Most of my ancestors are not on the tree, how can I bring my information in without entering everyone individually?

+3 votes
531 views
I get we want all the data perfect and checked, but do I really have to do it all again!
in The Tree House by Christopher Mangion G2G Rookie (220 points)

There are extensions which speed up the transfers of data. One I use is the WikiTree Sourcer. If you have all your data at Ancestry, for example, you can use the WikiTree Sourcer to copy all the data for an individual, then paste all the data for that individual into the profile creation form here at WikiTree. You can also use WikiTree Sourcer to create source citations from Ancestry record index pages, FamilySearch record index pages, and other places to paste with one click into the profile creation form. Then there's another extension called the WikiTree Browser  Extension (or WBE) which has a neat option called the "AutoBio" which will "write" a nice narrative bio from the data you provided. 

If you use these extensions, and others, you're really not doing anything over again. But I agree with L. Greer who answered below--you can use this as an opportunity to check your work and add to it. For almost every individual I've ever added to WikiTree (and I've added thousands) I have found new sources with new information which I didn't have before.

4 Answers

+6 votes

Hi Christopher 

I think you might have to do it all over again…that’s what I am doing.

You must have a tree on Ancestry. Well, at least you have information to start with. Wikitree doesn’t provide hints like Ancestry. You have to do the research and have the source to back your facts up with. 

by Susan Ellen Smith G2G6 Mach 9 (93.2k points)
+14 votes
When I started I made a decision to enter it all manually as a way of paying some attention to each individual, checking their information was correct and that I wasn’t missing information. I admit that a year on, I’ve still not got everyone on WT but I have definitely found mistakes that I’ve corrected, and some new relations that I’d been overlooking.

And then sometimes you realise that someone else has already entered an individual and that you gain new information too.
by L Greer G2G6 Pilot (104k points)
The same here.

I have found errors in my tree and have found much more information, slow but FUN!

Can not wait for the Connect-A-Thon coming soon.
I too also entered everyone on my tree manually rather than using a GEDCOM.

It took me a year or so, but now that I have been here for 6 years, when the occasional new relative shows up, I have fun adding new branches and relatives to my part of the global tree. I have over 3000 connections now.

If I had to do this all over again, I would make the same choice, Manual entry of profiles IMO - is much better than uploading a GEDCOM and then spending ages having to read a whole long list of possible matches, and manually "rejecting" them all.
+3 votes
If you would like to transfer your data by GEDCOM, you can find the advice about how this is done in WikiTree here: https://www.wikitree.com/wiki/Category:GEDCOM_Help

I don't use it, so I cannot answer further questions.
by Eva Ekeblad G2G6 Pilot (613k points)
+3 votes
I didn’t have any information written down, it was running around in my head and I had to get the information out.  I’ve really enjoyed adding my family as well as other’s family as well. I have traced friend’s families as much as my own. You can find yourself up against a brick wall. When that happens to me I talks a break from that family and move on to another family group. I sometimes play a game with myself.  I add a people I know and then try to connect then to me or the BIG family tree. Which ever comes first. This is better than the puzzle games I use to play because I am learning so much history. I currently have 1600 connections and joined Wikitree in 2021.
by Nikki Davis G2G6 Mach 1 (19.4k points)
The GEDCOM process does work, however, best used from a program such as GRAMPS.

A download from Ancestry and then upload to WT does not contain enough information to create a good profile. That is why most people suggest going it manually.

In my case, I combine information from Ancestry, FMP and FS, in GRAMPS and include a URL with each citation and some translations. The GEDCompare does a fair job of creating the profile, however I have put a lot of work into collecting the data/citations before this step. As many would agree, no one site has access to all the necessary information.

So, if Ancestry is your only source, I agree, do them one at a time using Ancestry as your tree model.

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