Other than 'unknown', my pet peeve are the cryptic notes in the collaboration section. It's as if the people writing them don't realize the notes are there for OTHER PEOPLE.

@FamilyHistoryFanatics

4 жыл бұрын

That makes sense. Some of the cryptic notes stem from the original migration of the current FamilySearch database from the one that preceded it. Often, I delete these notes. The other cryptic notes come from user's genealogy software programs (GEDcom files). Again, I delete those.

My grandmother was adopted twice and other researchers keep adding her first adoptive parents as her parents on the tree. I finally removed them again and added "Unknown Mother of (Grandma)" and one for her Father too with a note explaining why I did it that way. The changes seemed to have stopped and if and when I find out their identities I'll rename them. I don't use Unknown any other place in my tree.

@FamilyHistoryFanatics

3 жыл бұрын

Genealogy is a record of relationships. If your grandmother was adopted by two different sets of parents, instead of removing the parents, then use the tools to label them as Adopted Father / Adopted Mother for both sets of her adopted parents. Then other researchers can know you're searching for the biological parents.

My pet peeve is seeing “Mrs (man’s name” ARGH!!! If you don’t yet have a name, don’t put anything there!

@FamilyHistoryFanatics

4 жыл бұрын

Agreed.

@robertmichael3860

2 жыл бұрын

Hi Virginia You got a cute name. Lol

I think that this was great advice. When I had started in the beginning of #genealogy #research I did use unknown until I was told by someone not to do that. Great advice Caleb tyvm.

@FamilyHistoryFanatics

3 жыл бұрын

Thanks for the support. Many people don't like it but man would it help clean up our family trees.

Thanks for this video. Another bug bear I have is when someone puts Mrs '***' instead of unknown.

@FamilyHistoryFanatics

3 жыл бұрын

So true!

@robertmichael3860

2 жыл бұрын

Hi Becca You got a cute name. Lol

Thanks ! I just did as you demonstrated for my cousins, whose father is unknown.

@FamilyHistoryFanatics

3 жыл бұрын

Awesome.

Some very good advice. I admit I used to do sometimes and I did so as a 'placeholder', but that was more before the days of Ancestry and FamilySearch, etc. What I do say is I think it is alright to put in a first name for a mother where her maiden name is unknown...missing maiden names are fairly common problems you'll encounter as you go back farther in time and my tree still has some. I will put in Mary (unknown) in place of maiden name. Unfortunately old marriage records did not always give much specific details and many times no marriage record is to be found at all....old wills and probate records can be very helpful in determining womens' maiden names, especially in pre-civil war era cases.

@FamilyHistoryFanatics

2 жыл бұрын

Great points about where else to look for female ancestors. However, the best thing to do is leave the maiden name blank rather than put anything in it at all. It helps other researchers, it helps in tree matching, and it helps in record searching.

Thank you for this video. I is always great to learn something new.

@FamilyHistoryFanatics

4 жыл бұрын

Glad it was helpful!

@robertmichael3860

2 жыл бұрын

Hi Katie You got a cute name. Lol

I never add unknowns as it is super annoying. However there is also a merge feature that helps get rid of these. I am also a FamilySearch junkie, and spend A LOT of time cleaning FamilySearch profiles. I’ve seen some comments on annoyance for Mrs. Husband’s name profiles. Sorry to say that these will never go away as LDS Church members use these in ordinance work when names are unknown.

@FamilyHistoryFanatics

3 жыл бұрын

Keep working to clean up the family tree. You and my mom think the same. I've heard from FamilySearch engineers that when we add more sources and documentations to profiles, then the changes tend to taper off and accuracy of the family tree increases. Sadly, it's a matter of the last one standing.

Ah! That is very helpful. Thanks!

@FamilyHistoryFanatics

2 жыл бұрын

Glad it was helpful!

That's good advice. Do you have a recommendation for how to list siblings when their parents are unknown? For instance, a couple of brothers raised together by non relatives, with no record of who their biological parents were.

@FamilyHistoryFanatics

4 жыл бұрын

Are the full brothers or half-brothers?

@Eliahna76

4 жыл бұрын

@@FamilyHistoryFanatics full brothers

@NeebyPls

4 жыл бұрын

@@Eliahna76 I want to know too. Please @ me

@ashleym.paxton6560

4 жыл бұрын

👋! If there is already an individual profile for each brother, then there are a couple of ways you can go about this. 1. If a first name, initials, or even a nickname is known for at least one of the parents, then you may create a profile for them in order to link the two brothers. Just be sure to indicate a biological relationship between each brother with that parent. Then, under the collaborate section, create a note stating what information you have so others will know the reason for the incomplete parent name; also, share what research you have already done to obtain the unknown info. You may also start a discussion that tells others what records and information you are looking for, in case they may have info to add. 2. If absolutely no identifying information is known for either parent, then you can utilize the collaborate tab to let others know that the two are brothers. Using the same notes and discussion technique in #1 (above), give the name and FS ID, what information you have and what your source is for that information. Be sure to create these notes on each brothers page to (hopefully) prevent duplicate profiles from being created or from incorrect changes being made to any of the profiles including deletion. Well, I hope that helps!

@FamilyHistoryFanatics

2 жыл бұрын

Ashley did a great job providing an answer. I would add this. For full brothers, you can add a father with the shared surname. Add the father to the first brother. Then, go to the father's profile. In the box for father with unknown wife, you can add a child to that couple. Add the other children there and you're set. You won't have a mother's profile until you find any information about her. Then leave a LOT of notes like Ashley said.

I have no idea what you are saying about unknown. I am trying to find how to use family search tree so I don't make mistakes. I see that somebody has put my father in a tree with his middle name incorrect (it was incorrect on his birth certificate). How do I make notes about what is correct or not correct? Obviously this person looked at his birth certificate. His death certificate show the middle name spelled correctly.

@FamilyHistoryFanatics

3 жыл бұрын

Folks have parents to the family tree and added the name "Unknown". It's best to leave that spot blank rather than add "Unknown". Does that help? As for cleaning up the tree (correcting the mistakes) try this video. kzread.info/dash/bejne/goKHu6Skmsffdco.html

I write a family history newsletter for my Ward. I would really like to post s link to this video, but, knowing my audience, I need the presentation to be slower. This one goes very quickly and will lose some of my audience.

@FamilyHistoryFanatics

2 жыл бұрын

Feel free to put a link in the newsletter. But, you can also teach people how to slow down or speed up videos. It will be an invaluable tool for fast or slow content. www.businessinsider.com/how-to-slow-down-youtube-videos

@robertmichael3860

2 жыл бұрын

Hi Deborah You got a cute name. Lol

Slight irritation in Caleb's voice, I noticed. I also noticed this is hot off the heels of the "Unk" vid. Good work. What I do is something similar. Say I have a guy named Paolo Coppola. He has a sister named Caterina. Their father is uknown. So, I put in "Coppola" in the last name field. No idea what the father's first name is. That works to a point. I'm not going to call someone "Unknown" right off the bat. Over on WikiTree, though, we have this thing were someone is something like "Hannah Unknown" or "Thankful Unknown". That's unfortunate because there are a TON of "Uknown" last names there". Most of them are ladies. Well...all of them are. Great vid.

@FamilyHistoryFanatics

4 жыл бұрын

Thanks for your feedback.

How can I findout what a family member was like if he is deceased, like his job or family man or arrest? thanks for any help

@FamilyHistoryFanatics

2 жыл бұрын

Great question. Sorry to take so long to respond. Records records, records. Find your ancestor in census records and you'll find out about age, military service, literacy, occupation, wages, and employment status (potentially, it all depends on the census questions asked each decade). City directories fill in the gaps between census records. They can tell you street addresses that you could perhaps find on Zillow. You can learn their occupation, workplace, and perhaps who they are living with. Military draft, enlistment, and pension records are great for providing physical descriptions. Basically, look for records that identify your ancestor and look at all the details contained there in. We have videos on how to use these records on this channel.

@robertmichael3860

2 жыл бұрын

Hi Shelley You got a cute name. Lol

That link isn't there on the iPad app. So not possible. What IS possible is to merge the unknown with one of the wives. If there are no sources and nothing except the name, just merge it and be rid of it. Easy peasy.

@FamilyHistoryFanatics

4 жыл бұрын

That's too bad that the iPad app lacks the functionality of the web browser. However, I've typically found that the browser version experience much better for most research I do on FamilySearch. However, your work around does work. Thanks for sharing.

@annelisabethcom

4 жыл бұрын

Family History Fanatics I like the app better for merging and a few other things.

@robertmichael3860

2 жыл бұрын

Hi Elizabeth You got a cute name. Lol

What do you suggest when a child is born and there is no father listed? (Illegitimate and NEVER to be known, short of exceptional DNA research) Example: progenitor born circa 1880 in Sweden. I really want to "fill the space" with something that indicates a type of "brick wall."

@FamilyHistoryFanatics

4 жыл бұрын

The fact that there is a blank space for the father suggests that it's a brick wall. Leave the space blank.

@PauloOliveira-ug5ud

4 жыл бұрын

@@FamilyHistoryFanatics exactly! Thank you!

@robertmichael3860

2 жыл бұрын

Hi Claudia You got a cute name. Lol

Probably wishful thinking that someone in the family might see it and message him with the name. Speaking of messaging,.. I think I have maybe a 20% success rate with getting replies from people with trees. It sure would be nice if people posted a tree they would answer and at least say I don't know.

@FamilyHistoryFanatics

4 жыл бұрын

Sorry your success rate is so low. I typically look at the date a change was made by a user on FamilySearch. That tells me how likely I am to hear from them and it increases responses, even if they're "I don't know."

What sould you know if you don't know the wife's name but you know the parents? Because I found documents which list the family genealogy which sometimes say that there was person X with father Y, and grandfather on mother's side is Z. How should I insert them in the family tree in this case?

@FamilyHistoryFanatics

4 жыл бұрын

I would have to see the documentation to give a recommendation.

@orsolyapeterfi6761

4 жыл бұрын

@@FamilyHistoryFanatics Thank you very much for answering! This particular case comes from a 17th century letter, which says that there was a marriage where the father of the wife was Petrus Kováts and her grandfather was Johannes Márton. This means that I don't know her mother's name, but I know her mother's father's name. How should I include this?

@FamilyHistoryFanatics

2 жыл бұрын

That's a unique question. If you're in a culture where the wife inherits the surname of the father, then the wife's given name will be blank and the surname would be Kovats. Now, the problem I see is you don't know which parent the grandfather is the parent of. Johannes could be Petrus's father or it could be Petrus's wife's father. If the second, then repeat the instruction for the wife that I just mentioned.

How do you open a microfilm on familysearch?

@FamilyHistoryFanatics

4 жыл бұрын

You can't open a microfilm on FamilySearch, but you can view some digitized copies of microfilms.You have to sign in to FamilySearch and then navigate to the Card Catalog. If you see a CAMERA icon beside any film, you can view those online. Sometimes the films are viewable through a searchable form. Sometimes, you can browse through them similar to the microfilm scrolling.

But how will Phil find his great- grandmother 's family??

@FamilyHistoryFanatics

4 жыл бұрын

Good point!

@chrisferraiolo1935

4 жыл бұрын

@@FamilyHistoryFanatics He'll just have to suffer. =P

@robertmichael3860

2 жыл бұрын

Hi Patricia You got a cute name. Lol

I'll put Unknown as first name but add their last name until I find out what it is. The reason being that many of my ancestors names weren't on their birth record, just their gender and parents, or sometimes just their mother if she was unmarried. I wont put unknown as the ONLY name, I also don't add children who died in infancy before getting a name.

@FamilyHistoryFanatics

3 жыл бұрын

The standard practice, as I have been taught, is to leave the field blank for unknown names (such as you explained). Many people use infant, child, daughter, etc. This is still not genealogy standards, even though I understand the desire to do it.

the "unknown" wife is totally replaced once you merge her with the "mother" that has details attached (using the duplicate function). then it is not a problem anymore. What are your thoughts???

@susandougherty9673

4 жыл бұрын

This is probably the easiest way of getting rid of 'unknown'!

@FamilyHistoryFanatics

2 жыл бұрын

If you find that there is a wife in the family tree, yes, UNK can be merged into the profile with more information.

Just merge the unknown account with the actual mother? Good to know how to do it the right way though!

@FamilyHistoryFanatics

2 жыл бұрын

You're welcome.

Yes, PLEEEAASE!!!!!

@FamilyHistoryFanatics

4 жыл бұрын

Glad you agree. Share the video so others can benefit.

But how do I add siblings to a person without knowing the parents?

@ennasus5964

4 жыл бұрын

Oh, I just saw that you answered this already.

@FamilyHistoryFanatics

4 жыл бұрын

Glad you saw the how to

Family Search is really frustrating to use when creating a family tree.

@FamilyHistoryFanatics

2 жыл бұрын

Sorry to hear that. I find it very quick when I connect to my deceased ancestors. Then I'm collaborating with my other family members. Some do better research than others, but that's the nature of working on the tree together.

If you have facts about a parent but don't know their name, nothing wrong with calling them unknown. E.g. in the video, the unknown profile had a known birth place. That's worth recording.

@FamilyHistoryFanatics

3 жыл бұрын

Not exactly. Add the facts as a note for the child where the facts were found. Until you have a name for an ancestor, you're really still working in unsubstantiated realms.

@ElDubsNZ

3 жыл бұрын

@@FamilyHistoryFanatics You could add the facts as a note for the child, however I think adding it to the unnamed person's file is preferable, because that is where that fact will ultimately end up. I wouldn't agree that facts attached to an unnamed person must be unsubstantiated. Hospital records showing the birth of a child before the child has been named, but no record of a naming ceremony would be an example.

@FamilyHistoryFanatics

2 жыл бұрын

John... feel free to disagree. I respectfully disagree with you so we're even.

@FamilyHistoryFanatics

2 жыл бұрын

Lance... The unknown with a birth place often is a guess at best until it's validated with proof. Even if you have one record of where a relative is from, you should still just create a series of notes rather than have a profile for one detail. It's visual clutter on the collaborative family tree. If you wanted to do this in your genealogy program or the Ancestry member trees, go for it.

@ElDubsNZ

2 жыл бұрын

@@FamilyHistoryFanatics I believe sourcing is a separate issue. If you have confidence in your sources yet no name for someone, then it is far more valuable to add the information to the unknown person that it belongs to. I don't think correct information in the right place is clutter. Leaving the information in notes attached to someone else makes that information harder to see in a tree and is less useful. Theories belong in notes. Correct information should be placed where it belongs. And that includes shared trees.

Why is it hard to delete people?

@FamilyHistoryFanatics

2 жыл бұрын

Because FamilySearch doesn't want people to disappear entirely just in case there are mistakes that need to be restored.

This is so annoying. Great vid.

@FamilyHistoryFanatics

3 жыл бұрын

Thank you

Why don't you just merge the unknown person with the actual mother?

@FamilyHistoryFanatics

3 жыл бұрын

Not everyone has been able to identify the actual mother.

Im not hearing caleb at all. Volume turned up quite high. Edit, now hearing him!!

@FamilyHistoryFanatics

4 жыл бұрын

Sorry you struggled. We thought the volume was at an average volume for most users. We'll try to work on it for you. Devon struggles with hearing so we try to be mindful of it. Have you used the Closed Captioning feature? That helps when the sound gets crazy.

@godisloveireland

4 жыл бұрын

@@FamilyHistoryFanatics i get notifications from google on my phone, so i clicked on it. When i used the email notification, it worked fine

Or just merge "unknown" with the correct spouse, and any children will automatically be moved over.

@FamilyHistoryFanatics

3 жыл бұрын

That is one strategy, but it would be great if folks don't put the unknown parent in the tree with their name as unknown.

I would rather see unknown 3rd wife then what you just by merging her with a different spouse.

@FamilyHistoryFanatics

4 жыл бұрын

We would never suggest merging her with a different spouse. Merging is for the same person. The way to include an unknown 3rd wife is to find piece of information about her (an approximate date, place, or name). Use that rather than "Unknown". You could use the title Mrs. to indicate marriage and use the married name in the surname field until you find out more about her.

@PauloOliveira-ug5ud

4 жыл бұрын

Totally different thing. The point here is that if you don't know anything about a person, just don't create a record. Thanks to this lazyness, in my personal records I have hundreds of homonimous "Unknown" or simple "Wife of". It's just littering the records.

@brendapone7475

4 жыл бұрын

@@PauloOliveira-ug5ud then how would you connect the child to it's father and make known that there was a mother from an outside relationship or marriage so others don't merge with a known spouse. Especially when relationships overlap.

@FamilyHistoryFanatics

2 жыл бұрын

*PAULO* ... We don't recommend adding a relative if you don't know anything about them more than they had to have existed. Instead, we add notes to the profile of the individuals to signal that more research is required. *Brenda* -- If you want to connect a child to a mother from an outside relationship what do you do? Find out something about that person. If you have a surname for a parent, use that, and then don't add the other parent if you lack a name. Just add notes on the child and the parent with some identifying names of the relationship.

Yeah never do that. 😠 Don't put a name at all if you don't know the name!

@FamilyHistoryFanatics

3 жыл бұрын

Agreed

The Americans do strange genealogy research ... best regards from Germany

@FamilyHistoryFanatics

4 жыл бұрын

I don't think it's just Americans. But thanks for the kind regards. We have German ancestry in Baden and Hanover.

@MrWhite-rp6wd

4 жыл бұрын

@@FamilyHistoryFanatics . Yes, that's right. I come from Thuringia in Germany.

Or a tip that voids the entire video useless - just use ancestry

@FamilyHistoryFanatics

4 жыл бұрын

So you think using UNK or MNU is useful because you can do it on Ancestry? Or You think Ancestry is better than FamilYSearch?

@debbiew.7716

3 жыл бұрын

In my opinion there are so many mistakes on ancestry, I can't rely on them. I do like them for documents, but the trees? But the trees? No Way.

@FamilyHistoryFanatics

2 жыл бұрын

There are a lot of mistakes on trees no where they reside online. Collaboration is how we can clean these up BUT it requires people working together and consulting records. Those records also need to be shared.

It looks like you have extra features because you're in the Mormon cult. Are we missing out on anything good, or is it just about who they have prayed for?

@FamilyHistoryFanatics

4 жыл бұрын

The only features you're missing out on is the 'who they prayed for' part.

@susandougherty9673

4 жыл бұрын

@@FamilyHistoryFanatics I am not Mormon, and this made me say What?. I am sorry you have to put up with that rudeness.

@FamilyHistoryFanatics

2 жыл бұрын

Susan... I've dealt with cult comments for decades (this is Caleb's Mom). It doesn't bother me. Rubber/glue kind of thing. Thanks for your comment of support. That means more than the negative comments.