WikiTree Sourcer: A browser extension for finding and citing sources

+75 votes
3.5k views

I have developed a new browser extension called WikiTree Sourcer. It can save a lot of time and typing when searching for and citing sources.

It does three main things:

  1. From a WikiTree profile page it provides the ability to search other genealogy websites for relevant records.
  2. From one of these genealogy websites' records page it can extract data and build a citation.
  3. Also from one of these genealogy websites records page it can search other genealogy websites for similar records. For example on an Ancestry page it can help find free versions of the same original source.

It can also build household tables from census records on Family Search and FindMyPast. 

It runs in many browsers (Chrome, Firefox, Vivaldi, Opera, Edge, Kiwi and more) and on many platforms (PC, Mac, Android tablets etc). However, there is currently no way to use it on iPad.

It has been in beta test for over a month with about 30 users and now seems tested enough for wider use. I am still actively developing it and plan to support more sites.

Full details are on the linked Free Space page.

WikiTree profile: Space:WikiTree_Sourcer
in The Tree House by Rob Pavey G2G6 Pilot (197k points)
I have added the extension but cannot get it to open. Can you help?

Patty

Miller_Rinehimer-1
Have you pinned the extension so that the [1] shows up in the toolbar?
I have it pinned on my toolbar. When I hover over the icon it says "Wikitree+ has access to this site". When I click on the icon it simply takes me to the information page about the extension.

I am working on a MacBook Air, if that makes a difference.

Thanks for your help.

Patty
That sounds odd. It makes me wonder if you have the correct extension. Does the icon on the toolbar look like [1] ?
No, it looks like a world with a red plus sign in a circle. I got if from the Chrome Store.
It sounds like you have installed the WikiTree+ extension. If you go to the WikiTree Sourcer free space page linked in this post and follow the install instructions that should get you the correct extension.
I got it! Thank you so much!
I have just started using this. I like it. It will take a bit to get used to.   I used to use WIKITREE X.

Suggestion:

Can Sourcer be built to recognize when a name is in italics at Find A Grave?  The italics symbolize the maiden name.
Yes, I will put that on m list for the next release.

38 Answers

+10 votes
Great app. I used for the first time in the source-a-thon. Easy to use, great results. Thank you!
by Rob Wilson G2G6 Mach 2 (22.5k points)
+10 votes
Thank you Rob!

I used your browser extension throughout the Source-a-Thon. It made a huge difference to my speed of finding sources and also to the quality of the citations I added. I've always tried to produce citations as per WikiTree guidelines but found including all required information and formatting them correctly so time consuming and complicated. Now I can add detailed well crafted citations with just a couple of key strokes!! I'm tempted to work my way through all my managed profiles regenerating and improving existing citations using your browser extension.

I can't thank you enough!!
by Corina Seal G2G6 Mach 1 (12.3k points)
+10 votes
What a fantastic resource Rob! I think it will encourage users to be even better at listing sources on their profiles!

Appreciatively,

Patty
by Patty Almond G2G6 Mach 1 (17.8k points)
+9 votes
Rob, Your nickname must be "The Sorcerer" :)

Your brilliant Sourcer app is a breeze to use! Thank you so much for making sourcing easier and more professional!!
by Gina Jarvi G2G6 Pilot (140k points)
+7 votes
Installation seemed to go well but when I click on the option to search on FreeBMD, GRO, Ancestry, etc, I keep getting a variation of this message: This web page is not supported by WikiTree Sourcer. It looks like a FreeBMD page but not an Entry Information page. (I'm on a PC, using Chrome.)
by Jessie Gregor G2G1 (1.7k points)
edited by Jessie Gregor
In that freeBMD example did you click on the info button to get to the actual entry page rather than the search results? If you are still having problems please include the link to the page you are on when it is not working.

Sorry, Rob, I'm bound to be doing something stupid! This is what I tried: 1) Went to profile edit tab. 2) Clicked on your extension on top ribbon. 3) Clicked Search FreeBMD ... 4) Clicked on the births option. 5) That opens up the FreeBMD page with the search terms automatically entered (amazing!) 6) Click on Search and the correct birth pops up. 7) Go back to click on the extension again to build the citation but it just gives that message? https://www.freebmd.org.uk/cgi/search.pl

It sounds like you are on the search results page, not the "Entry" page. This page can have many different search results on it and you need to select the one that you want to cite.

Click the red rectangle that says "info" that is next to the entry that you want to cite. That will take you to a page where the URL is something like:

https://www.freebmd.org.uk/cgi/information.pl?r=74091056:0633&d=bmd_1632301591

The popup menu should then have options to build a citation.
Thank you, that worked! I'll rewatch the video next week when I've got more time and do a lot more entries until I get used to it. It looks like a wonderful, useful tool!
+9 votes
This is great especially for Ancestry sources!  Thank you.
by Elaine Goodner G2G6 Mach 2 (21.5k points)
+6 votes
Thanks so much Rob! Your app is absolutely brilliant. I really appreciate your work to develop it. I also found the video excellent.
by Gillian Thomas G2G6 Pilot (261k points)
+6 votes
I used your app during the Source-a-thon and it saved me so much time! I think it is amazing and I truly appreciate the work you have done to provide such a useful tool.
by Patricia Rye G2G6 Mach 1 (14.5k points)
+6 votes
Maybe not the greatest thing since sliced bread but close.  I'm mostly using Ancestry sources so there is some an extra step to get to the page recognized by the app.  But then it is smooth sailing.

Well Done!
by John Kessler G2G6 (9.2k points)
+6 votes
That’s a good job!  Thank you!
by Clifford Carter G2G6 Mach 2 (23.3k points)
+6 votes

Brilliant!  I am making better profiles than before, and much more easily.  No complaints at all, but I can't resist offering a wish list.

  1. I don't know much about British records, but I keep running into records which seem like the right person, but can't be checked.  This is mainly because specific dates and names of children or parents rarely appear together.  If such records exist, it would be great to include them.
  2. The Canada census during British colonial times would be a nice addition.  It's a little award to use, but the search function works and there are text summaries and images of the forms.
  3. Birth records seem to always be labeled as baptisms.  Perhaps that's safer than mistaking a baptism record for a birth, but this could be better.
  4. Similarly, there are marriages and "marriage intentions".  I'm sure this is hard to detect in an automated way, but it's still on my wish list.
  5. Search from an Ancestry profile in the same way a search can start from a WikiTree profile.  This would help when I make a quick guess at a family group on Ancestry before working toward a more careful and better-sourced version on WikiTree.
Again, thank you for the tool as it is.  Even if it never changes it is already great.
by Steve Ryan G2G6 Mach 7 (79.4k points)
Thanks Steve,

I'm glad the extension is working out for you.

I'm not sure that I understand all the points on your wish list so I have a few followup questions. In general for any requests it is useful to have a link to an example record so I don't have to go hunting.

Numbered the same as your list:

1. I don't understand this one. Perhaps if there was a specific action that you would like on a specific profile or record it would make sense to me.

2. Do you have a link to the Canada census during British colonial records?

3. This is something I'm tuning all the time. Do you have some examples of birth records that were classified as baptisms?

4. I do this for marriage bonds where I have added ways to identify them. Do you have a link to an example marriage intention?

5. The extension does allow search from an Ancestry record. I don't currently have any actions on an Ancestry profile page. So you can do it in two steps by searching on Ancestry from the profile and then searching from an Ancestry record that is like the ones you might be looking for. I'll put searching from the Ancestry profile (and FS and FMP profiles) on the wish list.
+7 votes
Hi Rob,

I have just started using this tool and am finding it fantastic, both for finding sources and creating citations. Thank you!

Sue
by Sue Bramley G2G5 (5.2k points)
+6 votes

Thank you, thank you, thank you for creating this extension! It's a game changer for me where WikiTree is concerned!!! I so appreciate your generosity making this available for all WikiTree members to use smiley

by Teresa Eckford G2G2 (2.3k points)
+6 votes

I'm quite late to the Sourcer party and kicking myself for not getting this months ago. Didn't want to take the time to learn something new, but with help of your video, it is easy as can be to understand and use.  I have a few hundred newly added profiles that I need to  add more sources to, so seemed like it's time to jump in and use this.

OMG it is fantastic and especially for FindaGrave, which I often avoided citing with so much editing needed to the c/p citation.   Your app eliminates all the junk and even adds the direct link. heart  

Will take a while to build up speed while learning about all the options and my person preferences, but I'm in love with this.   

THANK YOU Rob!!!

by Patricia Roche G2G6 Pilot (779k points)
Thanks Patricia, I'm still working away on it every day. FreeCen (UK) support is coming soon.

I'm glad to hear that a long time user like you is appreciating it.

Are there any particular sites that you use a lot that it would be good for Sourcer to support?

Not having paid subscriptions I rely on FamilySearch primarily. Many years ago when my research first began, I used  Digitalarkivet a lot. It was very easy to use back then, but I cannot find anything now.  It is probably my aging brain cells that are the problem. 

+5 votes

The sourcer is generally really good and I've been using it a lot. But a new(?) problem seems to crop up where I get the message "

But I am signed in. Here's an example page: https://www.familysearch.org/search/ark:/61903/1:1:XHLC-WYK where the sourcer doesn't seem to work.
by Steve Miall G2G1 (1.3k points)
I've noticed this, too, Steve. For me, it is happening when the source is not yet attached to a person in FamilySearch. Once I attach the source and then come back to it from their source list, the "Sourcer" is working just as it should. Perhaps Rob can/will look into this and figure out what is going on because sometimes I want to cite a FamilySearch record, but I'm not yet ready to attach it to anyone over there.
This is a problem that started happening a few days ago when FamilySearch changed their URLs. See this G2G post: https://www.wikitree.com/g2g/1422810/web-sourcer-not-working-for-family-search-again?show=1422810#q1422810

That describes a workaround. WikiTree Sourcer is also fixed in version 1.2.8 so that it handles the new URLs.

Do you have version 1.2.8?
Thanks for the replies. I think it is something that happened in the last few days. I have 1.0.13, Rob, but it doesn't change when I take the update option (in Firefox). Should I be removing & reinstalling it?

You should not need to remove it and reinstall it. Though you are moving up several versions so there may be some issue I'm not aware of.

First I would try restarting Firefox, if that doesn't work then disable and re-enable the extension.

I can tell you that your example ( https://www.familysearch.org/search/ark:/61903/1:1:XHLC-WYK ) does work for me in Chrome and Firefox.

+4 votes
What an amazing extension to WikiTree!  It makes sourcing, which has to be one of the worst tasks in genealogy, incredibly easy.  I no longer dread having to manually look up sources, copy/paste, etcetera, WikiTree Sourcer does it all when proper sourcing is available.  Hopefully the 1950 Census will be available soon.

Now that I use this everyday, I would like to suggest another extension/app for a task that is currently difficult to do without spending an inordinate amount of time on.  That is applying various templates such at Countries with the appropriate Flag based on local and year.

I supported this before trying it, and am now going to go back and increase my support.
by Mark Trevithick G2G3 (3.0k points)
+4 votes
Thank you for your work to create this extension. It makes the job much easier. I do notice that it builds a misleading entry for pages like https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:244F-RDC where it says the grooms parents are "David and Anna Schulman". The record omits the father's last name because it is the same as the grooms. I suspect it would be difficult, but it would be nice if the father's last name was taken from the groom if it is omitted.

Again, thank you so much for all of your hard work.
by Walter Horowitz G2G6 Mach 1 (16.7k points)
I agree ... that is misleading. The person adding the source would certainly need to be responsible to edit the source to remove any confusion.
+2 votes
I just installed Sourcer extension and now I don't know where it is in order to use it. Please help
by Patricia Walker G2G6 Mach 1 (11.7k points)
Look for the [1] in the menu of your browser, it's top right on mine.
I clicked on the puzzle piece at the top right and saw the extension. I now have it pinned and can see [1] at the top right. Thank you for your help

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