Regarding the content of the Life Summary Page
Greetings,
The Life Summary for my ancestor Linnett "Lincy" Newsom definitely does not read accurately for someone who was born a slave. Is there a way for me to edit that entire block of information so that it reads accurately as it pertains to how she came to Texas by slave ships per the 3 manifests attached to her profile from Georgia? Let me know and thank you for your assistance with this information regarding my ancestor.
Regards,
claimingkin
Best Answer
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First, thank you for letting me know you're not responding as a FamilySearch representative. This is my first time posting here, so I thought this was the forum to reach a FamilySearch representative. I apologize for that error. Second, thank you also for pointing me in the right direction by providing a linkto post my question!
You wrote, "To me it is a little unclear in the Texas Census - 1860 Slave Schedule attached to the profile - if those listed are owner (i.e Joeday)?" You're correct that document alone would not confirm Joeday's ownership of those slaves on that 1860 schedule.
Fortunately, there are county histories about the Newsoms in Texas, particularly Joeday, that has helped to confirm that 1860 slave schedule. I also was fortunate to locate a Newsom deed in a special collection at one of the universities in Georgia that divided members of Linnett's family to into 2 lots that were given to Joeday's sisters upon his father's death in 1838. Three specific slaves named in one of the 2 lots ended up here in Texas living in the exact same community Linnett lived after emancipation per the 1870 Census & the 1867 - 1869 Texas Voters Registration.
So again THANK YOU and I will follow all your suggestions.
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Answers
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What I do is to add my corrections separately at the top and start out using either “NOTE:” or “EDIT:” as the first word and then state the change or correction I feel is necessary. I always add my name or initials.
I prefer to keep other people’s work intact so that it’s clear there are two opinions OR that a new source has proven something to be incorrect that was previously assumed.
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Short answer: No the Summary is not editable - excepting maybe the possibilities included below...
Longer answer: You are probably referring to the New Person Page> About> Life Summary for your ancestor Linnett. That summary feature pulls from the information on the Details> Vitals, Events and Family sections (at least). It currently contains no method of editing - excepting changing of those Vitals, Events and Family. The last I knew - when those sections change it take a while before those changes reflect in the Summary. I do not know in particular what fields are pulled from and which are not, to create that summary, but it is very generic and seems to include:
[Person of focus] was born [date] in [place], his/her [parents] were [ages of parents].
[Person of focus] married [person] on [date] in {place].
[Enumerate children if any]
[Event(s) with dates][Residence(s) with dates][Occupations]
[Date of death, age and place buried]
Obviously it is not pulling from the level of detail you wish - the immigrant ship manifests/titles, etc. - and I don't think FamilySearch will change the level of detail or make this feature directly editable (you can edit the Details but not the Life Summary box itself). I think FamilySearch wanted this feature to pull from the Details and cobble together this generic summary. I think this is because of misuse of the Life Sketch feature on the Old Person Pages - they want a Summary - but a summary reflecting the generic facts from Details - not a more personable opinion/perspective written by descendant(s) - which is still available but more hidden.
Possibilities to test edit Life Summary: I suppose to test this theory of pulling from occupations/other relationships - you could enter Linnett's Occupation or a Custom Event as - slave - and see if that posts the information to the Summary as you wish (give updates about a month or two). You enter Occupations or Custom Events under Details> Other Information> Events section. I seem to vaguely recall Custom Events are not pulled into Life Summary.
You could also test whether the Details> Other Relationships> Add Other Relationship> Slavery would add that into the Life Summary:
However this Other Relationship requires you Add another person to which the focus person had this relationship - if you do not have that detail then I suppose you cannot add that relationship.
Suggestion: You can add a Story under the About> Photos and Memories: Write a story link - reflecting the Life Summary you would wish were in that section and name it something like Life Summary of Linnett 'Lincy' Newsome by a descendant. Stories and Memories will not remove the FamilySearch generated Life Summary - but at least it allows another place to store that perspective. Otherwise on the Details> Life Sketch (currently found at the bottom of the Details page) - you can enter the information you wish there and include your name/initials as Gail Swihart Watson suggests above.
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Yes yes yes! I was mixing it up with Life Sketch. So sorry!!!
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Ms. Watson, THANK YOU SO MUCH for your response! I appreciate you!
What do you mean, "you add your corrections at the top. . ."? I ask that question because the section I need/want to edit does not have an edit feature that I can click and add what you suggest to the top of the section I am asking to change. But, maybe, I'm not looking at the right location either. So if you are adding information are you doing that in another section of the ancestor's profile page?
Also, I'm noticing that FamilySearch is categorizing all ship manifests or ship records as - Immigration Records. That's not accurate with regards to my ancestor's travel from the Port of New Orleans, LA to the Port of Galveston, TX. She did not travel willfully on her own as a passenger on a ship like other immigrants to and from this country. She was a slave. Her slave owner, Joeday Newsom, a wealthy planter from Georgia, was her shipper. The 3 slave manifest records I've attached to her profile make it clear she was not an immigrant and these are not Immigration records. So it's not that I want to change anyone's work here at FamilySearch. I just want the changes I'm requesting to be accurate and true to what the documents are and the purpose those documents exist in life of my ancestor. If this Life Summary section cannot be edited, then is there a way to hide or turn it off if it's not going to be accurate with regards to her life? If that is possible please let me know.
So again thank you and I look forward to any assistance you can provide with me accurately telling my ancestor's history here at FamilySearch.org.
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Claiming Kin Please note that you cannot edit Life Summary. genthusiast gave plenty of information on this as I mixed up Life Sketch with Life Summary.
The information you have is very important and should be made visible. I would add it in the Notes, the Life Sketch, and also in the comments associated with the sources you added with the ship manifest document. Please take time to read genthusiast's post as there is good information there and other places you can bring all of this to people's attention, such as using Other Relationship in the New Person View to add a slavery relationship.
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Ms. Watson,
Thank you for follow up and will read genthusiast's post again as you've suggested!
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THANK YOUfor your response and confirming that the new Life Summary for my ancestor, Linnett, cannot be changed in any way.
In light of that fact, is it possible to hide or turn that feature off? I rather not have a narrative if it cannot be accurate.
You are correct -- the information this summary narrative is drawing from comes from documents and records that have been attached to her profile. Currently, the narrative is saying my ancestor immigrated from one place to another because the ship records attached to her profile are categorized as Immigration Records in FamilySesrch's system. Slave manifests are not Immigration records and if they are treated as such, then there needs to be subcategories for the various immigration records in your system. However, if there's not a way to accurately state how my ancestor was "brought" to Texas, then I hope there are provisions to hide or turn off this summary feature completely.
Yes, I can add slave or slavery as my ancestor's occupation. But again, if she's born into the institution of slavery in this country, selecting slavery as her occupation is not accurate or the truth about her is it? Hmmm . . .
Again thank you for your assistance!
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Disclaimer: I am responding as a FamilySearch Community member and not a FamilySearch representative.
If this Life Summary section cannot be edited, then is there a way to hide or turn it off if it's not going to be accurate with regards to her life?...In light of that fact, is it possible to hide or turn that feature off? I rather not have a narrative if it cannot be accurate.
No there is not currently a hide/disable option for Life Summary. Opinion: The Summary is accurate but not precise - according to how the documents are currently generically classified (i.e. immigration) - but they do not currently include the level of detail to precisely indicate that slaves were transported by an owner - likely making such immigration forced. So as Gail mentions above - possibly the best you can do with these attached records is to include in Source Notes that the Life Summary is not including these facts - but that you feel their inclusion should be noted for an accurate portrayal of her person record. You can also include a personally written Life Sketch (found under Details> Life Sketch section - just click the chevron to expand then Add Life Sketch) and document slavery relationship with Other Relationships> Slavery.
You may also - since you seem to feel strongly - suggest to FamilySearch that the current Life Summary feature needs the option of hiding/disabling for profiles for which it does not adquately/more precisely reflect the life of an ancestor. You can make such suggestions under Suggest an Idea category (at the top of Community pages).
...selecting slavery as her occupation is not accurate or the truth about her is it?
I believe you are correct - I was just trying to find a place for you to document slavery and have it appear under Life Summary. I guess it would be more accurate adding it under Details> Other Information> Facts> Custom Fact - but I do not believe Other Information> Facts appear under Life Summary. Otherwise I think the best way to currently document Slavery is with the new Other Relationships> Slavery (as pictured above). To me it is a little unclear in the Texas Census - 1860 Slave Schedule attached to the profile - if those listed are owner (i.e. Joeday)? The ship manifest of slaves is much more clear and does list J Newsom (note his signature is with m) as the slave owner. So you have the required relationship for Add Other Relationship> Slavery. I took the liberty of test adding this slavery relationship to Joeday Newsome 1822–1865 - G757-LJX (this appears to be the correct profile and fits the timeframe) in the beta.familysearch.org site (a place where you can test FamilySearch features without it affecting the live production site) - adding this Other Relationship also did not document the slavery relationship in the Life Summary.
I hope this helps a little with documenting your ancestor in the manner you best feel is an accurate portrayal of her record on FamilySearch. Thank you for the question - I hope it also helps others that may have similar questions.
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