GEDCompare partial match with profile owned by a different Profile Manager

Question

I am trying to import an entry from my GEDCOM file using Compare. It matches an existing profile, Bircher-42, but has a number of extra relationships that Bircher-42 doesn't. Bircher-42 is under a different profile manager.

How can I best merge this new entry into Bircher-42?

Standard merge doesn't work since the new entry doesn't have an ID yet. Do I have to reject the match,  "add" it to get a new ID and then contact the profile owner of Bircher-42 to merge them?

Thanks,

Barry

UPDATE(07/19/21): A bit more detail.

• My GEDCOMPARE processing timed out (I took more than 60 days between edits), so I have to re-do (process "suggested" matches) for roughly 150 entries -- I'm about halfway through.
• My GED file entry for Herbert Bircher contains 17 relatives. It is a definite match for Herbert Harold Bircher (Bircher-42). However, the latter is missing six of the relatives that my GED file for Herbert Bircher has. So if I match Herbert Bircher to Bircher-42, I'll have to remember to manually hook up the six missing relatives later. This certainly can be done, but it seemed more natural to use the merge mechanism, which would allow me to simply select the missing relatives to have them added to the merged entity. But from comments submitted so far, it sounds like that causes additional work/complexity.

Comments

Please, never make duplicates, accept the match. As to help with connecting the other people I suggest you edit your question and add the tag Gedcom so someone with more experience in that area will be alerted to it.

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Good suggestion re. the tag -- done, thanks.

Re. making a duplicate: it would only be temporary. If I accept the match I will lose all the relationship links already present in my GEDCOM file to other direct relatives. I'd have to separately remember those and manually link them all after creating them independently. It would be much easier to simply create the new duplicate entry along with all dozen or so links to immediately relatives and then merge it with the existing one.

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Wikitree frowns on making duplicates purposely, it runs contrary to its aim of one profile per person.

Once you have accepted a match, you then have the profile id that you need to connect other members of your Gedcom to.

Answer 1

Hi Barry, I have added literally thousands of names to WikiTree using Gedcom files. So a little experience here.

I do not merge from a Gedcom file to an existing Profile unless that Profile is void of any sourced data or just has a Source like "From Personal Memory of So and So. That isn't a source, that's a memory. First of all, is your data markedly different than what is already there? If not, then mark it as Matched on your GEDCOMpare Report and move on. Why add what's already there and you'll just have to edit the Biography to remove duplicate information. You can Manually link any additional relatives you may add later. More on that below.

If so, manually add your data to the existing Profile.  Merging data from a Gedcom file to an existing Profile can make a mess of that Profile and the clean up after wards is a real pain.  Trust me on that from my experience...LOL I always check the Profile Manager's Page and their Contributions to see if they are Active on WikiTree (made a Contribution in the last 6 months is my rule) and contact them to let them know you have different additional data to add to that Profile. If the person you wish to add is a relative, that Profile Manager might a relative you didn't know about and you just made a real family connection. If the existing Profile is a Orphan, go ahead and add your data. Again,manually.

Regarding links, the Relationship Links are inherent in the Gedcom file and should not be lost. When you mark as Matched on the GEDCOMpare Report, GEDCOMpare will note this and additional linked names should stay linked.  To make sure this is correct, add an immediate Family Member to WikiTree in the direct line of that person. Open another Tab on your browser and open that Profile and check to see if they are linked to the Existing Profile.  If not, make the link then. You can stop adding names and verify linkage during the process before proceeding so you don't have to try and remember who is related to who.

On how links are created. The links in the present version of Gedcom files are lineal by a generation up or down the line. WikiTree follows that convention.  Son or Daughter is linked to Father or Mother and their Children are Linked to them. Grandparents and Grandchildren are not directly linked in a Gedcom file to a name in said file.  GEDCOMpare will not recognize a link to a Grandfather or Grandchildren when adding to WikiTree if adding them before the filial link was made on WikiTree. So that is a caveat to remember when adding names to WikiTree. Add names progressively through generational family lines or you can run into a Linked Names problem.

Comments

Hi Russell,

This was fantastic information! Thank you for the detailed answer. I finally bit the bullet and just did the "match" and, in the process, saw that I had the chance to edit the resulting entry (as someone indicated I would). In that editing step, I have the chance to "merge" the data -- both sets of data are present and, as I'm sure you know, you can then select via checkbox individual datums (data :-)?) and/or edit the Biography text directly. I was mistakenly thinking that needed to be done via a "merge." I've now walked through the entire relationship tree and Things Are Good.

Basically, a newbie misunderstanding of how things work. Thank you (and everyone else) for your help!

Barry

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Thank you Barry, we were all Newbies at one time.

Just remember my Golden Rule for WikiTree Users.

If you haven't learned anything new about WikiTree in the last week, you haven't made enough mistakes. ;)

All the best!

Answer 2

First, I do not use the Ged Compare because I find it clunky. However, you should check off that the profile is a match to the one you are seeking to add with your GEDCOM. After you are finished with the Ged Compare, you will (hopefully) be adding your profiles that do not already exist on WikiTree. The Ged Compare, then becomes sort of like a checklist since all the additions of new profiles are made manually. You will be able to copy/paste your information and sources from Ancestry or wherever. You will add the relationships to the existing Bircher-42 and there is no merge involved.

Merging is only for when someone mistakenly creates a duplicate profile. Sometimes we start with a vague date or location and later realize that we've created a duplicate. It is better to never have the duplicate, they just create extra work for everyone, including synapses that occur behind the scenes and slow down WikiTree's resources.

Comments

Thanks for the guidance!

Per the comment I just added to Marion Poole's comment, it seems really clunky to me to call this a match and lose all the links in my GEDCOM file. The merge itself is straightforward (just selecting the missing links from the column for the new entity) -- takes about 15 seconds. Much easier than remembering all the individual links and manually hooking them up later. (I'm not sure about the "synapsis" you are referring to, though. What are those? Do they continue to exist after the merge and, if so, why?) Am I missing something?

Answer 3

If you are sure this is the same person, mark the profiles as a match in GEDCOMpare.

When you are finished processing suggested matches, open the COMPARE screen for this person. From that COMPARE screen you can ADD profiles to WikiTree for the connected family members in your GEDCOM who are not already in WikiTree.

If there is biographical information in your profile for this man that is not in the existing profile biography, you can use the EDIT button to open an edit page for the profile that is pre-populated with data from your GEDCOM. If you do this, please be careful not to re-add content that is already in the WikiTree profile. The EDIT screen you see will show you some, but not all, of the existing profile, so you need to open other windows to see what the effect of your edits would be.

Comments

Thank you for the guidance. However, I don't see any way to add profiles from the COMPARE screen. I only see the "match" and "reject" buttons.

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You will not see ADD buttons until you have finished matching or rejecting your suggested matches.

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Understood, thanks.