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How do I go about fixing errors I find in OneGreatFamily?

the same family tree.

The collaborative nature of OneGreatFamily has two major implications when it comes to fixing errors:

1. When you fix an error in one place within OneGreatFamily, everyone else benefits from your effort
2. Fixing errors in OneGreatFamily doesn't affect how other people view their family tree

With these two facts in mind, you can more fully understand the beauty of OneGreatFamily. You can also gain comfort and confidence as you find and correct errors that have been perpetuated within OneGreatFamily. Your corrections will then be available to everyone else within OneGreatFamily. You can also let others know more specifically about the corrections you make by using the collaboration feature within OneGreatFamily.

Someone recently found an error in OneGreatFamily that showed an ancestor who lived in the 1500s had been given a father who lived in the 1700s. Of course, this was an error. They submitted the error to us to correct, not understanding perhaps that they could have easily made the correction themselves.

They could have simply deleted the incorrect information from their view of OneGreatFamily. In this case, that would mean deleting the father and mother of the individual in question. This would not affect the displayed information for the person who originally submitted the data. Rather, it would create a conflict for that person to now accept or reject. Upon seeing the correction, the conflict would likely be resolved quite quickly.

Upon making the correction, the person who made the correction could also contact the other groups who were linked to the erroneous information to explain to them why the correction was made.

By someone taking the time to fix an error in one place, everyone else who is interested in that piece of information can now see the correction. This demonstrates how the quality of the information found at OneGreatFamily improves with each passing day. This is part of the beauty of OneGreatFamily as a genealogy service.

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To merge or not to merge? - That is the question

Have you ever noticed all of those light bulbs in your Starfield? Do you know what they mean? A light bulb next to an individual signifies that OneGreatFamily has found another record very similar to this one. This is what we call a "hint." When you open the individual's record and click on the light bulb, you will see two records next to each other.

How do you really know if these two records should be merged? The first things you should look at are the names. Even with all of the work going on in genealogy today, the exact spellings of many names are still disputed. Sometimes the same individual can be identified by multiple names or various name spellings; conversely, many times more than one person can have the same, even within the same location at a given time. Also, be sure to notice if they have a Jr., Sr., or some other title or suffix associated with the name. This is especially important when researching families where names are passed through the generations.

Dates are also very important. You don't want to accidentally merge a father and son because they share the same name. If there are wide date discrepancies for a record, you don't want to add to the problem.

Look at the birth, death, and other events to see where and when these events took place. You may be able to figure out if two records should be merged by identifying where each individual was born or died. Minor discrepencies here, especially when the individual's family migrated or where dates have been estimated, should not stop you from merging the records. Differences will still be maintained as conflicts.

Family relations are one of the most important indicators as to whether two records correspond to the same individual. If the two records have the same parents, spouses, siblings, and children, it is likely that they are the same individual. With regard to siblings and children, you should be aware that many researchers are not interested in "collateral lines" and may not always include the siblings of their direct-line ancestors. A researcher may not have had time to include all of the siblings or children; however, if the two records are for the same individual, they should still be merged. Be sure to check into the families when in the process of merging records to avoid mistakes.

Don't hesitate to ask the original submitter about the information. OneGreatFamily is designed to allow members to communicate and work together to build their family trees. Using the "Collaborate" feature saves you time and effort. Click the "Collaborate" button for a list of the owners of the conflicting record. Ask them what they can tell you about the individual.

We hope these guidelines are useful as you consider whether or not to merge records in OneGreatFamily.

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