Entering twins/triplets in correct order on FamilySearch
Is there a way to enter twins/triplets in their correct order of birth on FamilySearch? Or does the computer just decide the order?
Thank you!
Answers
-
If they were named in alphabetical order, then they'll display in birth order. Otherwise, no, there is no means of indicating birth order of multiple births, short of entering an incomplete or erroneous birthdate for one or more of the siblings. (Incompletely-specified dates sort as the beginning of the specified time period: "1910" and "January 1910" both sort as 1 January 1910, for example. Thus, if Gus, Lou, and Ben were born in that order on 15 June 1914, they would display by birth order if Gus had a birthdate of "1914", Lou had "June 1914", and Ben got the full "15 June 1914".)
1 -
So why isn't there a way we can put multiple births in their order?
0 -
It's broader than that: there is no means of specifying birth order. If you know (or are willing to guess) birthdates, then you can get siblings to display in birth order, but that's because birthdate is the primary sort key used for the display, not because you've specified the birth order.
Multiple births aren't the only situation where birthdate is not an adequate substitute for a manual sort. For example, funeral notices almost always list siblings in birth order, oldest to youngest — but they never give birthdates or ages for anyone besides the deceased.
Sorting twins (or siblings in general) is a recurring topic on FS's forums; here's a fairly thorough discussion from a few years ago. (It has since been closed.)
1
