Cannot merge duplicate records of my living father
My father recently joined familysearch but he created his own less complete duplicate record of himself. I had previously created a record for him years prior. I have tried merging from my account and likewise he has tried merging from his account. Neither of us can accomplish this.
When either of us try to merge by ID from our respective accounts - it displays "[Unknown Name]" of the other duplicate with only a "Back" option and no ability to proceed/merge.
Is it normal we would have two different record IDs for him as a living relative, one I originally created and one he subsequently created?
Best Answers
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@THornsby THornsby perhaps this very detailed information will help you to achieve your goal 😊 https://www.familysearch.org/blog/en/how-to-connect-to-a-family-members-tree/
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@Todd_Hornsby For living persons (mostly for privacy reasons), you CANNOT merge their pages. This makes things complicated - however, the main purpose of FamilySearch is to explore the story of our relatives who have passed on. Once you connect the "living to the dead," you and your father's pages should have the same ancestors. Hope this helps!
Luke
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Answers
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Yes this is normal. You cannot merge living people. As you go further back on your lines you can merge the deceased individual. This is done due to privacy.
Carol
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@THornsby THornsby
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FYI
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As has already been proffered ...
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Short Answer: 'Yes', quite normal.
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DO NOT panic ...
Everything is normal ...
It may not seem like it; but ...
All is well ...
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In "Family Tree" of 'FamilySearch' ...
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You will NOT 'see' a "Relationship" with your immediate (and, STILL) "Living" Family members, in relation to their unique 'FamilySearch Person Identifier' (PID); as, they are STILL "Living", when they have their OWN 'FamilySearch' Accounts.
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Quickly ...
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You have your own 'FamilySearch' Account and exist in "Family Tree" of 'FamilySearch' as a "Living" individual/person with your OWN unique 'FamilySearch Person Identifier' (PID), that ONLY you get to 'see'.
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And ...
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Your Father has his own 'FamilySearch' Account and exists in "Family Tree" of 'FamilySearch' as a "Living" individual/person with his OWN unique 'FamilySearch Person Identifier' (PID), that ONLY he gets to 'see'.
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Likewise ...
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If, your OTHER ("Living") Family members have their own 'FamilySearch' Accounts; and, exist in "Family Tree" of 'FamilySearch' as a "Living" individuals/persons with their OWN unique 'FamilySearch Person Identifier' (PID); then, they ONLY get to 'see' their own PID; but, ONLY them.
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In your case, you have a personal "Copy" of your, "Living" Father; and, any OTHER ("Living") Family members, that RESIDE in the "Private Spaces" of YOUR 'FamilySearch' Account - that ONLY you can 'see'.
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Likewise, your, "Living" Father; and, OTHER ("Living") Family members, have their OWN personal "Copy" of the VARIOUS "Living" individuals/persons, that connect/link you together, in their "Private Spaces", of their OWN 'FamilySearch' Accounts - that ONLY they can 'see'.
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And, 'Yes', ALL those VARIOUS "Living" individuals/persons that connect/link you together, WILL be "Duplicates" - But, that is OK (and, NECESSARY); and, CANNOT be avoided - due to "Privacy".
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We CANNOT 'see' (or, access) the "Living" individuals/persons in another User's/Patron's 'FamilySearch' Account', in OUR 'FamilySearch' Account' - the reason for that is "Privacy"; as, they are "Living".
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You WILL have to "Added" SEPERATELY (and, 'Yes'; as, DUPLICATES) ALL the "Living" individuals/persons (ie. Father/Husband; Siblings; Grandparents; Aunts; Uncles; Cousins, etc) that connect/link you with another User/Patron in your 'FamilySearch' Account.
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Basically, you have to "Build" a "Bridge" of ALL the "Living" individuals/persons that connect/link you with another User/Patron in your 'FamilySearch' Account.
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Once, you have built that bridge of the "Living"; then, when you come to your Common "Deceased" Ancestors, your "Ancestral" lines will connect/link together into one.
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I hope this helps.
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Brett
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@THornsby THornsby
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FYI
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Furthermore ...
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Please let me explain ...
[ Please bear with me ... I am very 'Verbose' ... that is my 'Style' ... ]
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We do not have our OWN "Tree" in "Family Tree" of 'FamilySearch'.
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We ONLY have "Branches" (ie. Ancestral" lines), that are interconnected, in this SINGLE "One" World "Tree", for all of us, that is "Family Tree" of 'FamilySearch'.
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"Family Tree" of 'FamilySearch' is NOT like 'On-Line' "Websites" (eg. "Ancestry_com"; or "MyHeritage_com"; or, the like); and/or, 'standalone' personal (computer) programmes (eg, the OLD, now no longer supported, "PAF"; or, "Ancestral Quest"; or, the like).
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We DO NOT have "Private"/"Personal" 'Trees' in "Family Tree" of 'FamilySearch' like other 'On-Line' "Websites"; and/or, 'standalone' personal (computer) programmes.
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We do not even, own; or, manage; and, are NOT even responsible for, the "Deceased" individuals/persons in "Family Tree" of 'FamilySearch'.
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And, in fact, we do not even, own; or, manage; and, are NOT even responsible for, our OWN "Deceased" Ancestors in "Family Tree" of 'FamilySearch'.
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We can certainly "Watch"/"Follow" them in "Family Tree" of 'FamilySearch'; and, address/fix any 'wayward' alterations; but, that is it.
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"Family Tree" of 'FamilySearch' is built on a "Open Edit" Platform - hence, why any registered User/Patron can "Edit" (ie. Add, Delete; and/or, Change) ANY "Deceased" individual/person in "Family Tree" of 'FamilySearch'.
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You can certainly "Merge"/"Combine" any "Deceased" individual/person in "Family Tree" of 'FamilySearch' with another "Deceased" individual/person in "Family Tree" of 'FamilySearch', regardless of who the User/Patron was that initially created those "Deceased" individuals/persons; as, they DO NOT reside with the User/Patron who initially created them - they are "Public".
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If fact, you can ONLY see "Deceased" individuals/persons in "Family Tree" of 'FamilySearch'; except, with this 'rider', that you can ALSO only see "Living" individual/person in "Family Tree" of 'FamilySearch' that YOU created; as, they reside in your "Private Spaces".
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No other User/Patron can see ANY "Living" individuals/persons that were created by another User/Patron; as, they ONLY reside in the "Private Spaces" of the User/Patron who created them.
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We CANNOT even see the ACTUAL Record in "Family Tree" of 'FamilySearch' of our IMMEDIATE Family (eg. Spouse; Children; Parents; Siblings; ETC; Etc; etc) if they are "Living"; and, they have their own 'FamilySearch' Account.
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Of course, you can create your "Living" Family members; and, record them in "Family Tree" of 'FamilySearch'; but, they will ONLY be seen by you:
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▬ You cannot "Share" them with any other User/Patron.
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▬ You cannot "Merge"/'Combine" them with any other "Living" individual/person residing in the "Private Spaces" of another User//Patron.
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There is CURRENTLY no mechanism in "Family Tree" of 'FamilySearch' for Users/Patrons, to "Share"; or, "give permission" to "Share", the "Living" individuals/persons in their own "Private Spaces" with/between other/another User(s)/Patron(s).
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There are a myriad of "Privacy" Laws within the many various Countries and Unions throughout the World - it is a nightmare to negotiate.
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"Family Tree" of 'FamilySearch' is used in many Countries and Unions throughout the World; and, as such, must adhere to the myriad of "Privacy" Laws throughout the World.
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Hence, "Privacy" is one of the reasons that we cannot "Share" the "Living" individuals/persons in our own "Private Spaces" - it is NOT the ONLY reason; but, certainly has a bearing on the matter.
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Another factor is that such would have to be 'Coded'/'Programmed' into the Programme that is "Family Tree" of 'FamilySearch'.
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'Yes', these "Living" individuals/person in "Family Tree" of 'FamilySearch' WILL, in fact, in many (most) cases will be "Duplicated" - unfortunately a necessary situation that currently cannot be avoided.
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I know that there are "Duplicates" of the "Living" ME - at least, one for my Wife and each of our Children, not to mention my other ("Living") extended Family members.
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Here are some "Knowledge Articles" in 'FamilySearch' in regard to "Private Spaces" and "Living" individuals/persons:
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Who can see my living relatives in Family Tree?
https://www.familysearch.org/help/helpcenter/article/who-can-see-my-living-relatives-in-family-tree
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How does Family Tree protect the privacy of living people?
https://www.familysearch.org/help/helpcenter/article/what-is-a-private-space-in-family-tree
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What Family Tree features are available in my private space?
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Can my living relatives share a Family Tree private space to work together?
https://www.familysearch.org/help/helpcenter/article/share-a-family-tree-private-space-with-family
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Can I transfer my Family Tree private space to another user?
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And ...
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Here is a good place to start, with how things work in "Family Tree" of 'FamilySearch' (and, other programmes as well):
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Overview
'FamilySearch'
"Family Tree"
https://www.familysearch.org/tree/overview
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Getting Started with Family History
Here are the main things you need to know as you get started
https://www.familysearch.org/home/etb_gettingstarted
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How to Use the Family Tree
https://www.familysearch.org/blog/en/how-to-use-family-tree/
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What is The Family History Guide?
https://media.familysearch.org/what-is-the-family-history-guide/
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The Family History Guide
Introduction
About The Family History Guide
https://www.thefhguide.com/introduction.html
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The Family History Guide
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I hope this helps.
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Brett
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