Why are there no hints showing?
My sister and I were adopted by different parents when we were little. This question is about her adopted line.
I was helping my sister this morning and went to the page that shows unattached hints. It said there were no hints. Which is pretty much impossible. So we went into an ancestor's page at random. We found all sorts of hints that had not been attached. Why would it say that there are none?
Answers
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Thanks for your question. In order to help, could you please provide some details on the person for whom you are seeking hints?
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Her name is Becky Jo Munson. Her birth date is May 5, 1952. Her helper number is (removed for privacy). When she goes to the page that shows possible hints, the only ones that show are the one's already attached. There is no bar to click on to show only the ones who have hints that are not attached. This is what we see:
But when we go into one of these records, we eventually find all sorts of hints that have not been attached. She and I were adopted and raised by different parents. Like me, she has two tree lines to follow, her adopted line and her birth line. There should be a ton of unattached records.
Bill Cuff
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I'm not exactly sure where your screen shot is from, but it looks to be from one of the various campaign pages such as "Your ancestors were in the military." Of often these take only a few family that fall in the category and does not check as to whether the source is attached or not before presenting them to you. These pages are not really for finding unattached hints. They are for showing you information about your family that you may not have known since someone else may have attached the hints.
One of the better places to find unattached hints for direct ancestors is the fan chart when it is set to Research Helps:
For branches of the family, go back four or five generations the use the Descendancy view open to four generations and set to show hints:
You will find plenty to keep you busy evaluating hints, attaching correct ones, and dismissing wrong ones. (Remember, hints are only hints and a small percentage of them will have nothing to do with the person they are displayed on.)
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Thanks for the advice. The problem with the Research Helps is that it only shows your direct line, I have used FamilySearch from its inception and have helped other people add ancestors to their tree. I have also used your second option with the descendancy view. I find it a little tedious. I will explain why further on.
I have been involved in Family History for a number of years and have served as both Consultant and Leader in various Wards, as well as Consultant at the Stake level, and even Director of the Stake FHC.
When I help someone with their tree, I always want to find an ancestor to add to their tree. Many of these people who I help have been in the Church since birth and think that 'it all has been done'. No matter how 'picked over' a tree appears, I have almost always been able to add an ancestor to a tree.
My screenshot is indeed from the Family History Activities page. When I click on the Record Hints button I always deselect the button so as to not include records that are already attached. It usually allows me to scroll through a dozen or more ancestors. This is where I do a little digging to find a spouse or children that are missing from the tree. The benefit of this over the descendancy view is that these unattached records are so easy to find. The descendancy view is nice, but I don't know which line to follow for the most reward. Some lines may not show any hints. That is why I called this a little tedious.
That is why I love the Records Hints feature in Family History Activities. It is all right in front of me. I don't have to dig through different lines. I was just puzzled as to why the hints dried up for my sister, as I had previously gone there to find the hints.
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