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How Can an "Unknown" Person with no ID Be Removed?

WilliamThomas0
WilliamThomas0 ✭
October 13, 2021 edited January 27, 2022 in Family Tree

I am attaching a screenshot of a profile (ID GZ8P-C18) which is a placeholder for an unknown biological parent, but which has an additional "Unknown" with no ID attached to it (shown at bottom of the image with red border). This second "Unknown cannot be deleted. Is there any way to remove this second profile that does not represent an actual person?

Thank you,

William Thomas

Unknown at Elizabeth Cecil.jpg


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Best Answers

  • CDBurk
    CDBurk ✭✭✭
    October 14, 2021 edited October 14, 2021 Answer ✓

    @WilliamThomas0

    Thanks so much for the detailed explanation about your concern. Again, the second "unknown" is the result of an incomplete family relationship between just the mother and daughter. Simply deleted the unneeded incomplete relationship will get rid of the "unknown" parent.

    If it is confusing doing this from Elizabeth's page, please look at Margaret's page and you will see that the problem is the incomplete relationship that appears on the right-side of her Family Members section. It is a simple process to just click the Edit pencil in the incomplete relationship and remove the entire relationship by working from the Child box to remove both of these parents. Don't worry about removing Elizabeth in the relationship since a complete relationship with both parents already is there.

    From child's page.JPG
    Child.JPG

    Please give this a try!

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  • WilliamThomas0
    WilliamThomas0 ✭
    October 14, 2021 Answer ✓

    @CDBurk Thank you! That fixed the issue. I will remember this solution if anything similar occurs again.

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Answers

  • Brett .
    Brett . ✭✭✭✭✭
    October 13, 2021

    @WilliamThomas0

    William

    I am just another 'lowly' User/Patron ...

    Short Answer: Best advice, just "Delete", UNKNOWN ( GZ8P-C18 ), from "Family Tree", of 'FamilySearch'.

    Again, "Delete", the individual/person UNKNOWN ( GZ8P-C18 ), from "Family Tree", of 'FamilySearch'.

    That would address/fix the problem/issue altogether.

    There is just NO need, for such a "Place Holder", of an individual/person who "Details" are NOT known.

    Best, to leave, the position, of such an individual/person; as, "Blank" (ie, "Vacant").

    Just my thoughts.

    Brett

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  • CDBurk
    CDBurk ✭✭✭
    October 13, 2021 edited October 13, 2021

    Hi @WilliamThomas0

    From the screen show you provided we believe you are using the mobile Family Tree app.

    You may want to go to the web-based program where you can verify that in the Family Members section on Elizabeth's detail page, an incomplete relationship has linked Elizabeth with a child which does not show the father. You will see "Unknown" for the father of Elizabeth Ann Sicel GW23-447.

    There is also a relationship with just Elizabeth and Margaret Rose Kear KD3M-4HQ which shows "Add Spouse" instead of a father's name. [Because there is already also a complete parent-child relationship for Margaret that includes both parents, the system will not allow you to link the father into the incomplete relationship.]

    When there is an incomplete family relationship, it is best to use the ID number of the child to add that child to a complete family relationship if a complete couple relationship links the mother and the father.

    To correct the problems with the incomplete relationships from the Elizabeth's page in the web-based program, click the Edit pencil for the child and delete the incomplete relationship. Before you remove Elizabeth Ann from the incomplete relationship with the mother, be sure you use her ID number, GW23-447, to add her to the complete set of parents by using the Add Child option under Margaret. We believe the following screen shot will help you remove the unneeded parent-child relationships using the web-based program which can be accessed through a browser on your mobile device.

    Correct relationships.JPG

    In the mobile app, if you click the arrow to the right of the Unknown parent, you will see the child that needs to be removed from the incomplete relationship. There is an editing pencil so that you can remove the incomplete relationships through the mobile app if you would prefer.

    We wish you success with deleting the incomplete relationships. To review how to correct parent-child relationships, please also review the following knowledge article which is available in the FamilySearch Help Center. Embedded links at the bottom of the article will also help you with other questions about relationships in Family Tree.

    https://www.familysearch.org/help/helpcenter/article/how-do-i-correct-parent-child-relationships-in-family-tree

    Best wishes with your continued family history efforts.

    1
  • MNuttall
    MNuttall ✭✭✭
    October 13, 2021

    Hello @WilliamThomas0

    Since the delete person option is unavailable for Unknown GZ80-C18, the best thing to do in my opinion would be to unlink the record from the spouse, Elizabeth Cecil. For your reference, if needed, here is a link to the knowledge article that explains how to remove a wrong spouse:

    https://www.familysearch.org/help/helpcenter/article/a-person-in-family-tree-has-the-wrong-spouse

    The next thing you will need to do to have a "clean" record for Elizabeth is to remove the duplicate parent-child relationship between Elizabeth and her child, Margaret Rose Kear KD3M-4HQ. Again, for your reference, if needed, here is a link to the article that explains how to correct parent-child relationships:

    https://www.familysearch.org/help/helpcenter/article/how-do-i-correct-parent-child-relationships-in-family-tree

    Finally, I noticed that Elizabeth Cecil has two sets of parents. You will need to determine which set of parents are correct and/or merge what may be a duplicate father and/or mother.

    Hoping this helps.

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  • Brett .
    Brett . ✭✭✭✭✭
    October 13, 2021

    @MNuttall

    FYI

    Just so that you are aware ...

    'William', "Created"; and, is the ONLY "Contributor", for the individual/person UNKNOWN ( GZ8P-C18 ).

    As such ...

    The "Delete Person" WILL be available to him.

    Brett

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  • WilliamThomas0
    WilliamThomas0 ✭
    October 13, 2021

    To all who responded:

    Thanks for your suggestions. I am using the web-based program only. The first (top) "Unknown" spouse with an ID is a truly unknown father of her daughter Elizabeth Ann Cecil, who is also my gr-grandmother, so I am leaving that individual in place for use with descendancy research. Elizabeth Cecil later married John Kear with whom she had a daughter, Margaret Rose Kear.

    At the time Elizabeth Cecil gave birth to Elizabeth Ann, she was working as a domestic in a home that had several young males living in it (the family was of a higher economic class than she) and it is entirely possible that one of them fathered her daughter. Today, if anyone descended from that household has had DNA tested, it is possible to figure out who the likely father is.

    I was just trying to clean up this part of the tree and eliminate the second "Unknown". Where that one came from I have no idea. Since it has no ID it is not manageable in the usual manner, such as delete, remove or replace. I am of the opinion it will have to be done by an administrator at Family Search. In the broader scheme of things, however, it is relatively unimportant and can remain there if it is not worth the time and effort to clean it up.

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