Data entered by FamilySearch
Hello, my question is somewhat similar to the one I've read elsewhere under the title Source - FamilySearch last updated July 2023 but which indicates as discussion closed. An interesting read as it provides an insight as to how information was handled a way back and as to shy the entry date is shown as 2012.
I often go and check out record hints provided by FamilySearch which I find extremely useful which leads me to my specific point.
Robert Brown K4L2-HMH, who is my third great grandfather, is shown having married Janet Paterson KZQX-CL4, and that there were 5 offsprings. Unfortunately there no sources shown neither for the actual person Janet Paterson nor for the marriage event but the data has been entered by FamilySearch as the user. I'm trying to tie down the Brown / Paterson link as there are several hints being thrown up for the same male and female names but for whom dates and even their offspring differ with those currently shown on the tree. Confirmation could either confirm the current tree or greatly modify things.
I know that there must been thousands of entries made by FamilySearch all being date 2012 (the reasons being described in the above question) but any ideas on how obtain hard source data from FamilySearch for these entries?
Hoping that you all had a wonderful Christmas or festive time and here's an early best wishes for the forthcoming New Year - good health and prosperity.
Best Answers
-
Here's the link to the answer you referenced: Re: Source - FamilySearch (in case anyone wants to refer directly to that excellent answer).
Of the profile entries made in 2012 to start the Family Tree, some came from source records and some came from data collections that had source records. Unfortunately in those cases, the attached records didn't survive the process of creating Family Tree. But you can search for records starting from a profile, using the FamilySearch option under Search Records. You may also want to search other sites such as Ancestry or FindMyPast to find records. And there are many other ways to find records, some of which are described in the Research Wiki. Sometimes when I do this I find associated records easily, sometimes it's difficult, and sometimes I can't find supporting source records at all. But it's a worthwhile effort.
Still other profiles came from collections that had no source records at all. You might be lucky and find supporting records, but some of these profiles are little more than folklore. Nonetheless, it's difficult to sort out the fact from fiction without actually searching for source records.
4 -
Directly addressing your query of "any ideas on how obtain hard source data from FamilySearch for these entries?": I'm afraid that the answer is that you can't.
Everything that FS had or has available is already in the Tree and in the Historical Records databases. If there's no source data on the profile, neither on the Sources tab nor in a legacy discussion or note on the Collaborate tab, then that profile was not based on a submission that named its sources. As Gordon wrote in his 2023 answer, only the current Tree's immediate predecessor provided any means of tracking sources, so the vast majority of the profiles that were imported/created in 2012 have no sources identified anywhere in FS's systems.
1 -
@JohnBromby - you may know at least some of this already, but if you believe that K4L2-HMH Robert Brown really is your ancestor and if you at least half believe the details on his profile, then (as you may know) ScotlandsPeople (SP) is the website where you must go. As far as I know, SP contains all known surviving registers from the Church of Scotland (CoS), some from the Roman Catholic church in Scotland and some from other churches such as the various Scottish Dissenting congregations.
CoS coverage should be close to complete as (IIRC) all CoS churches were told to send their registers to the General Register Office (Scotland). Coverage of other denominations is … pot luck really.
ScotlandsPeople is the only site to get images of those registers and the Scottish censuses.
Civil Registration began in Scotland in 1855 but fortunately, they included parents' names on all 3 certificate types - usual caveats apply with death certificates where the informants were trying to supply details of their grandparents as well as their parent's death.
But it does mean that you can squeeze a lot of information out of the post-1855 certificates about pre-1855 families and events.
I'm not sure which your line is but frankly, if your wallet can stand it (you buy credits for SP and use them on a pay-per-view basis) I'd start with the (apparent) 1912 marriage of James Tennent and Agnes Gemmell (I hope I'm reading FS FamilyTree right for your line) - this will gives you their parents. And then work back - get their parents' marriage, etc. I'd get the birth certificates and death certificates as well, as double checks and to honour their stories.
Then at some point you can deal with those people on the rather splendid stone in Balfron.
Now, I got a little concerned looking at the indexes (not images) for the deaths of John Brown (d1895 Balfron) and Robert Brown (d1878 Balfron) who, according to that stone and the tree, appear to be brothers. Both have a Mother's Maiden Name of Craig - which is not the Paterson (Patterson?) we see in FS FamilyTree. I would ensure that I got the 1860 marriage certificate for John Brown (m Helen Muirhead) because that will (as I said) give both sets of parents - as given by the parties, not by their children after their deaths.
The Paterson / Craig issue might be a remarriage (maiden surname Craig but previously married as Paterson?) - in such a case, both names appear providing someone remembered to provide the info. Or Paterson may be an error because of confusion with another couple. Or there's a second marriage somewhere for the Brown father.
Essentially, your first job (if you haven't done it already) is to get the certificates from ScotlandsPeople. Which you may have done already? Forget FS FT hints - they depend on other people not being confused - go for the sources in ScotlandsPeople, although it does no harm to see if the record is in FS first because that has a better search mechanism.
5 -
Seconding @Adrian Bruce1 re SP, I wasted a week recently by not going there first.
2 -
My 3 greats grandfather married first Mercy Adeline Greene and then Mary Ann Green ... not helpful of him.
1
Answers
-
Hello Alan and Julia thank you both for your replies. I’ll need to continue and widen my searches outside of FS and hopefully someday will find answers and confirmations.
Best wishes to you both for the New Tear 2025
1 -
Thank you Adrian for your practical advice. From my mother's family notes and clippings I'm fairly certain all is correct on the direct Tennent line (being my maternal line). It's the various lines for the spouses which needs much work to be done and I will endeavour to get onto the SP site. I fully concur that having the various certificates opens a lot of doors providing much information something which has greatly helped me confirm my paternal Bromby line.
Thank you also Mandy for your comment.
Best wishes to you all for the New Year 2025 (and not New Tear as written in my previous thank you reply above albeit that could be considered as being a sort of Chinese euphemism bearing in mind the current international troubles).
1 -
Last message before leaving 2024 - a big thank you to Adrian Bruce1 who induced me to visit the ScotlandsPeople site. After a few hours I've managed to confirm certain information from my mother's family history notes; has thrown up a second marriage with one of my direct ancestors not indicated in my mother's notes; has confirmed a marriage for which I only had a newspaper clipping and subsequent divorce; and so I'm hoping that I will eventually be able to clear the fog on my initial enquiry.
Another thank you to Mandy who seconded Adrian's advice.
May the rich tapestry of life continue to unfold during 2025
2 -
@JohnBromby - excellent news.
(As an aside, the worst problem on second marriages is when the surviving partner marries a new spouse of the same given name as the first. It took me a long time to work that one out because nothing appeared to have changed in the censuses, etc!)
1