Create trees for people we aren't sure are related and don't already have a tree
It would be helpful to be able to create family trees for people whom we aren't sure are related to us that don't already have a tree. For example, I'm looking up ancestor information I've found from 23andMe DNA matches and I'm seeing possible blood relatives here in FamilySearch but I can't find any trees that have already been created. I would like to be able to create the trees for those who don't already have one so then I can connect them once I have enough evidence they are actually my blood relatives.
Answers
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APRIL.D You can do that now. You can create a person record, and associated parents, grandparents, etc, for a person whose connection to the current world tree is unknown. Thus, this person is a "floater". To do this click "Family Tree", click "tree", then click "recents" and at this point you should notice the option "add unconnected person". I have done this a fair amount myself as I inherited a business ledger belonging to an ancestor who owned a store. This ledger has all kinds of information including the full name of the person and the dates associated with each account. I've looked up most of these people in FamilySearch, but not all are there, so I have created floater person pages for them.
It sounds like you are doing something different, plus when you say "trees" it sounds like you don't understand FamilySearch. There is only one tree and everybody's on it. I think if YOU have an extensively documented footprint in FamilySearch's world tree, your DNA matches probably do too. So to track them all, I would create floater person pages for your matches and then connect them to YOUR person page using the "Other Relationship" option and the relationship type would be relative. That way as you build their trees, you can ultimately delete the "other relationship" when you attach them to their deceased ancestors on the world tree.
By the way, no one but you will be able to see person pages you create for living people.
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Hi Gail, I don't understand the part where you said "you don't understand FamilySearch. There is only one tree and everybody's on it." I created my own family tree from scratch. What's this other tree you're referring to? Could you send a screenshot of it?
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@APRIL.D, either we're talking at cross-purposes here (because you're talking about something else, such as maybe the Genealogies section), or you've forged ahead and done a whole lot of work based on completely unwarranted assumptions about how FamilySearch's Family Tree works.
There are no individual trees in FS's Family Tree. It is a one-world, shared, collaborative tree. It is intended to have one and only one profile per deceased person.
Now, granted, while it's true that we're all related, most of those relationships are long before the genealogical timeframe, so our little branches of the collaborative tree may not actually connect to very many other people's branches. This can create the illusion of an individual tree that belongs solely to you. But this is purely an illusion. A cousin could come along at any time, recognize some of your relatives, and connect them to his. Perhaps this has already happened, in fact; check some descendancy charts. (If you believed yourself to be working on an individual tree, then I highly doubt that you've made any use of FamilySearch's "Follow" feature, so you would not be notified of other people's edits to your relatives.)
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Julia, the wording in your reply ("unwarranted assumptions" and "I highly doubt that you've made any use of FamilySearch's "Follow" feature") comes across as very rude and judgmental.
I thought using this community help section would be useful. Now I see I thought wrong. I'll utilize the staffed methods for help as I was doing previously.
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@APRIL.D, I'm sorry that you found offense where none was intended.
It is a fact that assuming you have an individual tree here, just like on Ancestry, is unwarranted.
It is also a fact that a person who believes that this is an individual-tree site is highly unlikely to utilize the collaboration features, such as the "Follow" function.
If my conclusion -- that you have made this assumption or have this belief -- is itself unwarranted, then I apologize, but please explain your question again, because I clearly haven't understood.
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This is the best place to come to raise queries and place suggestions. However, it is very important to explain exactly what you mean in order to (1) Get appropriate advice from other Community members and (2) Make it clear to the FamilySearch engineers exactly what change you would like to see.
There are two places within "FamilySearch" where you can add details / profiles of your family members: in the Genealogies section at https://www.familysearch.org/tree/import/files and in the Family Tree program at https://www.familysearch.org/tree/.
Unfortunately, you have not made it clear to which of these you are referring. From your comments, I would assume it is the latter - the editable Family Tree. If so, you can go to "Recents" and click on "Add Unconnected Person". After adding one person (perhaps, but not necessarily, yourself) you can add connecting relatives (children, siblings, parents, grandparents, etc.). However, profiles for these individuals might have already been added to the "shared tree". In which case you should use any existing profiles, rather than duplicating them with versions of your own creation. (However, this only applies to deceased individuals - you will have to add all living members of your family.)
So, when you say:
I would like to be able to create the trees for those who don't already have one so then I can connect them once I have enough evidence they are actually my blood relatives.
I believe your terminology is probably causing the confusion here, as you can only add branches to the one tree - by means of the Add Unconnected Person feature under "Recents" in the Family Tree menu. Sure, after that you can connect them to other, existing branches - once you do have enough evidence to confirm their identity / relationship to you and your family.
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Hi @APRIL.D and welcome to the FamilySearch Community. The following link is a wonderful place to learn more about using Family Tree. https://www.familysearch.org/en/fieldops/familysearch-center-workers-and-volunteers-learning-resources
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