a deceased person, you must know one of the following:

• At least part of the name of the deceased person or his or her father or mother. You can

add more information if you have it.

• ID number (person identifier). This unique number is assigned to every person in the

system. An example is KW3B-FN1. It appears on the person’s summary card and details

page.

Note: ID numbers are generated randomly to help the system keep track of a person.

You cannot use them to determine specific information about the person or the source

of the information.

Note: In Family Tree, you cannot use Ancestral File numbers (AFNs) to find people.

Tip: As you enter information about the person you want to find, remember these tips:

• Entering more information results in fewer results.

• Entering less information results in more results.

• Using the Exact check boxes results in fewer results.

1. From within Family Tree, click the Find link.

Important: You can use the Find feature to look for deceased people only. You cannot

use it to look for living people.

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2. (Optional) If you know the person’s Person Identifier, use this shortcut:

a. Click ID Number.

b. Enter the number.

Tip: You can enter the ID number in lowercase letters. You can also omit the hyphen.

c. Click Find.

The system finds the person whose number matches what you entered and displays

him or her on the search results. If the record has been merged with another record,

the system tells you what happened and which record you should now use.

d. Skip to step 8.

3. In the name fields, enter at least part of the name of the deceased person that you want

to find, or enter at least part of the father’s name or mother’s name.

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4. (Optional) Enter any additional information that you want to use to make your search

more precise.

Important: If you enter dates or places, the system displays a drop-down list of the

standardized dates or places that match what you are typing. In the standardized list,

if you see the date or place you need, click the date or place to select it. Using

standardized dates and places helps clarify the information that you enter. The system

also uses the standardized dates and places to find individuals more accurately.

5. (Optional) If you want the system to find only records that contain exactly what you

enter in a field, follow these steps:

a. Click Advanced Search.

b. Click the Exact check box of each field for which you want an exact search.

For example, if you know a person died in 1850, search using a death event. Enter 1850

in the Date field, and click the Exact check box beneath the Date field. The system

finds only records of people who died sometime in 1850.

6. Click Search.

The system looks for people who match what you entered and displays the first 25

matches on the Search Results page. The people whose records most closely match your

search are listed first. People who match less closely are listed after. If the system found

more than 25 matching records, to see more records, click the numbered links that are

located at the bottom of the list.

Boxes appear at the top of the search results. Each box contains a piece of information

that you included in your search. You can use these boxes to change your search criteria.

7. On the list of search results, see if the person is listed.

8. If you see the person that you want, follow these steps:

a. Click the name to see the person’s summary card.

b. Indicate whether you want to go to the person’s family tree or details page.

• To see the person on the tree, click Tree.

• To see the person’s details page, click Person.

9. If you did not find the person that you want, use the options at the top of the Find

page to modify your search:

• To go back to a blank Find screen, click New.

• To remove a piece of information, click the X that appears next to it. The system

performs the search again using the remaining information.

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• To go back to the Find screen and see the fields as you previously filled them out,

click Refine.

As you refine searches, consider these strategies:

Why It May WorkStrategy

The person’s record may be in the system, but it may not contain

all of the information that you know. Entering less information

Provide less in

formation.

may help your search criteria match the person’s record more

closely and increase the likelihood that it will appear near the

top of your search results. For example, try these strategies:

• If the name is not common, use only the name.

• Leave the main name fields blank, and enter only the parents’

names or only the spouse’s name.

• Try using only the name and one event, such as a birth date

or death date.

If the person’s record is in the system and has a lot of information,

adding more information may help your search criteria more

closely match the record.

Provide more in

formation or dif

ferent informa

tion.

Using exact searches on dates and places is especially helpful,

since it limits the search results to people who lived in a specific

place and time.

Conduct an ex

act search.

You might not be able to find the record for several reasons, such

as the following:

Look for a close

relative instead.

• The record may not have a lot of information that the system

can use for matching.

• The record may contain information that is very different than

what you are looking for.

• The person might be alive. You cannot use the Find feature to

find the records of living people.

• The person might be deceased, but the record might lack the

death information that would let the system publish the record.

In cases like these, look for the record of a close relative instead.

Then navigate to the person that you want to find.

If the person was from a country that does not use the roman al

phabet, such as China, Japan, Korea, or Russia, try looking for the

name in the native writing system and in the roman alphabet.

Use other alpha

bets or writing

systems.

How the Exact Check Boxes Affect Search Results

The exact search option limits the variations in names, dates, and places that the system

considers close enough to include in the search results. It also specifies that the records

in your search results must contain the information.

To see the Exact check boxes, click Advanced Search. The check boxes appear in each

search field where an exact search is allowed:

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The following example compares what records are found when you click the Exact

check box for different fields. In your search, you enter the following information:

First name: Thomas William

Last name: Brand

Birth date: 23 June 1896

The results you get depend on which Exact check boxes you click:

Which Records the System FindsWhich Exact

Check Boxes You

Click

All records with variations of the names Thomas, William, and

Brand, regardless of the birth date, and all records with birth dates

None

within a few years of 23 June 1896, regardless of the name, as in

these examples:

Thomas William Brand, born 23 June 1896

Thomas William Frederick Brand, born 23 June 1896

Thomas William Brand-Jones, born 23 June 1896

Thos. William Brand, born 23 June 1896

Thomas W. Brand, born about 1896

Tom Bill Brannd, born 6 June 1896

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Which Records the System FindsWhich Exact

Check Boxes You

Click

Tom William Brannd, no birth date given

Thomas Wm. Brandt, no birth date given

Thomas Brandson, no birth date given

John Wm. Brand, born 23 June 1896

Mathew Dixon Brand, born 23 June 1896

Records that match the name and birth date most closely appear

higher on the search results. They also have more stars.

Only records that contain exactly Thomas and William in the

first name, exactly Brand in the last name, and exactly the birth

date 23 June 1896, as in these examples:

First name, last

name, and birth

date

Thomas William Brand, born 23 June 1896

Thomas William Frederick Brand, born 23 June 1896

Thomas William Brand-Jones, born 23 June 1896

All records with variations of the names Thomas, William, and

Brand and exactly the birth date 23 June 1896, as in these exam

ples

Birth date

Thomas William Brand, born 23 June 1896

Thos. William Brand, born 23 June 1896

Thomas William Frederick Brand, born 23 June 1986

Thomas William Brand-Jones, born 23 June 1896

All records with variations of the first names Thomas and William,

and the exact last name Brand and exactly the birth date 23 June

1896, as in these examples:

Last name and birth

date

Thomas William Brand, born 23 June 1896

Thos. William Brand, born 23 June 1896

Tom Wm. Brand, born 23 June 1896

Thomas Brand, born 23 June 1896

How the Exact Check Box Affects Finding Names

If you click the Exact check box for a name, the system finds records that contain that

exact name somewhere in the name field.

For example, if you enter Carl in the first name field and click the Exact check box,

the system finds first names like these:

Carl

Carl Matthew

Ivan Carl

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How the Exact Check Box Affects Finding Dates

If you click the Exact check box for a date, the system finds records that contain that

date or a date that is contained within that date’s range.

For example, if you enter 1900 and click the Exact check box, the system finds dates

like these:

1900

About 1900

April 1900

24 April 1900

This is helpful, for example, when you know that someone died in 1900 but do not

know the exact month and day.

Doing an exact search for April 1900 finds any day in April 1900. Doing an exact search

for 1900–1905 finds all dates between 1 January 1900 and 31 December 1905 and dates

like About 1903 and 1900–1901.

Important: As you enter a date, the system displays a list of standard dates. If the date

you need is in the list, check the date to select it. Using the standard date improves your

search results.

How the Exact Check Box Affects Finding Places

When you click the Exact check box for a place, the system finds records from anywhere

within that place’s boundaries. For example, if you enter England and click the Exact

check box, the system finds records from anywhere in England.

If you search for Lincoln County, Wyoming and click the Exact check box, the

system finds places like these:

Lincoln, Wyoming, United States

Thayne, Lincoln, Wyoming, United States

Afton, Lincoln, Wyoming, United States

Important: As you type a place, the system displays a list of standard places. If the

place you need is in the list, click the place to select it. Using the standard place improves

your search results.

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Chapter 7

Printing Information

In Family Tree, you can print four-generation pedigree charts, family group records, fan

charts, and the content that is displayed on a page.

1. Click Tree, and display the person whose information you want to print.

2. To print a fan chart, stay on the tree. If the fan chart is not already displayed, click Fan

Chart. Then use your browser’s print feature to print it.

3. To print a four-generation pedigree chart or a family group record, display the details

page of the person that you want.

a. On the pedigree view or fan chart view, click the person’s name.

b. On the person’s summary card, click Person.

4. Select the item that you want to print:

• To print a four-generation pedigree chart with this person in the main position, on

the right side under Print, click Tree.

• To print a family group record with this person listed as a parent, on the right side

under Print, click Family.

• To print a family group record with this person listed as a child, scroll down to the

Family Members section, click one of the parents’ names, and click View Person.

The parent’s details page appears. On the right side under Print, click Family.

A new tab opens in your browser. The requested form is a PDF file, which you can either

print directly from your browser or save as a file to your computer.

Tip: The printed pedigree chart has boxes for ordinances and a box next to an “F” (for

“family group record”). The bottom of the pedigree chart has a list of the ordinance

abbreviations and instructions for using the box.

The box next to the “F” helps you connect the pedigree chart to family group records.

When you print a family group record for a person, there is a box at the top where you

can assign a number or some identifier to the family group record. On the pedigree

chart, write that number or identifier in the box next to the “F.”

Using Certified Third-Party Computer Programs to Print

Information

You can use certified third-party computer and web programs to print information from

Family Tree.

These programs offer wider variety of printing options than the system itself. For example,

you can print more generations or different types of charts.

1. For a current list of certified programs, see https://www.familysearch.org/products.

2. Look for programs with a check mark. These are certified to work with Family Tree.

111FamilySearch Family Tree (18 October 2013)

Chapter 8

Attaching Sources to People and

Relationships

You can use online records to add richness to the tree. Seeing your ancestor’s name on a

record can increase your awareness that your ancestors were real people and that you really

are connected to them. Adding sources also proves the accuracy of the information in the

tree. In Family Tree, you can attach sources to people, couple relationships, and parent-child

relationships.

Before you can attach a source to a person or relationship, that source must be in your

source box. Your source box stores the sources that you are working with.

You can get a source into your source box in these ways:

• You can enter the source by typing in a title, the web page where it is located online, a

citation that shows where the record can be found offline, and a description or other

notes about the record.

• You can find a record on familysearch.org, and add it to your source box. When you

add a source this way, FamilySearch.org does all of the hard work for you. It creates the

source title, web page address, and citation. All you have to do is describe the record or

enter any notes that you want. If FamilySearch.org improves any of the information

about this source, it makes the changes in Family Tree for you.

• You can find a source that is attached to someone in the tree and add it to your source

box for use on your own ancestors.

Note: You cannot currently upload an image from your computer for use as a source to

FamilySearch. If the source is available online, use the online version. If it is not available

online, you can upload the image to a photo sharing site and link to it there. Many products

are certified to host images and sources for Family Tree. To see a current list of certified

products, go to FamilySearch.org/products, and look for applications that are certified for

“Connect.”

If you choose to link to websites outside of FamilySearch and its certified products, be

aware of the following:

• You may have to submit a link to one of these sites for approval before you can use it

in Family Tree.

• Some of these websites may be filtered at locations where computers or Internet

connections are available for public use.

Each person, couple relationship, and parent-child relationship can have up to 1,000

sources.

1. On the fan chart or pedigree view, click the person to whom you want to attach the

source.

The person’s summary card appears.

2. To attach to source to the person, on the summary card, click Sources.

Or to attach the source to a relationship that this person is in, follow these steps to

display the relationship:

113FamilySearch Family Tree (18 October 2013)

a. On the summary card, click Person.

The person’s details page appears.

b. On the person’s details page, click the Family link in the header. (Or scroll down

to the Family Members section.)

c. If the source is attached to a couple relationship, click the Edit Couple link that is

in the box that shows the husband and wife.

Or if the source is attached to a parent-child relationship, hover your mouse cursor

over the child’s name. Click the Edit Relationship link that appears.

d. Scroll down to the Sources section of the relationship.

The Sources section appears.

3. In the Sources section, click Go to Source Box.

Your source box appears.

The source box opens to the Home section, which contains the sources that have not

yet been assigned to a folder and that have not yet been attached to an ancestor.

4. If needed, open another section of your source box:

• To see the sources in a folder, click the folder’s name.

• To see all of the sources in your source box, click All.

5. Attach the source:

• If the source is already in your source box, find the source in your source box, and

click the Attach link that is to the right of the source’s title. You can also click the

source’s title, and then click the Attach link.

• If the source is not in your source box, click Create Source, enter the source’s title

and other information, and click Save and Attach.

Note: The websites (URLs) that you link to are reviewed to make sure they contain

content that is appropriate for inclusion in Family Tree:

• If you enter a website that is already approved for use in Family Tree, you can

save the source and proceed as normal.

• If you enter a website that is not approved by FamilySearch, the system prompts

you to submit the URL for review. When the URL is approved, you will be notified

by e-mail. You will then need to come back into Family Tree and re-create the

source. This typically happens when you link to a personal blog, a photo sharing

site, Google documents, or another site where posted content is not monitored.

• If you enter a website that has already been determined to be inappropriate, you

cannot save the source.

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6. Enter a reason that indicates what this source proves and why it is being attached.

Focus your reason on the facts that the source proves. Be polite and factual. This field

is not the place for lengthy discussions or debates. If the facts require debate or

discussion, use the discussion feature instead.

7. Click Attach.

If you want to save this source but do not want to attach it, click Cancel. The source

is saved in your source box and will be available for your use from now on.

8. (Optional) If you are attaching the source to a person and want to tag the source as

pertaining to the person’s name, gender, birth, christening, death, or burial, follow

these steps:

a. Click the source’s title.

b. Click Tag.

c. Click the check box of each tag that you want to select or deselect.

d. Click the Tag button that is located at the bottom of the drop-down list.

9. To close the details box, click .

The source is saved. If you attached it to the person, the title appears in the Sources section

of the person’s details page. If you attached it to a relationship, the title shows in the

Sources section of that relationship.

If you tagged the source to the person’s name or other vital information, the source’s title

appears with that information. For example, if you tagged the source to a person’s name,

the source appears when you click the person’s name in the Vital Information section.

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Adding Sources to Your Source Box

Your Source Box

Your source box contains the sources that you want to attach to your ancestors. It lets

you reuse sources instead of retyping a source each time you need to use it.

You can add up to 10,000 sources in your source box. However, most people find that

having too many sources makes it hard to find the one they need. Use these hints to

manage your source box effectively.

• In your source box, keep only the sources that you need for the ancestors that you

are currently working on. Your source box is not intended to be a place to permanently

store every source that you have ever created.

• After you attach a source to every ancestor that needs it, remove it from your source

box.

• Use folders to organize your sources into groups. For example, you could create a

folder for all of the sources about a specific family line. When you open that folder,

you can see a much smaller set of sources and more easily find the one that you want.

You can have up to 50 folders in your source box.

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Typing a New Source into Your Source Box

You can add a source to your source box by typing in its title, web page, citation, and

notes.

1. On the fan chart or pedigree view, click the person to whom you want to attach the

source.

The person’s summary card appears.

2. To attach to source to the person, on the summary card, click Sources.

Or to attach the source to a relationship that this person is in, follow these steps to

display the relationship:

a. On the summary card, click Person.

The person’s details page appears.

b. On the person’s details page, click the Family link in the header. (Or scroll down

to the Family Members section.)

c. If the source is attached to a couple relationship, click the Edit Couple link that

is in the box that shows the husband and wife.

Or if the source is attached to a parent-child relationship, hover your mouse cursor

over the child’s name. Click the Edit Relationship link that appears.

d. Scroll down to the Sources section of the relationship.

The Sources section appears.

3. Click Create a New Source.

The fields where you enter information about the source appear:

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Attaching Sources to People and Relationships

4. Enter the information for the source.

The Source Title is required. When you put the cursor in a field, the example text

disappears, and you can enter your own text.

The citation and notes can contain up to 5K of text.

5. Click Save.

This source is saved to your source box and will be available for you to use until you

remove it from your source box.

6. Enter a reason that indicates what this source proves and why it is being attached.

Focus your reason on the facts that the source proves. Be polite and factual. This field

is not the place for lengthy discussions or debates. If the facts require debate or

discussion, use the discussion feature instead.

7. Click Attach.

If you want to save this source but do not want to attach it, click Cancel.

The source is saved in your source box and will be available for your use from now on.

What to Enter in Source Fields

When you enter your own sources into your source box, you enter important information

about that source. This information helps you and others understand what the source

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Attaching Sources to People and Relationships

is, where to find it, and how to understand its reliability. A source can either link to an

online record or simply be a citation that tells you where to find a copy of the record.

An example of a source with a link might look like this:

The websites (URLs) that you link to are reviewed to make sure they contain content

that is appropriate for inclusion in Family Tree:

• If you enter a website that is already approved for use in Family Tree, you can save

the source and proceed as normal.

• If you enter a website that is not approved by FamilySearch, the system prompts you

to submit the URL for review. When the URL is approved, you will be notified by

e-mail. You will then need to come back into Family Tree and re-create the source.

This typically happens when you link to a personal blog, a photo sharing site, Google

documents, or another site where posted content is not monitored.

• If you enter a website that has already been determined to be inappropriate, you

cannot save the source.

If a source is not online but you have a citation, you can leave the Web Page field blank

and enter information in the other fields.

Important: When you add a source, describe the one that you actually use. Whenever

possible, use the actual source and not an abstract or index. But if you do use an abstract

or index, cite it and not the actual record.

Guidelines for Entering a Source’s Title

Enter a title that will help you recognize this specific record later.

Example

"Utah Death Certificates, 1904-1956," Helen M. Richards (1909)

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Guidelines

Source titles are often the only information that you see about a source. You usually

have to click to see the citation and other details. Good titles accurately identify sources

and help you recognize the one you want in your source box. The following guidelines

will help you write good, useful source titles:

• The source title is required.

• The source title must have between 5 and 100 characters.

• Include details that distinguish this specific record from other records that are about

the same people or that are from the same collection of records. The following types

of information are especially helpful:

- The type of record.

- The names of people or families named in the record.

- Dates, places, and other information that identify this record.

• Include the official name of the collection of records that the source came from. If

you are using an unpublished source that has no official title, create a descriptive

title.

• If the record contains information about many different members of a family, create

a title that lets you reuse the source. You want to find a balance between making a

source specific enough to be meaningful and general enough to be reusable.

Order of Details in a Source Title

In Family Tree, source title is the first piece of information that you see a about a source,

so it should clearly communicate what the record is. Clarity is much more important

than the order of the words in a title.

The word order matters more to people who record their genealogical information in

an offline database. In an offline database, the sources must remain in the database. As

a result, many users have long, alphabetical list of sources. To help themselves manage

their lists of sources, many users adopt a naming pattern for source titles, such as entering

the year or the last name and first name first. This helps them find a specific source

within that long, alphabetical list.

In Family Tree, by contrast, your list of sources should remain relatively short. After you

attach a source to all of the people and relationships where it is needed, you should

remove it from your source box. The sources remain attached to the people in the tree

regardless of whether that source is still in your source box.

Guidelines for Entering Information into a Source’s “Where the Record Is Found

(Citation)” Field

Enter information that will help people find this source again, even if the website where

it now is goes down.

Example

"Utah Death Certificates, 1904-1956," index and images, FamilySearch

(http://FamilySearch.org : accessed 15 April 2012), Helen M. Richards,

1909; citing Utah State Department of Health; FHL microfilm 2,229,322.

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Guidelines

• Enter as much information as you can. You will never regret adding too much

information. The following are useful types of information to include:

- The name of the book or collection that the record is part of

- The name of the person or institution that created the record

- Who published the record

- Where the collection is located

• Many different style guides explain how to cite sources. Use one if you find it helpful.

In English, a comprehensive style guide for how to cite sources for family history is:

Mills, Elizabeth Shown. Evidence Explained: Citing History Sources from Artifacts to

Cyberspace. Revised edition. Baltimore: Genealogical Publishing Co., 2009.

• If you do not have a style guide, simply enter what you know in the best way that

you can.

• You can copy citations from the index entries in FamilySearch.org, the Family History

Library Catalog, and the FamilySearch Research Wiki.

Guidelines for Entering Information into a Source’s “Describe the Record” Field

Enter any other information that will help others understand or find the information

in this record.

Example

Certificate number 1759; Family History Library microfilm number

2229322

Guidelines

In notes, it is often useful to include the following types of information:

• Fees required to access the record.

• A transcription of the record, particularly if the image is located on a site that requires

a fee or subscription for access.

• A translation if the information is in a language that your relatives may not read.

Copying a Source

If you need a source that is similar to one that you have already created, you can copy

a source that is in your source box, and then change the copy.

Copying a source is also useful if you want to change the title or citation of a source that

you obtained from FamilySearch.org. You cannot change the title, URL, or citation of

the FamilySearch source, but you can change the copy.

1. If your source box is not already open, open it:

a. On the Family Tree, click a person’s name.

b. On the person’s summary card, click Sources.

c. Click Go to Source Box.

2. Click the title of the source that you want to copy.

3. Click Copy.

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The source’s details appear in fields where you can edit them.

4. Make the needed changes.

If you do not change the title yourself, the system adds the words “Copy of” to the

title for you.

5. Save the copy:

• If you want to save the copy and attach it to the person that you started from,

click Save and Attach.

• If you want to save the copy in your source box without attaching it, click Save.

Your source box reappears. The source that you copied is now in the list.

If you are using folders, move the copied source into the folder where it belongs.

Adding a Record from FamilySearch.org to Your Source Box

When you find a record on FamilySearch.org, you can add it to your source box and

then attach it to people and relationships in Family Tree.

Citing records from FamilySearch.org has some important advantages:

• When you add a source from FamilySearch.org, FamilySearch.org does all of the hard

work for you. It creates the source title, URL, and citation. All you have to do is enter

any notes that you want.

• If FamilySearch.org improves any of the information about this source, it makes the

changes in Family Tree for you.

• On FamilySearch.org, the URL will persist. The URLs found on other websites often

change or become unavailable.

1. On FamilySearch.org, display the index page for the record that you want to add to

your source box.

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2. Click Add to My Source Box.

The source is saved in your source box and will be available for your use from now on.

Adding a Source That Is Already Created into Your Source Box

When you review information in Family Tree, you may see a source that should also be

attached to other people in Family Tree. You can quickly add this source to your source

box so that you can attach it to the other people without having to retype it.

You can add any source in Family Tree to your source box, no matter who added it.

1. On the fan chart or pedigree view, click a person to whom the source is attached.

The person’s summary card appears.

2. If the source is attached to the person, on the summary card, click Sources.

Or if the source is attached to a relationship that this person is in, follow these steps

to display the relationship:

a. On the summary card, click Person.

The person’s details page appears.

b. On the person’s details page, click the Family link in the header. (Or scroll down

to the Family Members section.)

c. If the source is attached to a couple relationship, click the Edit Couple link that

is in the box that shows the husband and wife.

Or the source is attached to a parent-child relationship, hover your mouse cursor

over the child’s name. Click the Edit Relationship link that appears.

d. Scroll down to the Sources section of the relationship.

The Sources section appears.

3. Click the title of the source that you want to add to your source box.

The source’s details appear.

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Attaching Sources to People and Relationships

4. Click View.

The source’s details appear:

5. Click My Source Box.

6. Click Add to My Source Box.

7. Click OK.

The source is saved in your source box and will be available for your use from now on.

Adding, Changing, and Removing Tags from Sources

To associate a source to a specific piece of information about a person, you add tags to

the source. For example, you can add tags to a birth certificate to indicate that it provides

the person’s name, gender, and birth date and place. After tags have been added, you

can change and remove them.

Anyone can add tags to any source in Family Tree.

These tags let Family Tree display a particular source with the information that it proves.

For example, a source that is tagged to a birth event shows up with that birth event.

Tip: Instead of tagging a source for marriages and relationships, you should add those

types of sources directly to couple relationships (marriages) and parent-child relationships.

1. On the fan chart or pedigree view, click the person’s name.

2. On the summary card, click Sources.

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Attaching Sources to People and Relationships

3. Click the source’s title.

The source’s details appear.

4. Select the tags that you want to use:

a. Click Tag.

b. Click the checkbox of each tag that you want to select or deselect.

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Attaching Sources to People and Relationships

c. Click the Tag button that is located at the bottom of the drop-down list.

5. To close the details box, click .

The source’s title appears with the vital information that you tagged it to. For example,

if you tagged the source to a person’s name, the source appears when you click the

person’s name in the Vital Information section.

Correcting and Improving Sources

Editing Sources

If you can provide a more complete or correct description of a source, you can edit that

source, whether you originally entered it or not. You can also edit the source’s

justification.

The system keeps a history of all changes made to a source. If someone makes a change

that you do not agree with, you can restore a previous version of the source. If you want

to be notified if anyone changes a person’s sources, watch that person. (On the person’s

summary card, click Watch.) If you want to be notified when the source itself changes,

watch the source. (To watch a source, on the summary card, click Sources; click the

source title; click the View link below the title; click Tools; and click Watch.) The

same notification email lists changes to both people and sources.

Tip: You can also edit any source from your source box. With your source box open,

just click the title of the source that you want to edit. Click View, and start with step

1. On the fan chart or pedigree view, click a person to whom the source is attached.

The person’s summary card appears.

2. If the source is attached to the person, on the summary card, click Sources.

Or if the source is attached to a relationship that this person is in, follow these steps

to display the relationship:

a. On the summary card, click Person.

The person’s details page appears.

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b. On the person’s details page, click the Family link in the header. (Or scroll down

to the Family Members section.)

c. If the source is attached to a couple relationship, click the Edit Couple link that

is in the box that shows the husband and wife.

Or the source is attached to a parent-child relationship, hover your mouse cursor

over the child’s name. Click the Edit Relationship link that appears.

d. Scroll down to the Sources section of the relationship.

The Sources section appears.

3. Click the source’s title.

The source’s details appear.

4. Review the source’s details.

5. If you still want to make a change, click View.

The source’s edit page appears:

6. Depending on what you want to do next, click the appropriate items:

• To change information that was previously entered about the source, click the

information, review it, and then click its Edit link.

• To add information that the source currently lacks, click the Add… link that

appears where the missing information should go.

For some sources, you can edit only the Notes field. If you find a source like this, it

means that it was created when a user of FamilySearch.org found a record, added it

to his or her source box, and then attached it to a person in Family Tree. During this

process, FamilySearch.org automatically created the source’s title, web page, and

citation. When FamilySearch.org improves the titles, web page, and citations that it

creates, it will automatically make these same changes to the source in Family Tree.

7. Make your change or add the new information. Be sure to add a reason for your

changes.

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The websites (URLs) that you link to are reviewed to make sure they contain content

that is appropriate for inclusion in Family Tree:

• If you enter a website that is already approved for use in Family Tree, you can save

the source and proceed as normal.

• If you enter a website that is not approved by FamilySearch, the system prompts

you to submit the URL for review. When the URL is approved, you will be notified

by e-mail. You will then need to come back into Family Tree and re-create the

source. This typically happens when you link to a personal blog, a photo sharing

site, Google documents, or other site where posted content is not monitored.

• If you enter a website that has already been determined to be inappropriate, you

cannot save the source.

8. Click Save.

9. To close the details box, click .

To return to previous screens, use the Go to links that are located beneath the

FamilySearch tree logo.

Detaching Sources from People and Relationships

If you find that a source should not be attached to a person, you can detach it. You can

detach any source, no matter who added it. You can also detach the same source from

more than one person without going to each person separately.

Detaching a source removes it from the person or relationship. If that source is attached

to other people, it remains attached to them. The source also remains in the source box

of the contributor who added the source unless that contributor has deleted it from his

or her source box.

If you want to be notified when a source changes, click the Watch option for a person

where the source is attached. The notification e-mail lists changes to sources.

1. On the fan chart or pedigree view, click a person to whom the source is attached.

The person’s summary card appears.

2. If the source is attached to the person, on the summary card, click Sources.

Or if the source is attached to a relationship that this person is in, follow these steps

to display the relationship:

a. On the summary card, click Person.

The person’s details page appears.

b. On the person’s details page, click the Family link in the header. (Or scroll down

to the Family Members section.)

c. If the source is attached to a couple relationship, click the Edit Couple link that

is in the box that shows the husband and wife.

Or the source is attached to a parent-child relationship, hover your mouse cursor

over the child’s name. Click the Edit Relationship link that appears.

d. Scroll down to the Sources section of the relationship.

The Sources section appears.

3. Click the source’s title.

The source’s details appear.

4. Detach the source:

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DescriptionOption

Click Detach.You want to detach a source

from this person or relationship

only.

You want to detach the same

source from more than one

person or relationship.

1. Click View.

2. In the box that lists everyone that this

source is attached to, click Show All.

(This box is located on the left side of the

screen.)

3. Click the Detach button for each person

that you want to detach the source from.

5. When the system asks if you are sure, click Yes.

To return to previous screens, use the Go to links that are located beneath the

FamilySearch tree logo.

Seeing and Undoing the Changes Made to a Source

Family Tree tracks changes to a source’s title, web page (URL), citation, and notes. If

someone makes a change that you do not agree with, you can use the change history

list to restore a previous version of the source. You can undo changes made to any source,

regardless of whether you created the source or made the change.

1. On the fan chart or pedigree view, click a person to whom the source is attached.

The person’s summary card appears.

2. If the source is attached to the person, on the summary card, click Sources.

Or if the source is attached to a relationship that this person is in, follow these steps

to display the relationship:

a. On the summary card, click Person.

The person’s details page appears.

b. On the person’s details page, click the Family link in the header. (Or scroll down

to the Family Members section.)

c. If the source is attached to a couple relationship, click the Edit Couple link that

is in the box that shows the husband and wife.

Or the source is attached to a parent-child relationship, hover your mouse cursor

over the child’s name. Click the Edit Relationship link that appears.

d. Scroll down to the Sources section of the relationship.

The Sources section appears.

3. Click the source’s title.

The source’s details appear.

4. Click View.

The source’s edit page appears:

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5. In the box that lists recent changes made to this source, click Show All.

The source’s change history appears.

6. Find the change that shows the correct information, and click its Restore button.

If a change does not have a Restore button, then you cannot undo that change. For

example, the following types of entries do not have Restore buttons:

• Entries that identify the current information that is shown in Family Tree. You

do not need to restore what is already there.

• The entry that identifies when the information was first added to Family Tree.

You can recognize these because of a description that says something like, “Source

Created.” If this source should not be attached to the person, you do not use the

change history to fix the problem. Instead, you detach the source.

7. When the system asks if you are sure, click Yes.

To return to previous screens, use the Go to links that are located beneath the

FamilySearch tree logo.

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Managing Your Source Box

Using Folders to Organize Your Source Box

In your source box, sources are listed in the order that you created them. This can make

it hard to find the exact one that you want. Use folders to organize your sources into

meaningful groups, thus making it easy to find the exact source that you need.

You can have up to 50 folders in your source box. A source can be in only one folder at

a time. Choose folder names that will help you find a source when you need it. Here are

some ideas for types of folder names that you might want to use:

• The type of record. For example, you could have separate folders for census records

and birth certificates.

• The names of the ancestors that the source is about. If you need to distinguish between

ancestors with similar names, include birth years or other information.

• The name of the family line that the source pertains to.

• The name of the places where the record was created.

It may take some time to figure out the way that works best for you. But do not be afraid

of making a mistake. As you learn what works best for you, you can change folder names,

move sources to different folders, and delete folders that you no longer need.

1. If your source box is not already open, open it:

a. On the Family Tree, click a person’s name.

b. On the person’s summary card, click Sources.

c. Click Go to Source Box.

2. To create a new folder, follow these steps:

a. Click New Folder.

An empty field appears in the list of folders.

b. Enter a name for the folder.

c. Click .

Folders are listed in alphabetical order.

3. To move a source into a folder, click the source, and use your mouse to move it to

the folder. You can also follow these steps:

Tip: A source can be in only one folder at a time in your source box.

a. In the list of sources, click the check box that is next to the source’s title. To

select all of the sources at once, click the check box that is located above the list

of sources.

b. Click Move.

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A list of your folders appears.

c. From the resulting list of options, click the name of the folder where you want

the sources to be moved to.

The number of sources in that folder appears in parentheses next to the folder’s name.

Renaming Folders in Your Source Box

If you think of a more useful name for the folder or need to correct a typing error, you

can rename a folder in your source box.

Tip: To quickly rename a folder, click the folder name twice, and skip to step 5.

1. If your source box is not already open, open it:

a. On the Family Tree, click a person’s name.

b. On the person’s summary card, click Sources.

c. Click Go to Source Box.

2. To select the folder that you want to rename, click its name once.

A triangle appears to the right of the folder name. The list of sources shows only the

sources in that folder.

3. Click the triangle that is next to the folder name.

A list of options appears.

4. From the resulting list of options, click Rename Folder.

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The name of the folder appears within a field that you can now edit.

5. Enter a new name for the folder.

6. To save the new folder name, click .

Deleting Unneeded Folders from Your Source Box

When you no longer need a folder in your source box, you can delete it.

1. If your source box is not already open, open it:

a. On the Family Tree, click a person’s name.

b. On the person’s summary card, click Sources.

c. Click Go to Source Box.

2. If the folder that you want to delete still contains sources, either move the sources

to a different folder, or remove the sources from your source box. Follow these steps:

a. In the list of sources, click the check box that is next to the title of the source.

b. Click Move.

A list of options appears.

c. Select the option that you want:

• To keep the source and move it to a different folder, select that folder’s name.

• To keep the source but not put it into a folder, select All Sources.

• If you are finished using the source and want to remove it from your source

box, select Remove from Source Box.

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3. When the folder is empty, follow these steps to delete it:

a. Click the folder’s name once.

A triangle appears to the right of the folder name.

b. Click the triangle.

A list of options appears.

c. Click Remove Folder.

The folder disappears from your source box.

Removing Sources from Your Source Box

After you attach a source to all of your ancestors that it mentions, remove it from your

source box. The source will stay attached to all of the people and relationships that you

attached it to. If you do not remove sources from your source box, your source box will

eventually become so large that you cannot find what you need in it.

If you find that you have been using a source that should not be attached to anyone

that you have attached it to, you should delete the source instead of removing it from

your source box.

Tip: If you remove a source from your source box and later discover that you need to

attach it to more people, you can add the source back into your source box without

retyping it. Simply find a person who already has that source, and click the source’s title,

and click View. Then click the My Source Box option, which is located in the upper

right part of your screen. Select Add to My Source Box.

1. If your source box is not already open, open it:

a. On the Family Tree, click a person’s name.

b. On the person’s summary card, click Sources.

c. Click Go to Source Box.

2. To remove just one source, follow these steps:

a. Click the title of the source that you want to remove.

b. Click Remove.

3. To remove more than one source at a time, follow these steps:

a. Click the check box of each source that you want to remove. To remove all of

the sources at once, click the check box that is located above the list of sources.

b. Click Move.

A list of your folders appears. The option to remove sources is at the bottom.

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c. Click Remove from Source Box.

4. When the system asks if you are sure, click Yes.

Deleting Sources from Family Tree

When you delete a source, it is automatically deleted from your source box and from

every person and relationship that you attached it to.

You can delete a source only if you created it. If you find a source that is attached to the

wrong person or relationship but you did not actually create the source, you can detach

it instead. Whenever you detach a source, be sure to provide a clear explanation of your

reasons.

The system does not keep track of source deletions in its change history. If you delete a

source and then find that you need it back, you have to enter it again. You will then

have to reattach it to every person and relationship that needs it. Therefore, delete a

source only if you do not want it attached to any of your ancestors.

If you do not want to delete a source, you may find these features useful instead:

• If you attached a source to the wrong person or relationship, detach it. Do not delete

it.

• After you have attached a source to every person and relationship that needs it, remove

it from your source box. The source remains attached to the people and relationships,

but it no longer appears in your source box. Removing sources that you no longer

need makes it easier to manage the sources that you are currently using.

1. If your source box is not already open, open it:

a. On the Family Tree, click a person’s name.

b. On the person’s summary card, click Sources.

c. Click Go to Source Box.

2. Find the source that you want:

• If your source box contains just a few sources, read through your list until you

find it. If your list has more than one page, click the numbered links at the bottom

to see other pages.

• If you have organized your sources into folders, click the name of the folder where

the source is located.

3. Click the title of the source that you want to delete.

The source’s details appear.

4. Click the source’s View link.

The source’s edit page appears:

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5. Click Delete Source.

This link appears only if you created the source.

6. When the system asks if you are sure, click Yes.

To return to previous screens, use the Go to links that are located beneath the

FamilySearch tree logo.

Seeing a List of the People a Source Is Attached To

One source sometimes contains information about many different people. Before you

change or delete a source, it can be helpful to see a list of the people it is attached to.

1. On the fan chart or pedigree view, click a person to whom the source is attached.

The person’s summary card appears.

2. If the source is attached to the person, on the summary card, click Sources.

Or if the source is attached to a relationship that this person is in, follow these steps

to display the relationship:

a. On the summary card, click Person.

The person’s details page appears.

b. On the person’s details page, click the Family link in the header. (Or scroll down

to the Family Members section.)

c. If the source is attached to a couple relationship, click the Edit Couple link that

is in the box that shows the husband and wife.

Or the source is attached to a parent-child relationship, hover your mouse cursor

over the child’s name. Click the Edit Relationship link that appears.

d. Scroll down to the Sources section of the relationship.

The Sources section appears.

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3. Click the source’s title.

The source’s details appear.

4. Click View.

On the right side of the screen is a box that lists all of the people that the source is

attached to.

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5. If the source is attached to more people than can be listed in the box, click Show

All to see the entire list.

Reporting Abuse in Sources

If a source contains content that you feel should not be included in the system, a system

administrator can review it. If it is found to be inappropriate, the administrator can then

delete it.

Types of inappropriate discussions or comments to report might include the following:

• Offensive or abusive language or content

• Information that might harm or embarrass living relatives

• Links to external web pages with inappropriate content

• Solicitations for business or research services

Important: Please use the Report Abuse link to notify FamilySearch Support about

inappropriate sources. Do not use it to report inaccurate sources. You can edit any source

that you feel is incomplete or incorrect. You can detach any source that does not contain

information about the person to whom it is attached.

1. On the fan chart or pedigree view, click a person to whom the source is attached.

The person’s summary card appears.

2. If the source is attached to the person, on the summary card, click Sources.

Or if the source is attached to a relationship that this person is in, follow these steps

to display the relationship:

a. On the summary card, click Person.

The person’s details page appears.

b. On the person’s details page, click the Family link in the header. (Or scroll down

to the Family Members section.)

c. If the source is attached to a couple relationship, click the Edit Couple link that

is in the box that shows the husband and wife.

Or the source is attached to a parent-child relationship, hover your mouse cursor

over the child’s name. Click the Edit Relationship link that appears.

d. Scroll down to the Sources section of the relationship.

The Sources section appears.

3. Click the source’s title.

The source’s details appear.

4. Click the item’s Report abuse link.

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5. Click the reason that you feel the item is a problem.

If you click Other, please enter your specific concern.

6. Click OK.

The system indicates that FamilySearch Support has received your report. This message

also lists the email address to which a response will be sent.

7. To close the message, click OK.

A system administrator reviews your concerns. If your user profile contains an email

address, you will receive an email to explain what actions were taken.

Why Sources Are Valuable

Sources indicate where the information in the tree came from. They add richness and

credibility to the information in the tree.

Examples of sources include government and church records, cemeteries, your own

memory, the memory of others, and so forth. Sources provide you with the following

benefits:

• They increase your sense of connection to your ancestors and their place in history.

• They allow you to evaluate the reliability of your information. For example, an original

record created near the time when an event occurred is probably more reliable than

a biography written after the event. Knowing the source can help you identify

information that you want to verify with other types of records.

• They provide a history of the sources you have examined. You can then focus research

efforts on sources that have not yet been used.

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• They help you evaluate conflicting information. When you find conflicting

information, such as two different birth dates for the same person, you can use your

sources to determine which one is the most likely to contain the correct information.

• They acknowledge work done by others.

Sources in Family Tree

A source is a historical record, such as a picture, journal, Bible, document, or other item

that contains evidence about your family history. A citation is a reference that describes

what the source is and how to find it. Sources are critical to the genealogical process for

documentation and discovery.

Like all information in Family Tree, all users can create sources, attach them to people

and relationships, edit, and detach them. This allows sources to be improved. Family

Tree provides features that can help prevent incorrect changes to sources:

• Changes made to sources are recorded in a change history. From there, the changes

can be undone if needed.

• You can also “watch” sources and receive e-mail notifications if they change.

In Family Tree, it is recommended that you create one source for each image or citation

that you use. For example, if you find three families in the 1910 U.S. census, and each

family is on a different image within the census, create one source for each image. It is

not possible to create one source for the entire 1910 census and add a different link for

each family that you find in that census.

Source Icons

Family Tree uses different icons to indicate whether a source is available on

familysearch.org or another website.

What It MeansIcon

The source links to a record that is on familysearch.org.

The source is either available on another website, or it does not contain a

web address (URL). It may contain a citation and other information to help

you find the source offline.

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Chapter 9

Merging Duplicate Records

When you find duplicate records in Family Tree, you can merge them or indicate that they

are not matches. To see possible duplicates, display the person’s details page. The system

lists the possible duplicates that it found. If you know the ID number of a duplicate that

is not listed, you can also merge using the ID numbers.

During a merge, you do the following:

• See all of the information and relationships from both persons.

• Compare each piece of information and each relationship.

• Choose which information to keep and which to discard.

After you have identified the information to keep, Family Tree will do the following:

• Keep the original record.

• Add to the original record the information that you selected from the duplicate record.

• Remove and archive the duplicate record.

• Record these actions on the change history so that they can be undone if needed.

To prevent incorrect merges, Family Tree has a “not-a-match” feature. With this feature,

you indicate that two persons are not matches. You can enter a reason to explain how you

know. If you indicate that two persons are not a match, the system no longer suggests

them as possible matches. This will help prevent bad matches from occurring.

When you indicate that persons are not a match, they are placed on the person’s Not a

Match list. Later on, a person can be removed from the Not a Match list. The records can

also be re-examined and merged if needed.

• Before you merge records, consider doing the following:

- Review the reason statements, sources, and discussions on the person’s record. Know

what pieces of information are already well documented and explained.

- If possible, have a well-documented genealogical database, book, or other resource

that you can refer to.

Tip: You might find this information in the User-Submitted Genealogies section of

FamilySearch.org. To find out, open another tab in your browser. Go to

FamilySearch.org, click Search, click Genealogies, and search for the person. You

can have the Family Tree in one tab and the user-submitted genealogy in another.

• Have a piece of paper and pencil to keep notes on. After you do a merge, you may need

to make more corrections, enter reason statements, attach sources, start a discussion,

contact a previous contributor, or do more research.

• Click a piece of information to see its contributor and reason statements. For example,

to see reason statements for a person’s name, click the name.

To merge duplicate records, follow these steps:

1. Open the details page of the person whose record should be kept after the merge is

done.

a. On the tree, click the person’s name.

141FamilySearch Family Tree (18 October 2013)

The summary card appears.

b. On the person’s summary card, click Person.

The person’s details page appears.

2. Near the top right, under Tools, click Possible Duplicates.

A list of possible duplicates appears.

3. If you can easily tell that someone on the list is not a match, click its Not a Match

option.

4. To review a duplicate that is on the list, click its Review Merge button to compare

the information.

To merge a duplicate that is not on the list, follow these steps:

a. Click Merge by ID.

Tip: Some duplicate records cannot be merged. If the system has already identified

possible duplicates that cannot be merged, they are listed beneath the list of possible

duplicates. Before you merge by ID, check that list to make sure that the records you

plan to merge can be merged.

The ID number of the person you started from is automatically entered into the

Current Person ID field. This is the record that will be kept if you merge the records.

b. If you want to keep a different record, or if you want to merge records for a different

person, delete the number that is in the Current Person ID field, and enter the one

that you want. Use uppercase letters. Include the hyphen.

c. In the Possible Duplicate ID field, enter the ID number of the duplicate record that

should be deleted after the merge. Use uppercase letters. Include the hyphen.

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d. Click Continue.

If you or another user has indicated that the possible duplicate is not a match for

the current person, you see a message stating that fact.

The merge screen appears.

Sometimes a message appears stating that the merge can be done only if you switch the

records. This happens if the record on the left has restrictions that would prevent it

from being deleted after the merge. Simply click the button that switches the records,

and continue the process as written.

5. Compare each piece of information on the left with the information on the right.

Indicate what to do with the information on the right.

DescriptionOption

Click Add to add the information from the record on the right to

the record on the left.

Add

Click Replace to replace the information on the left with the

information on the right. (This moves more complete or accurate

information to the record on the left.)

Replace

Click Reject if the information on the right is not correct or is less

complete than the information on the left.

Reject

Remember: When you are done, the person and the information on the left will be

kept in Family Tree. The information that is on the right will be deleted. You want to

make sure that the more complete and accurate information appears on the left so that

it will be kept.

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Important: If the name, birth, or other information is the same on both records, click

them to display more information. They probably have different reason statements.

Keep the version with the best reason statement.

When considering whether to replace a spouse, child, or parent, if available, click More,

and look at the following information.

• A spouse includes the name, the marriage date and place, and any sources for the

marriage.

• A child includes the name, the relationship (biological, adopted, and so forth), and

any sources for the relationship.

• A parent includes the names of both parents, the relationship, and any sources for

the relationship.

You can either add all of the sources from the duplicate record or reject all of them. If

only some of the sources in the duplicate record are correct, keep them all. Then go

back to the record, and detach or edit the incorrect sources.

Discussions are not merged. Only the discussions from the record on the left are saved

with the record.

6. If the records are about the same person, at the bottom click Continue.

If the records are not about the same person, click Not a Match.

The merge confirmation appears.

7. Enter a reason why the merge is correct, and click Finish Merge.

The record will be updated with the information you chose to add or replace. The

duplicate record will be archived. A note will appear in the change history documenting

the merge so it can be undone if needed.

Resolving Common Merge Situations

As you merge records, you have to decide what information to keep and what to reject.

What to DoSituation

Click Add or Replace to move the infor

mation to the record being kept.

The duplicate record contains a more accu

rate or complete piece of information.

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What to DoSituation

Do not move the information over to the

record being kept. Click Reject. Before you

The duplicate record contains information

that is not correct.

finish the merge, make sure that all incor

rect information remains on the right side

of the screen.

Write down the name from the duplicate

record. After you finish merging the record,

The duplicate record contains a nickname

or other name variation that should be

preserved. add the name as an Alternate name in the

person’s Other Information section.

One record contains an accurate date. The

other contains an accurate place. Neither

1. Click the information to see the contrib

utor and reason statement.

record contains both the correct date and

place.

2. Keep the version that is easiest to cor

rect. If one version has a good reason

statement, keep that version. It is often

easier to enter a date or place than it is

to write a clear reason statement.

3. Write down what corrections you need

to make after the merge is done.

Both records contain different versions of

a piece of information, but you do not

know which is accurate.

1. Keep the most reasonable version. Rea

sonable information fits with the time,

the place, and the family data that you

already know is accurate.

2. Keep notes so that you know what fur

ther research to conduct about this per

son after you complete the merge.

3. Enter your concerns in the reason

statement for the merge.

4. Enter your concerns in the person’s dis

cussions.

The duplicate record contains duplicate

spouses and children.

1. For each duplicate person, click Accept

or Add to move him or her to the

record that is being kept.

2. Finish the merge.

3. Go to the spouse's record, and merge

the duplicates.

4. Go to the records of each child, and

merge the duplicates.

The duplicate record contains duplicate

parents.

1. For each duplicate person, click Accept

or Add to move him or her to the

record that is being kept.

2. Finish the merge.

3. Go to the record of each parent, and

merge the duplicates.

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What to DoSituation

Do not move the information over to the

record being kept.

The duplicate record contains spouses,

children, or parents that are not accurate.

Return to the person’s record. Delete the

relationships to the wrong spouses, chil

dren, or parents.

The record being kept contains spouses,

children, or parents that are not accurate.

One or both records contain inaccurate

sources.

1. Finish the merge.

2. Go back to the person’s details page.

3. Detach or edit incorrect sources.

The duplicate record appears to be about a

completely different person.

1. Scroll to the bottom.

2. Click Not a Match.

Records That Cannot Be Merged

Some records in Family Tree cannot be merged.

You cannot merge records in the following situations:

• The gender on one record is male, and the other is female.

• One record indicates the person is alive; the other is deceased.

• Both records come from the membership records of The Church of Jesus Christ of

Latter-day Saints.

• One of the records came from new.familysearch.org, where it has been combined

with too many other records.

• The duplicate record has already been deleted due to another merge.

• One of the records has restrictions that would prevent it from being changed.

If Family Tree has already identified possible duplicates that cannot be merged, they

appear beneath the list of possible duplicates:

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Undoing a Merge

When records are merged, one record remains in Family Tree. The other is deleted and

stored in an archive for a period of time. If the merge needs to be undone, and if the

preserved record was not changed after the merge, then you can undo the merge. If the

record was changed, restore the archived person instead.

If the record has been deleted permanently, you cannot undo the merge.

1. Open the details page of the person whose record was merged:

a. On the tree, click the person’s name.

The summary card appears.

b. On the person’s summary card, click Person.

The person’s details page appears.

2. In the Latest Changes box, click Show all.

A list of all the changes appears. Changes that resulted from a merge are identified

with a gray bar along the left side of the list.

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3. Find the name of the deleted person, and click Unmerge.

A screen appears on which you can see the records that were merged.

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4. Enter a reason that explains why this merge should be undone.

5. Click Unmerge.

The record of the deleted person is restored.

If the two records are not about the same person, and if the records appear in the list of

possible duplicates, review the duplicates again. This time, select the Not a Match

option.

Restoring a Record That Was Deleted after a Merge

When records are merged, one record remains in Family Tree. The other is deleted and

then stored in an archive for a period of time. If the merge needs to be undone, and if

the preserved record was changed after the merge, then you have to restore the archived

record.

If the record has been deleted permanently, you cannot restore it.

1. Open the details page of the person whose record was merged:

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On the tree, click the person’s name.

The summary card appears.

b. On the person’s summary card, click Person.

The person’s details page appears.

2. In the Latest Changes box, click Show all.

A list of all the changes appears. A merge often causes multiple changes. All the

changes that resulted from the merge will be grouped in a box.

3. In the change history, click the name that is listed beneath Deleted Person.

4. Click Person.

A box appears to indicate that the record was deleted by merge. It also lists the date

when the record was deleted, the name of the user who did the merge, and the reason

for the merge. Before this box appears, the screen looks the same as if it were going

to display the person’s details page. It may take a few seconds for the box to appear.

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5. Click Restore Person.

A message appears to let you enter a reason for restoring the record.

6. Enter a reason to explain why you are restoring this person.

7. Click Restore.

The record is restored, and the person’s details page appears.

If the two records are not about the same person, and if the records show up in the list

of possible duplicates, review the duplicates again. This time, select the Not a Match

option.

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Indicating Two Records Are Not a Match

When someone indicates that two records are not a match, Family Tree no longer suggests

them as possible duplicates.

If later you find that the two records are a match, you can review the match again and,

if needed, remove it from the not a match list.

To indicate that possible duplicates are not a match, display the person’s details page.

1. Open the person’s details page.

a. On the tree, click the person’s name.

The summary card appears.

b. On the person’s summary card, click Person.

The person’s details page appears.

2. Near the top right, in the Tools box, click Possible Duplicates.

A list of possible duplicates appears.

3. You can either compare the information between the possible duplicate and this

person, or you can indicate they are not a match.

• If you know that the two persons are not a match, click Not a Match.

• If you want to compare the information, click Review Merge.

Compare the information on the left with the information on the right. If the

records are about different people, at the bottom, click Not a Match.

4. Enter a reason why these records are not a match, and click Not a Match.

The person no longer appears as a possible duplicate.

Removing a Record from the Not a Match List

When you indicate that persons are not a match, they are placed on the person’s Not a

Match list. If a record should not be on this list, you can either move it back to the list

of possible duplicates or compare and merge the records.

1. Open the details page of the person whose Not a Match list you want to see.

a. On the tree, click the person's name.

The summary card appears.

b. On the person's summary card, click View Person.

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The person’s details page appears.

2. Near the top right, under Tools, click Possible Duplicates.

A list of possible duplicates appears.

3. Click the Not a Match tab.

The records that have been identified as not matching this person are listed.

4. If you want to move a person back to the list of possible duplicates, follow these steps:

a. Click the person’s May Be a Match link.

b. Enter a reason why you think this record may be a match.

c. Click May Be a Match.

The person moves to the list of possible matches.

Or if you want to compare and merge the records, follow these steps:

a. Click the person’s Review Merge button.

The merge screen appears. The rest of the process works the same as merging

duplicate records. You can review the record and either merge it or indicate it is

not a match.

b. If the records are not about the same person, click Not a Match.

The merge confirmation appears.

c. Enter a reason why the merge is correct, and click Finish Merge.

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The record will be updated with the information you chose to add or replace. The

duplicate record will be archived. A note will appear in the change history

documenting the merge so it can be undone if needed.

Fixing Incorrectly Combined Records from

new.FamilySearch.org

Tools are being developed for Family Tree that will allow incorrectly combined records

to be corrected in the near future.

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Chapter 10

Working with Other Users

One of the advantages of having your family history online is the ability to work with

close or distant relatives. You can work together to make the information about your shared

history as complete and correct as possible.

So that you can work with others, make sure that your user profile contains a valid email

address where you can be contacted. Also make sure that your user profile settings are set

to allow contact by at least one method (mail, telephone, or email).

You can work with others in these ways:

• You can contact the user who contributed information about a person or family.

• You can participate in discussions.

• You can “watch” people in the tree. The system sends you a weekly email to notify you

if changes occurred.

Appropriate Use of Contact Information and Discussions

Please keep all interactions with other users polite and appropriate to the purpose of the

FamilySearch website.

For example, when you participate in discussions or contact another user directly, do

not include the following types of information:

• Offensive or abusive language or content

• Information that might harm or embarrass living relatives

• Links to external web pages with inappropriate content

• Solicitations for business or research services

For more information, please see the Conditions of Use.

Seeing Contributor Information

Family Tree keeps track of who adds, changes, and deletes information. You can quickly

display that contributor’s contact information if he or she allows it to be displayed.

You can contact other users under these circumstances:

• The contributor is a current user of the system.

• The contributor allows the system to display contact information. FamilySearch

Support cannot give you contact information when a user chooses not to display it.

Note: To change how much contact information Family Tree displays about you,

click your username in the upper-right corner of the screen. Click Settings, and

scroll down to the Contact section. Click the Public option for each piece of

information that you want displayed with your contact information.

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