Are you SICK of people changing your tree on FamilySearch? (why it happens & how to stop it!)
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- เผยแพร่เมื่อ 3 ก.ค. 2024
- The FamilySearch Family Tree is a shared tree which presents problems because people can and do change it. What do you do when someone changes YOUR tree? What is FamilySearch is doing, and how can you help stop incorrect changes.
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In this video we will talk about the FamilySearch platform, how the tree works, issues with others changing this shared tree, what FamilySearch is doing to correct these issues where they can, and finally what you can do to help!
0:00 Intro
0:17 What FamilySearch has given us
0:47 What is FamilySearch?
3:05 Beginners changing the FamilySearch Family Tree
3:19 Experienced genealogists making changes
4:14 Rootstech's seminar for professional genealogists - FamilySearch why can't you fix this??
5:48 FamilySearch locking (read only) individuals in the Family Tree
6:38 How users can help stop bad tree changes
7:08 Caution: put your information into a personal genealogy tree
8:48 Genealogy coaching available
9:28 Following folks in the FamilySearch Family Tree
10:33 Adding a "Lifesketch"
11:04 Add reasons for facts that you add or change for a person in the tree
11:58 Following changes for a person over a period of time
12:15 Messaging another FamilySearch user
12:50 Collaborating with others through "Discussions" and "Notes"
13:13 Add "Memories"
14:10 We all make mistakes, live and let live too!
ABOUT ME: Learning about your ancestors is fun! It’s detective work at its best. Discovering those who came before you is a treasure hunt with great rewards! My professional genealogy business, Ancestry Consulting by Aimee, and my You Tube channel were born out of a desire to help others discover their family history. I have been working on my genealogy since a teenager and have been helping others as a professional genealogist for almost 10 years. Whether breaking through a genealogy brick wall, determining parentage through DNA matches, beginning genealogy research, or discovering your family origins, I want to help you build your family tree! While I specialize in United States genealogy, these videos outline research methods which will help you research your family history anywhere. Happy hunting!
#FamilySearch #familyhistory #Genealogy #Ancestry
Music "Something Elated" by Broke for Free.
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Lock photo by Ussama Azam on Unsplash unsplash.com/photos/LMljzChRlsA
Tree collaboration photo by Shane Rounce on Unsplash unsplash.com/photos/DNkoNXQti3c
Explosion sound by iwiploppenisse on freesound.org
Questionmark video from Videezy
Angry Photo by Andrea Piacquadio on Pexels
One thing that I encourage people to do is to turn ON detail view on the tree, so that they can immediately see what people have written in the "reason this information is correct" field. Many of us write quite a lot in there to be helpful to other users, which is why we get so frustrated when people write nothing there, or "family tree" or "gedcom data". (Or worse, ignore whats there and change it anyway)
I can't seem to post links here, but I'm super proud of the cousins and descendants of Teunis Nijssen and Phoebe Sales (LRFW-2NM and LRFW-GQT) - we all work super hard together to make sure that the profiles contain the most evidence based information and refute a lot of bad info from elsewhere. When you turn on the detail view you can immediately see all the notes, links, and sources that people have added there as well as in the sources. Its not our primary tree, but for a major gateway ancestor like this, its a labor of love to help others.
When I first started helping with these ancestors, their profiles would get changed multiple times a day. Now its rarely changed unless someone new changes it by accident, and its much easier to restore.
Love this!! Thanks for sharing!!
I love FS adding the new Alert Note feature! It doesn’t prevent changes but it allows you to highlight a specific common mistake. For example the Steeves name is an anglicized German surname Stieff. This gets changed all the time in FS by well intentioned descendants. Hopefully this feature will help prevent this in the future. Thanks for addressing this important topic Aimee! 😊
You’re welcome! I bet it will help you with your surname issue.
My mantra is SOURCES! I see information added all the time without any source(s) for that. People have to learn to add sources (and images, if available) for what they're adding or changing; otherwise how is anyone else viewing that data going to know if it's valid, or not.
So true!!
I regularly utilize FS and keep it open while working in ancestry, my primary personal tree. I also record the ID number of people on whose profiles I am working so I can quickly find them again later in FS if needed. This hack is helpful, too, if that profile is merged (rightly or wrongly) with another ID, as the ID numbers never go away.
Love that Bill. Thanks! It’s hard to keep videos short! And this is an excellent point!!
An ID search will find the ID even if that person was merged and no longer “active.”
This is something new to me I don't understand what you're talking about ID number.
I had a great uncle who did a great job of researching my maternal side of the family. He would go from place to place. He even put down where he got his sources and this he did all before we had internet. And do to his carefulness I have been able to verify a lot of it via various resources internet and published books and newspapers.
And to give you an idea of how he went about this was everything was mimeographed when he made copies. So that meant he painsakingly typed everything on a mimeograph sheet and then had it printed rolled off however you want to call it. Late 1960s early 1970s.
@@ajalicea1091 you're lucky you have been able to inherit that gold mine from your uncle! The ID number is a number on FamilySearch that they use to identify everyone. When looking in the tree it is right under the name after birth-death. It's four digits or letters with a dash and then three digits like A7KD-89A. When on the person's page it's again right under the name next to birth and death. Hope that helps!
I have found quite a few records on Faily Search that never came through on Ancestry. Even though it is frustrating to receive change notices, Family Search is well worth contributing to!
I agree!
I've been working on my family history for a couple of decades now using both Ancestry and FTM but have never put my tree on Family Search even though I've had an account for a while. Your video has inspired me to start.
Thanks! So glad to hear that!!
I just lost my whole tree to someone who think certain ancestor also had different names, had children after dead... so on. I contacted the person and explained that her changes is changing my relatives. She just keeps going.
I’m so sorry! You may want to contact FS and see if they can help you. Especially if you have solid proof.
I admit I've been a bit frustrated with Family search and appreciate this video. I have met new cousins because of Family search. My main tree is on Ancestry and Family Tree Maker. I do like Family search too but agree your main tree should be elsewhere. Thanks!
Thanks for adding your comment!!
Thank you so much for this video, it is so helpful and I will share this with a friend who has been struggling with this problem of changes to her tree in family search.
You’re welcome!
Thank you for this information . Maybe I shouldn't admit it but when I started family history I came across a lot of people who shied away from Family Search. I'm in the UK and a great many are still very wary of the Mormon Church's strategy of sending young people over to us I presume to try and " recruit" us. This feeling seems to have carried over into family history where the suspicion exists that there was an ulterior motive. This may be shocking to some but that's life where we distrust ways that are unfamiliar to us . Your explanation on how you can monitor what others try and do to your research is very reassuring. As a beginner when I recheck all my research and am happy with how I've presented it I will start looking at Family Search. Who knows I may find information on relatives who emigrated to the US ( as a GI bride), Canada and Australia .
Glad this has been helpful. A lot of people think if they sign up for FamilySearch the missionaries will visit but that’s not the case. I hope you do find more info on your family whether in FamilySearch or somewhere else!!
Well, this explains a lot.
I find the tree on there tedious & hard to figure out
I think the tree view is ok (the key is which type of view you like - pedigree or something else). I think the person page is tough.
As someone who has worked in database and information management, it's crucial that users leave detailed notes on changes they make and why. I just recently realized this issue with a particular knot in my family tree. I got a notification from Family Tree that I was related to Susan B Anthony. Naturally I went to investigate and I found a knot of people who may or may not actually be the common ancestor (several different entries of individuals with similar names but different demographic information). Looking at the data entry history on these people is a complete mess, there have been dozens of users changing the data with little notation to state what they've done and why. It's such a tangled mess, I don't know how to unravel it. Good practice in research is to have at least two verifying sources to validate information. That should be every user's goal. Also, don't crowd up records with personal notes like "My 13th Great Grandma!". That's bad etiquette, it leaves a mess of useless information.
Terrific suggestions! Thanks so much for adding them!
I hate family search it makes me angry when you try to add like the documentation it changes things like spelling of the name, or a family wants to disown a line they delete it off, but dna notes they refuse to read it or believe the truth, and they never respond to emailing either.
I get your frustrations. Not sure what you meant about spelling of a name. You should be able to alter that. With collaborative trees you do have issues with differing opinions or maybe people just don’t understand the DNA stuff and are working off records only. 😔
I mostly use Family Search looking up records, I love RootsMagic. I have a tree on Ancestry, FindMyPast, FamilyTreeDNA. I don't have my tree on Family Search because I don't like that people can change it. There are a few people on my tree, where I have extensively researched and found that what all the other trees have is incorrect so I do not want them to be changed. I also do not use just one source, I like FMP for the amount of digital images that it has, GRO, ScotlandsPeople, Ancestry. and of course FamilySearch. I also always make my trees public, I also note where I found the sources that I have used.
Thanks for sharing your perspective. You’re right. The FamilySearch tree is not YOUR tree. It’s a collaborative sharing of information.
I feel a love hate with them. Someone did attach someone to my tree that I knew was wrong. I had proof & he removed it
That’s great. I think most people feel the same way. Love - hate. I’ve found some great stuff there too that folks have put up.
If no sources are posted, then changing mistakes are fair game.
Yes!!!
I had people changing certain people on mine (mainly my grandmother. My dad’s mom). With grandma, they use the SSN death date, putting her death before my 9th birthday (my bday is in late December, SSN death date puts her death in early December). She passed 2 months and 1 day after my birthday (her death being in late February of the following year). I was at her funeral, my dad is her son, I have her obituary and the memorial from her funeral, and her death date is on her gravestone. You’d think that all of this would be proof of her death date. Nope. They still change it. I’ve even noted all of this to get them to stop.
Frustrating!
I try to have sources to back up my changes. This includes when I match with DNA.
Love that!! Thanks for sharing.
Some deleted a 4th great grandparent of mine on Familysearch but luckily I had taken an Ancestry DNA test and found a cousin who still had the same last name and a family tree back to a common ancestor with that same last name. I corrected and explained why.
I also had someone delete my mother's adoptive dad who said so and so was so and so's husband. I corrected it and gave the reason. I knew my great grandmother she had five husbands, my mother told me the story and her name was legally changed to his last name. Then I sent a message saying "Please don't change what people who carry living memory of family history has entered onto the site". My mother had a complicated childhood. I spent some time entering all of the information because I am the last one who knows all of that part of my family history.
I was also able to confirm a 3rd great grandparent with a tree on Ancestry after taking the Ancestry DNA test.
Wow! Be sure to put an alert note on those folks and check the box so they are posted at the top.
I like FamilySearch for records but I use ancestry for my tree because I'm losing my vision and family search isn't that user friendly so it's easy to not know how to put information in that you need to or accidentally miss something up and don't know how to fix it so that's why I use ancestry for my family tree. I was trying to put in a biological parent and change someone to a step parent but I couldn't figure out how. So I'll just stick with ancestry for the family tree.
That works. Especially for your situation. Hope you make your Ancestry tree public to share your knowledge!
@@AncestryAimee It is public.
I would never ever put my tree somewhere where random strangers can modify it without my agreement. Can't understand why anyone would ever do it.
The collaboration can help you discover cousins and expand your research but I do agree to have info somewhere else too!!
Totally agree. It's the worst place anyone can put their tree. It's a complete mess and I will add that FS support does not support anyone.
In my opinion the biggest errors come from people using GEDCOM files to add info. Too much information being added and very little if any checking
Excellent point! I recommend adding a GEDCOM in this way (www.familysearch.org/en/help/helpcenter/article/how-do-i-upload-my-gedcom-file). It doesn’t change the tree but shared information. FamilySearch also recommends adding info from that file manually btw.
I had this happen one time. I contacted the person who made the change. We shared the reasons we had and why there was a difference. I had been looking for my father all my life and only ran in to dead ends. After the above conversations we were both amazed at what we learned. In out case lt was a life changer....
Awesome!
What are some of the best tree building sites/apps that facilitate importing data from FamilySearch?
Rootsmagic for a personal program or MyHeritage or FindMyPast. If you are a member of the church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints i would also say Ancestry.
Thanks so much, Aimee!
Thank you for you work,i am a new fan:)
Can you, or anyone who reads this give me a hint on that:
1. what is the best method/app to export familysearch tree to offline tree?
2. is there a way to give access to my familytree via some link, that this person will be available to see only my build, but without registering an account on FS?
3. if answer for q2 was no, then is there other way to do that? i mean to share my work with some family members, only to give them read-only effect of my work, but without registering anywhere?
Thank you for help in advance
Thanks for subscribing!! Roots magic is a program that can pull information from FamilySearch. The FamilySearch tree is a shared tree so it’s a joint effort. You can share an individual’s FamilySearch ID number and they can see the tree. They don’t need to have an account. There is no read only option on FamilySearch, because it’s a collaborative tree anyone can make changes. If you want a read only tree you can build one on Ancestry.com or similar site.
A A person has my mother‘s picture her born date and death date on her page, but she don’t know anything else. It’s a t shirt stretched out. No one in our family knows this woman. What can be done?
What page? T-shirt? I don’t understand. Can you provide more information?
Genealogy Bank is making a lot of mistakes that they are posting to Family Search. To me Family Search needs to stop Genealogy Bank from doing that. I have my tree on my computer on Legacy.
I’m not sure of their relationship.
@@AncestryAimee I am not either but they are doing it. So someone in Family Search needs to look into this & stop it.
You should send them a message through their help system. You can do that. I’m sure they would appreciate clear communication about the issues you are seeing.
@@AncestryAimee I thought you worked for Family Search.
I don’t.