PART 3
Opinions will be different than conclusions. A conclusion in Family Tree is a declaration of the most accurate value at the time. The expectation is that this conclusion can be verified through sources by the next person. If we have a well-sourced ancestor there is no reason for anyone in the future to ever have to research this ancestor again. This is where it reduces the duplication of research. If I add all of the sources to my deceased uncle’s record, and link to the death certificate online, the census record of 1930 where he appeared, the obituary, his birth record, and his headstone, then people will be able to view it but they will not have to do all of that research again and can move on to another ancestor.
Family Tree will also have attached sources that are tagged to a conclusion type, like the death date would be tagged with the death certificate. It could also be used for the birth, but because the birth date on a death certificate is only as accurate as the informant, a birth certificate would override the information on a death certificate when you are tagging it to a birth record, if the information differs. It is important to have all sources regarding birth, for example, and then describe how the supporting and conflicting sources are resolved to the given conclusion.
Family Tree will introduce reasons on conclusions. This is a place where users can describe why the conclusion they are making is the best conclusion at the time. They can talk about the sources and identify how they came to the conclusion.
In new FamilySearch, records were combined. That is what caused a problem when there were too many to combine or people were combined incorrectly. You could separate them, but often they were again combined incorrectly soon after. Family Tree is different in that it will allow you to merge a duplicate into the original, identifying the best conclusions that should remain. The duplicate is then removed to a deleted change log for potential recovery. There will be no more combined records or IOUS ancestors in Family Tree. To undo an incorrect merge the user goes to the change log of the merged ancestor and clicks undo on the merge change log entry. Then the duplicate will be recovered and the original restored if that is appropriate. Family Tree’s merging activity will be more comprehensive and should discourage the quick combining of records that has been happening in new FamilySearch.
For more information, contact Shanna Jones shannasjones@msn.com or (435) 628-4900.