Why sudden frequency of still living individuals being added as deceased?
Within the last couple of weeks I have seen two of my uncles and my father, all still living, added to Family Tree as deceased by two different users. The reason statement for why they are deceased is given as "dob." These individuals were born in the 1920s and 1930s. Maybe it is just coincidence. Has anyone else run into this? Could there be something conveying incorrect information about when someone can be assumed dead based on their date of birth? (or maybe both got mixed up with their calculations).
I have already submitted the request for the status to be changed. One incidence I can understand, but for a second one to occur so soon again, by a different user, makes me wonder if this is more than a one-time occurrence.
Best Answer
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Ron Tanner mentioned in a recent presentation that FamilySearch is seeing a problem with new, inexperienced users assuming everyone listed in the 1940 census is dead because that sounds so long ago.
Do message the users who enter these people just as soon as you notice it. If the people marked as living have not been edited by anyone else, the user who created them can very simply just change them to living without any fuss. Do not make any edits yourself on the record first, because then only support can fix it and that takes longer and more documentation.
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You raised the question just as I was thinking of doing so!
Yes, possibly coincidence, but lately there has been one-after-the-other reports of this issue. It will be interesting to hear other users' opinions as to "why" these cluster of reports over the last few weeks, but it seems strange the issue has not often been raised in the past.
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There is a phenomenon in Ancestry that may be related to this. My only two remaining elderly aunts had their birth certificates released as if they were deceased. I contacted Ancestry to let them know it happened, and I got the response that these things are always checked, and if a problem is found, only the individuals themselves can request the document be recalled. No one can do it for them. Sigh. Not possible with dementia and/or no computer skills. I notified both of their caretakers that this happened and they were shocked.
I guess my point is, there may be a new, flawed, logic in use by a database software used by multiple genealogy companies and it is manifesting itself one way in FamilySearch and another in Ancestry.
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@Gina Palmer & @Paul W & @Gail S Watson
Gina & Paul & Gail
Just in passing ...
I really wonder if the situation is really 'New' ...
I would humbly suggest, that such runs in 'fits and starts' ...
But ...
That Said ...
Certainly, increasing in frequency ...
And, of course, the frequency for such (ie. "Requests" for "Deceased" to "Living"), would have increased, due, in part, to the "Discovery Pages"; and, so MANY, New; and, Inexperienced, User/Patrons, recently, joining; and, working in, "Family Tree", of 'FamilySearch'.
As an aside ...
Plus ...
Of course ...
Prior to the EARLIER part of this Year, with the 'Demise', of the 'FamilySearch' "Support" Case System; and, the INCLUSION of 'FamilySearch' "Support", into this "Community,FamilySearch" Forum, such matters (ie. "Requests" for "Deceased" to "Living"), would have been handled, through 'FamilySearch' "Support" Cases.
Hence ...
Prior to the EARLIER part of this Year, the general populous (ie. us), would NOT have, 'seen'; nor, 'heard' about, the (amount of) "Requests", for "Deceased" to "Living".
So, that said, 'Yes', overall, NOW, the frequency IS increasing ...
Just my thoughts.
Brett
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That Ancestry reply sounds like utter nonsense and illegal as all get out: they'll only enforce privacy rules for subscribers who personally contact the company? That's what it comes down to, because only subscribers can see most of their records.
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@Julia Szent-Györgyi I agreed it was utter nonsense. But I do not want to pursue because both legal guardians of my 2 aunts (who are both in nursing homes) have said they don't want me to. If I pressed Ancestry and had to answer whether I was legally acting on behalf of my aunts, the answer would be no. And, you are right, only subscribers can see. I noted that this set of birth certificates is NOT available in FamilySearch. AND related to something @Gordon Collett said, the collection has a date range of 1907-1940.
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Another cause of these errors is faulty machine indexing of obituaries that marks living persons as deceased. Many obituaries are indexed outside of FamilySearch but some are in-house. Example: Machine indexing of obituaries marks living persons deceased
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Another place people are deciding about deceased individuals, is from the grave marker photos. They show the two spouses, but only one has a death date, but many people do not look that close. I have found several from the Genealogical Bank obituaries records.
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@Sanra Interesting. That wasn't the case for my three incidences as all three spouses are still alive, though the obituary of another family member (parent?) may have been invloved in adding individuals, as well as the 1940 census for one of them.
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Yes, I have seen a lot of Find A Grave memorials for persons who are living, and the attached grave stone photos clearly show that.
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