Am I allowed to change people / info on my family tree if the info was entered by another person?
Am I allowed to change people/info on my family tree if the info was entered by another person?
Answers
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Hi Sherry,
The tree is available to all who would like to add to its branches. When we add details, we try to make sure that everything we add has been checked and substantiated, entering source details to validate the entry.
Sometimes, others add details to the tree which conflicts with our own findings, but by looking at their sources or reasons for change, we can form a better opinion about why the data has been entered. If you find data that conflicts with what you have found and substantiated, you are welcome to make the necessary changes by using the 'edit' function ( the pen and paper icon by the details).
If you make such changes, be sure to add as much supporting information as you can to validate what you have done.
FamilySearch keeps all opinions that are entered, so nothing will be lost.
I have added a Knowledge Article relating to editing a marriage, but the principles are the same for any editable data. Click on the URL or copy and paste it into your browser. There are also some related articles at the very bottom of the link which you may find useful.
Kind regards,
Barry
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This is a great video to watch in relation to the collaborative nature of FamilySearch
WHY USE FAMILYSEARCH FAMILYTREE
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SherryQuimby - Sometimes the names, dates, and locations entered are verifiably wrong, but at other times it can be murky if the discrepancies come from verifiable sources. Deleting one fact in favor of another may be the wrongful act. If variable facts exist, I suggest entering both into a person's record. One can occupy the Vitals section, perhaps the one with a slightly stronger claim, while the other/s can be added down below in the Other Information section.
- Choose "Custom Fact" or "Custom Event" to add data from other sources. Name the window something like "Alternate birth date", "Alternate birthplace", and the like.
- In "Description of Custom Event" or "Description of the Custom Fact", state the additional data and your sources. This function is very stretchy; you can type a thorough explanation and give sources without running out of characters. The whole thing will then be visible from the main page instead of tucked away out of sight in the Collaborate or Memories sections.
- In this example, my grandmother Wilhelmine's birth name is a tangle of more than 20 distinctive options, all entered into official records - her marriage record, the birth record of each of her 14 children, death certificates, marriage documents of each child who married, and their Social Security applications. I entered a number of them as "Alternate names" and added a thorough explanation as a "Custom Fact". https://www.familysearch.org/tree/person/details/L8TY-BYP
- Likewise, I swear that these immigrant relatives of mine suffered from short-term memory deficients. None of them seemed to have a firm notion of their own birth dates and gave alternate dates at various times in their lives, Wilhelmine included. I created a "Custom Event' for her to add yet another birthdate to her record.
I believe that if you add these variations into the Additional Information section instead of deleting them outright, it will cut down on edit-warring in the Vitals section. And keeping the data discrepancies intact may be very useful in the future.
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My very beautiful, elegant suggestion with salient examples has vanished. I do not know why. What happened? (I am too sleepy to start over now.)
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SherryQuimby,
Short answer: yes, that is how this Family Tree works; we work our ancestors and yet we can also help others on theirs. I've had many people who shared or fixed people I'm related to and am thankful for their efforts.
RoseyGlow,
Thoughtful tips. Thanks for sharing how to handle disparate information often found on our ancestors AND the impact that type of info. has in a shared tree.
ps. system was having issues on posts/comments/suggestions at least as of yesterday. while you had a sleep related encounter, my experience was "pre coffee"; a final version made it after waiting several hours for programmers to get kinks worked out, but...later, the final version comment was replaced with the not so well thought out first draft. I know I contributed, .... as I kept trying to "submit" without considering system wide problems. Next time maybe a sip or two of morning jo before repeatedly clicking buttons....smile, sigh.
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