Adding and Correcting Information in Family Search's Family Tree

Upcoming Course Schedule and Contextual Methodology

• Beginning Series Sequence: This is the second session in the initial three-part series for family history beginners.
• Class 3 (Next Sunday): Will cover the mechanics of finding individuals to add to the Family Tree.
• Class 4 (Research Skills): This class is intentionally delayed until the fourth week. The rationale is to provide students with sufficient background and context first. Research often intimidates newcomers, and understanding the basics first makes the research process more understandable and enjoyable.
• Holiday Break: No classes will be held on $June\,21st$ in observance of Father's Day in the United States.
• Key Takeaways: Participants are encouraged to identify specific insights learned during the session, whether from the presenter, audience interaction, or personal inspiration. These are recorded in the chat at the end of the class for documentation.

Review of Class 1: Driving, Spirit, and the Shared Tree

• Family History Analogy: Learning family history is compared to learning to drive. It is not inherently difficult, but it requires knowledge of the "rules of the road" (site guidelines) and how to "operate the vehicle" (software/resources).
• Purpose of Temple and Family History Work: The primary goal is to make the blessings of Christ's atonement available to all individuals on both sides of the veil.
• The Shared Tree Paradigm: FamilySearch's Family Tree is a collaborative, shared platform. This differs significantly from the historical norm of keeping personal, separate trees (in software or on sites like Ancestry.com).
• Collaborative Responsibility: In a shared tree, no single person "owns" a relative's information. Every participant is responsible for maintaining and improving the record for everyone else.
• Spiritual Foundation: The key to success is seeking and relying on the Spirit. A reference is made to $3\,\text{Nephi}$ where people specifically prayed for the Holy Ghost.

The Concept of Accuracy: The Sweet Spot and the Sandbox

• Definition of a Sandbox: A research environment where unproven or questionable information can be stored without impacting others. In personal trees, this is a valid strategy, but it is harmful in a shared tree.
• Impact of Inaccurate Information:
  • Bad Hints: FamilySearch algorithms provide "Record Hints" based on profile data. Incorrect information (Garbage In, Garbage Out - GIGO) results in the system serving incorrect hints.
  • User Error: Other users may perform incorrect merges or establish wrong relationships based on unproven data they assume is accurate.
  • Temple Work Errors: Incorrect information can lead to unauthorized or inaccurate temple ordinances.
• The Accuracy Continuum:
  • Susan Corbett's "Sweet Spot": A middle ground between total carelessness (uploading files without checking) and impossible perfectionism (which prevents contribution).
  • Growth Mindset: Forgiveness for past mistakes (e.g., errors made when the system launched in $2007$ or $2012$) is essential; users should simply fix errors as they learn more.
• Available Sandbox Resources:
  • Personal Software: Roots Magic, Ancestral Quest, or personal trees on Ancestry/MyHeritage.
  • Beta FamilySearch: Located at beta.familysearch.org. This site is a copy of the live tree refreshed every $December$. Changes here do not affect real records or temple work.

Technical Procedures for Adding and Editing Information

• Adding Information: Simple process involving clicking the "Add" button and filling out the labeled form (Birth, Death, etc.).
• Editing Information: Accomplished by clicking the pencil icon next to an existing data field.
• Names of Women: Standard practice in genealogy is to use the maiden or birth name. This is crucial for the FamilySearch algorithms to function correctly and avoid ambiguous hints.
• Standardization: FamilySearch utilizes a database to standardize dates and places to remove ambiguity.

Standardization of Dates and Places

• Standard Date Format: Always includes a numerical day ($1\text{--}31$), the month spelled out (e.g., January), and a full four-digit year ($1909$, not $09$). This prevents confusion between international formats (e.g., $1/9$ as January or September).
• Standard Place Format: Follows a geographic hierarchy: [City/Town], [County/Shire], [State/Province], [Country]. For jurisdictions like the United Kingdom, it includes the constituent country (e.g., England) and the sovereign state (UK).
• System Selection: Users should type the information and then select the appropriate standard from the drop-down list provided by the system. Standardized items are marked with a calendar icon (dates) or a map marker icon (places).

The Documentation Landscape: Creators and Types of Historical Records

• Primary Record Sources: Approximately $90\text{--}95\%$ of family data is found in birth, christening, marriage, death, burial, census, and military records.
• Two Main Record Creators:
  1. Churches: Primary source for baptisms, burials, and marriages sanctioned by religious institutions.
  2. Governments: Responsible for civil registrations, military records, and censuses.
• Additional Sources:
  • Newspapers: Useful for obituaries, which can reveal married names of sisters or names of survivors, though data quality depends on the informant.
  • Cemeteries: Grave markers provide vital data. Many cemeteries have a "Sexton" (record-keeper) who can be contacted for office records.

Digital Repositories and Partner Access

• Major Global Sites: FamilySearch, Ancestry.com, Find My Past, and My Heritage.
• Member Subscriptions: For members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, free basic subscriptions are available for several of these sites via familysearch.org/access/membersubscriptions.
• Common Speciality Sites:
  • Newspapers: Newspapers.com, Genealogy Bank.
  • Grave Records: Find A Grave, Billion Graves, Interment.net.

Utilizing the FamilySearch Research Wiki

• Functionality: Not a place to search for ancestors directly, but a guide to finding where records exist for a specific location.
• Accessing: Available under the "Search" menu on the FamilySearch homepage.
• Global Reach: Contains pages for nearly every geographic location. For example, searching "Warwickshire, England" (home of student Elaine) reveals extensive links to online genealogy records for that specific shire.

The Hierarchy of Source Reliability

• Reliability Factors:
  • Firsthand Knowledge: Did the informant witness the event (e.g., a doctor on a birth certificate)?
  • Motive: Did the informant have a reason to lie? (e.g., men lying about age for military service or women minimizing age in later years).
  • Time Elapsed: How much time passed between the event and the recording? Memory-based records are less reliable.
  • Original vs. Copy: Originals are preferred. Copies like "Bishop's Transcripts" in England may contain transcription errors.
• Comparison of Record Types:
  1. Highly Trustworthy: Vital records, tax records (legal repercussions for falsehood).
  2. Moderately Trustworthy: Census data, newspapers, family bibles.
  3. Questionable/Error-Prone: GEDCOM files, old PAF (Personal Ancestral File) files, personal online trees.
  4. Highly Suspect: Compiled genealogies claiming links to royalty or Adam and Eve, which professional genealogists state are currently unverifiable.

Methodology for Attaching and Managing Sources

• Definition of a Source: Anything providing evidence for biographical events.
• Reason Statements: Short explanations of why a user believes data is correct. These guide future researchers through the logic used to verify the information.
• Source Linker: A visual tool that compares the historical record (left side) with the Family Tree profile (right side). When matched, the record turns green.
• Adding Non-FamilySearch Sources:
  1. Manual Entry: Use the "Sources" tab to add a URL or a memorial memory (photo/document).
  2. RecordSeek: A browser extension (recordseek.com) that allows users to instantly pull a record from external sites (like Find A Grave or FreeReg) and link it to a FamilySearch ID or PID (Person Identifier).
• Person-Centric vs. Record-Centric: FamilySearch now treats every person on a record as a separate source entity. For instance, in an Ancestry URL for a census, Charles and his sister Violeta will have distinct URLs; users should attach the version specific to the individual being edited.

Practical Demonstration: Updating the Profile of Charles

• Case Study Context: Charles was found with only a birth year ($1905$) and place.
• Evidence Discovery: A parish register for a $1908$ christening was reviewed. Many christening records (infant baptisms) also include the exact birth date.
• Procedure:
  1. Copy the birth date ($1\,September\,1908$) from the christening record.
  2. Use Ctrl+V to paste the date into the Birth field, selecting the standardized calendar version.
  3. Add the Christening information: Select the standard for the city and county (Leicester, Leicestershire).
  4. Apply a Reason Statement: User noted that birth information was sourced from the christening record and birthplace from the $1911$ census.
• Simple Fill Extension: The presenter uses a tool called "Simple Fill" to manage predefined, frequently used reason statements, allowing for quick selection during the editing process.

Questions and Discussion

• Relationship and People Scope: This class specifically excluded adding new people or relationships (e.g., adoption, immigration); those are covered in week $3$.
• RecordSeek Availability: Despite rumors of its discontinuation, RecordSeek is operational. Past authentication errors were due to a temporary bug.
• Common Names: User Nila warned that common names like "John Smith" require extreme caution. A record for a John Smith born in England in $1800$ and christened three days later in Massachusetts is geographically and chronologically impossible.
• 1830 Census Exceptions: User Brenda asked about early census records where only the head of household is named (often marked with tick marks for family members). In this case, the head of household record must be attached to the wife and children as the primary evidence.
• Maiden Name Missing: If a maiden name cannot be found, some users enter "Mrs. [Married Name]" or "Esther [Married Name]." The presenter advises this only as a last resort. Usually, a maiden name can be found with diligent search, such as in the biography of a child.
• BYU Virtual Consultations: The presenter (Sister Grant) provides remote help via Zoom. Interested parties can Google "BYU library virtual consultation" to set up times with various missionaries and specialists.
• Email Contact: Sister Grant provided her email for specific questions, particularly regarding the visual explanation of person-centric source models.