Delete parent by merging with other parent?
Some weeks ago I created a father relation for Jacques Joseph Delchevalerie (LJVY-RDR) but after some analysis with other sources I came to the conclusion that the father is not known so there should only be a relation with the mother (which has now the incorrect name, I will correct this afterwards). Can I "delete" the father by changing the gender and merging the profile with the mother? Otherwise the profile page of the "father" will float around.
What do I need to with the sources that, incorrectly, name a father? It is not correct by deleting the father in the index because the record says so. How do I handle this situation in the source linker?
Many thanks in advance for your help
Answers
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To fix the problem in the Tree, you can simply delete that father's profile, using the Delete Person option on the right side of the Person details (profile) page. That option is frequently not available because multiple people have made changes to a profile. But in this case, you are the only contributor, so you will be able to delete the profile.
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Thank you, I am indeed able to delete te person. What do I need to do for the issue in the source linker? Click on dismiss unfinished attachments? I do not want that someone in the future think that there is a missing person due to the source linker. If you click on "Review attachments" you see a "missing person" because of the error in the record itself.
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"I do not want that someone in the future think that there is a missing person due to the source linker."
There is a missing person. The child had a father, even if nobody knows who he was.
Do all the sources, that name a father, name the same father? If so I'd be inclined to create a profile for that person, as you have done, and add lots of notes and explanations explaining why, in spite of the attached sources, you think this person is a fiction. Maybe add something along the lines of, "This profile was created to represent the father of ….. If the name is ever proved to be wrong it should be changed." Try to make it clear that this isn't the profile of some random stranger of that name that was incorrectly attached as the child's father, but IS the father under whatever name he used.
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It's not totally clear to me what this "named" father is. There are 2 possible ways that a fictitious father might be "named" in source index records.
Method 1 is that the indexing project created a dummy name, often consisting of just a "/" and indexed that. I hope that the reader is suitably shocked to learn that I have come across this many times. You might not consider this to be naming a father but my personal background leads me to think of it as a name.
Method 2 is that the original paper record contains a name that looks like any other name but is actually fictitious.
I suspect from the words used by @Loïc Baert that his fictitious chap was Method 2.
I would always prefer to properly delete the fictitious father as advised by @Alan E. Brown , regardless of whether it was Method 1 or 2. My problem with @ColinCameron's suggestion is that far too many people simply don't read such notes. I've even seen people who seem to have a mission to tidy up stuff by deleting anything other than vital events.
However, if the fictitious profile can't be deleted, I guess Colin's idea is the best way. (I guess that you could butcher the name by adding "Fiction" as part of the name. Yes, I know it's very naughty but is it worse than a fictional person?)
Either way, I would dismiss the Unfinished Attachments message if it appears, which dismisses it for everyone, if I recall correctly.
I can't remember if I've had to deal with a fictitious person in FamilySearch, so I can't check my previous inputs.
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It was indeed method 2 and the names are not consistent. If a "father" is mentioned, the name of the mother changes completely. I will dismiss the unfinished attachments and leave an alert note on the son and the mother to say that no father/spouse needs to be added even if some sources mention a father/spouse.
What if a person page has been created, is incorrect and can't be deleted? Can I than merge the person page with the spouse to prevent a floating person? I came across in the past the following case:
In that case I left the person page XX (GC9F-G53) just floating in the tree without any relations. Someone else did merge it with a later spouse, so it is not floating around anymore.
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