How to attach a custom source record to multiple people

Susan85897

I have a will that mentions not only the deceased and his wife but their 17 children. For most of the children the will is the primary evidence of their existence, and for some of the girls, their married name. For a few, it’s evidence that a child has died. I don’t want to make 17 (19?) copies of this source record to attach it to all of them. Besides the mess that would make, the whole document shows the sibling relationships. Also, if the url to it ever changes (certainly a possibility) or some nuance arises that we hadn’t considered before, I might need to change the source record for all of them. How do I attach the same source to multiple people? I can’t figure out how to get the original source record to show for the next person.

MandyShaw1

@Susan85897 I find the easiest way to do this (I had a similar Will related need at one point) is via your Source Box. Once you add a source to the Source Box you can attach it from there to as many profiles as you like.

CherylMillerBlack

If you carefully document the source (eg. add a complete list of all the children in the "Reasons") when you attach it to the first person, then all the information will be there when you attach it from the source box. That helps even if the url changes.

Gordon Collett

If these answers are leaving you with more question, here are some clarifying details:

When creating a custom source, be sure to scroll to the very bottom and make sure that "Add Source to My Source Box" is checked. (This line is not present when adding Sources in the Couple Event box and all sources created there automatically get added to your source box.)

You then have two options to add this source to anyone you want.

A. Go to a person's profile page and to one of the Add Source options:

Choose Attach From Source Box:

Find the source you want to attach and click Attach to attach it to the person in the header.

B. Click on your name in the top right corner to open the drop down menu there:

Choose Source Box:

Notice that in this case, there is no banner with a person's name at the top. Now when you click Attach next to a source, a pop up opens with various options for finding the person to attach the source to:

This second method can be more efficient if you have a large group of people needing the source who are all currently in your Recents list.

Mark McKenzie_1

@Susan85897 I would recommend the 'Source Box' method as that will give you more options, especially when the record may not only include the principle family members but also various tangentially associated husbands/wives, grandchildren etc which I bet is the case with the record you mention. That said, if it is a fairly uncomplicated record [from a relationship perspective], I'll go with the quick method 'Attach to Individual…'

Susan85897

Thanks Gordon, that was what was missing: the “Add to my source box”. It’s not in the Help at all.