Cleaning up GEDCOM import.

Question

Can I delete all sources that link only to Public/Private Member Trees?

I've searched, but have not found an answer to this question. I am building my tree manually, but have connected with profiles already on Wikitree with seemingly endless lists of only Ancestry trees as the source.

Comments

I wouldn't do a blanket "delete all" without checking them.  While many just give other trees as sources, some do have real sources that might be helpful.

What I do delete, in all cases,  is ancestry links that lead to nothing - a blank page.

---

In this particular situation all the links referred to the  same tree source, which had only the information of name, birth death dates and places. It's not a valid source; documents are the valid source. I have all the document sources to add to this profile. Links to the Ancestry tree are just redundant and waste time.

Public libraries usually have access to Ancestry.com. Ours does, but it is required to at the library to access it, not available through the libraries web site.

Right now, I have my Ancestry subscription, so I am able to check.

I wouldn't recommend a complete deletion of any biography, either.

Answer 1

Yes.  You can delete or add anything you want to any profile you can edit. I spend a fair amount of time each week getting rid of Ancestry trees, which are, of course, not a reliable source. Go for it.

Comments

Thanks, J. Crook. I am emboldened!  :-)

---

...not so fast.  I don't like Ancestry trees either.  However, apparently if you have an Ancestry.com account, theoretically there could be some information or sources discovered by using these trees.  You might delete the superfluous information but try to leave the Ancestry.com and URL identifying the tree which was originally cited (otherwise you could end-up in some rather hot water).  Best of luck!

---

I have a subscription to Ancestry and I have never clicked on one of those links that took me anything other than "this page is no longer available".

---

..I don't disagree.  I just want to let Eloise know it's not best practice to just delete the whole biography field when these Ancestry.com trees are the only thing present.  They need some inspection perhaps and since she seems new to Wikitree I'm just trying to offer some careful advice.

I don't have an Ancestry.com account (and perhaps she neither) so I'm forced to leave the URLs because I have no way to check them.  (Although I occasionally can tell that this one or that is completely nothing and those go).

---

Many, if not most, of the older links are no longer valid (because people delete their accounts or trees over the years). But I often find links that are still valid and can lead to valuable sources of information.

If I can replace them with equivalent free resources, then I would do that.

---

Many Ancestry Tree links have gone bad because the members delete their accounts, but not all Ancestry Tree links are bad. You have to be a member to be able to tell whether a link is bad. I spend a lot of time deleting bad links, but I keep a short citation to indicate that "Ancestry Family Trees" was a source, as this bit of information can be valuable to someone who is trying to investigate the sources for a profile.

Also, not all URLs that start with http://trees.ancestry.com are links to a Tree. Many of these are links to a record that someone saved to their tree. An example of a link to a saved record is http://trees.ancestry.com/rd?f=sse&db=worldmarr_ga&h=1270974&ti=0&indiv=try . Those URLs also can go bad, but an Ancestry user usually can find the same record again -- and find out what information the record contains and evaluate whether it's a worthwhile source.

PS - I've never had a Tree on Ancestry, so I don't really know how their trees work.  I do have an Ancestry subscription and I'm describing what I've deduced from examining a lot of Ancestry URLs on WikiTree.

Answer 2

Sometimes I just move the links. I agree that I have never clicked on one that led to a tree.

== Sources ==

<references />

''See also:''

* Ancestry Family Trees, etc.

Answer 3

Just because you don't have access to them, doesn't mean they are not still valid.

Only delete them if you can prove they are no longer valid.