Issue 52.09
How does one prevent well-meaning patrons from combining or recombining persons who are not the same but are often thought to be? How do you notify them in a clear and concise way to consider evidence that will dissuade them from taking the action?
How do you identify a record that has been incorrectly combined by the system to help prevent others from combining it? If this record is combined with other records, even if it is the same person, it creates a looping problem. Looping problems occur when a father is linked as his own son and this is usually caused by bad combinations of records. Users must be careful when combining names especially when a son is named the same name as his father.
Questions like this cause a lot of frustration when using the New FamilySearch program. You can find the solution to these problems by going to the Help Center on the home page of new FamilySearch. Then simply type in what you want to know. I heard the word “Quarantine” at the family history center the other day. I didn’t know I could quarantine a record, so I went to the help center and checked it out. It was talking about creating a “Do Not Combine With” notice, which is in theory a quarantine notice. The help center referred me to document # 107805.
After we have uncombined the erroneously combined individuals, we can mark the record to hopefully stop the problem from happening again. Step 1: Go to the Details page of the person. Step 2: Click on Add Information at the bottom left of the page. Step 3: Under Personal Facts, check the box by Other (fact type not listed) at the bottom right of the page, and then click Continue. Step 4: Fill in the Title with such words as “DO NOT COMBINE WITH THE FOLLOWING…” and add the name of the person who, when combined, causes the problem. Step 5: In the Description field, add something such as, “Do not combine with [name of person, birth or other date, and/or place].” If it is not the same person, then give some evidence that they are different either here or in the Source box. If it is the same person, but the record has already been separated out and still contains multiple names, spouses and/or parents, indicate that fact in the Description field. Step 6: Click Done, and “Do not combine” will appear on the Details page under Personal Facts.
This same procedure can be followed to make patrons aware of other important facts or situations in the records. If you need help, while in the Help Center, click the tab at the top: Personal Assistance.
Shanna Sullivan Jones is a professional genealogist. For additional information, Shanna can be reached at (435) 628-4900 or shannasjones@msn.com.