Merged beyond recognition

retgijane

These three (or more) individuals have been merged and linked to one another so extensively that it is far beyond my capabilities to unscramble. I may have done more damage than good, but I tried.

I'm not sure I can adequately explain what all is wrong here. I restored one person, only to find that he, too, was a separate individual from both my intended target and the unrecognizable profile currently 'active'.

My primary target was (excuse the disjointedness, I can't seem to find the actual census records I was initially using):

William David Fitzgerald, White, b. 1877-ish in either Carroll or Wythe County. Married Mary Padget, later married Phoebe Combs. Lived in Pulaski County, Virginia for most of his life. ((Mary Padget's FS ID L1TP-QK3))

What I got was:

--Original, too many merged into one:

FS ID KL4V-LNT William David Fitzgerald, White, b. 1877-ish in Ireland. He may have lived in Virginia at some point, but most of the births/marriages/etc., were in Mass. Wife was Mary Hurley.

Restored:

FS ID LKCS-WXV Willie Fitzgerald, Black, b. 1877, Nottaway County, Virginia. His father was Washington Fitzgerald, mother Helen. Washington Fitzgerald was confused with -FS ID LT2S-2QC George Washinton Fitzgerald, White, b. 1848-ish, in Pittsylvania County, Virginia, I think. **I did get the Black children of Washington and Helen separated, but now I can't see who George Washington Fitzgerald's children really were.

Probably one more distinct person mingled in there. Let's see; Pulaski, Nottaway, Pittsylvania, and Ireland/Massachusetts, I think that covers it.

Sanra

@retgijane

What a mix up. It looks like you have been making progress on untangling the records. Some of the Record Hints may be useful. Have you been using the following article from the Help Center? If not it may be of help.

You can find it tedious to correct inaccurate records. FamilySearch includes a process to unmerge or restore a person in Family Tree. This enables you to fix incorrectly or inadvertently merged records. 

For detailed steps on how to perform this and the following suggestions, see the articles linked at the bottom.

Here are some tips for resolving records that contain information about multiple people.

Clues to bad merges in Tree

• The Other Information section of the Details page for a person contains many alternate names, some of which are completely different from the actual name of the person.
• The Family Members section contains spouses, children, and parents that do not belong to that person. 
• Latest Changes show that someone deleted alternate names.
• Look for discussions for the ancestor.

The sources or memories seem to be about different people with the same or similar names.

Fixing the records

1. Identify all pertinent facts to understand the scope of the problem.
   • Research and gather as much information as possible for each person.
   • Identify what information belongs to the person represented in your family tree and what you should move to another record. It is better to do the research and not guess. Your research gives you sources to add to validate the changes.
   • Verify the vital information for each person.
   • Search to see if another record already exists for one of the incorrectly merged people. Do not create a duplicate record, if possible.
   • Add sources and reason statements to help other contributors reach correct conclusions. Select standardized dates and places. 
   • Carefully review all attached sources, and be sure they are attached to the proper record after you unmerge 2 records.
   • Keep careful notes to help prevent confusion as you research the incorrectly merged people. 
2. Create a new, unconnected person whose record contains all of the right information.
   • Create one new record for each person whose information is mixed up within the record of the ancestor in order to separate the lines. Keep track of the IDs so you can easily move between records as you work. 
   • Move the appropriate information to the correct person's record.
   • Move the appropriate sources and memories to the correct person's record.
   • Make sure each record has the correct relationships to spouses, children, and parents. 
3. Delete any incorrect relationships.

Related articles

How do I add an unconnected person to Family Tree?

My ancestor in Family Tree is connected to the same parent twice

How do I undo a merge in Family Tree?

How do I use the discussions feature in Family Tree?

We found a marriage record on Ancestry that might be helpful. At least the name is similar.

https://www.ancestry.com/imageviewer/collections/9279/images/43067_162028006071_0692-00064?treeid=&personid=&hintid=&queryId=d369ae5e32c4446937a10f2cbfab8965&usePUB=true&_phsrc=Sdm6&_phstart=successSource&usePUBJs=true&_ga=2.231976095.1401017263.1643409458-565403660.1640823011&pId=116339451

or this one:

https://www.ancestry.com/imageviewer/collections/9279/images/43067_162028006071_0692-00064?treeid=&personid=&hintid=&queryId=d369ae5e32c4446937a10f2cbfab8965&usePUB=true&_phsrc=Sdm6&_phstart=successSource&usePUBJs=true&_ga=2.231976095.1401017263.1643409458-565403660.1640823011&pId=116339451

You say " I can't see who George Washington Fitzgerald's children really were." Are you sure he was married and had children? Does the above information match what you are looking for?

We appreciate your efforts. Let us know if you have specific concerns about some of those issues.