Why is Family Search creating so many duplicates?

maretcurtisdavid1 · January 19, 2022

I am swamped with duplicates lately, all of which are being entered by Family Search. In a family with 5 children they are entering the names 5 separate times. 10 children? ten times. It is loading on the work when this is absolutely unnecessary. If I can find the families to attach the children to why can't those doing the work in salt Lake do the same thing?

Brett . · January 19, 2022

@maretcurtisdavid1

FYI

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

Just in passing ...

'No', you are NOT being "Swamped", with "Duplicates", that have been "Created", by 'FamilySearch'.

In fact, MANY, of the existing "Duplicates", can across, from the predecessor, to "Family Tree", that being, "New.FamilySearch".

And, MANY of those "Duplicates", were "Created" by us, Users/Patrons, just like you or I - NOT 'FamilySearch'.

Granted, some were "Created" by the "System" (ie. 'FamilySearch'), by the OLD, now defunct, "Records Extraction" Programme; but, that said, that no longer occurs; and, has not done so for many Years.

I would (simply) humbly suggest, that we are now, happening to 'see' (ie. are being "Presented" with), MORE of the "Duplicates"; as, MORE and More Users/Patrons; are, using "Family Tree", of 'FamilySearch'; and, as well as, the improvements, with "Record Matching", by 'FamilySearch'.

As time marches on, we are MORE likely to 'see' (ie. are being "Presented" with); even, MORE of the "Duplicates", that exist in "Family Tree", of 'FamilySearch' - which is a GOOD thing; as, we WILL be able to "Merge"/"Combine" them.

So ...

That Said ...

In short ...

I 'see' the matter as a POSITIVE, rather than a negative.

[ Just more work for us ... ]

Just my thoughts.

I know, that this certainly does not help/assist; but, I hope, that this may provide you with, some additional, insight; and, perspective.

Brett

Julia Szent-Györgyi · January 19, 2022

What you're describing are the extraction-program-based legacy profile groups that the Family Tree was initially seeded with, a decade ago this spring. That you're only just now coming upon them is only indicative of a change in your focus and activities, not of any current or even recent activity on FamilySearch's part.

In the preceding system where these profile groups were created (not by FamilySearch, but by LDS users of FS), there was no means available for merging or combining profiles, and the emphasis was on vital events (mostly baptisms/christenings). Basically, for each event in an index that was made part of the program, a set of profiles was created for each of the main participants: child and parents for a christening, couple and parents for a marriage. If a set of parents had ten children's christenings in the extraction program, then they were entered in the system ten times each. (In my experience, it is predominantly the female children that were entered this way, but in areas of the world where more LDS have ancestors, such as England, there is a lot less gender disparity. There is doubtless some tenet of their religion that explains this.)

When the current Family Tree began, all of these profile sets were imported, stripped of their contributor information and credited to "FamilySearch", with a creation date in spring or summer of 2012. In some areas, the originating index entry was attached by an automated process, while in other areas, the index entry is found by the hinting system, but is not attached until a user does so.

You're correct that combining these families properly is a lot of tedious work, but there is nobody "in Salt Lake doing the work", neither right now nor in the past.

(All the same, I am often grateful that most of my ancestors are unindexed Lutherans in Hungary -- yes, it means a lot of tedious paging through register images, but I'd rather do that than merge after merge after merge.)