Adding family

Question

My mother, and some of her ancestors, are on someone else's list.  I find it difficult to add  relatives, some of whom are on the other person's list.  The other genealogist has been helpful but It seems I must make an request every time - and if the other genealogist is not  active, I cannot proceed.

E.g.  My maternal grandmother was married twice.  One marriage is recorded already but I cannot seem to be able to add the other.

Is there some way I can add people and merge later, if necessary?

Answer 1

I feel your pain.*  What may be the problem is the closeness of the relative.  I had success in asking to be added to the trusted list for a several-times great-grandfather and his ancestors (the profile manager can do this using the Bulk Trusted List Changes tool.

And yes, an alternative is to create a profile and merge it later, but having merged a few profiles ... ones with little information/no children are easy; robust ones, not so much.  

Hope this helps!

Liz

*I've encountered one person who manages profiles in my direct line who answered my request with a referral to the genealogical society for that name. <sigh>

Comments

Hey Liz, I hope you referred that "*" person to the Honor Code. Rule #1: We collaborate. Even if they didn't sign it, we can close their account if they don't want to abide by it.

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Actually, I think she was trying to be helpful (although she didn't reply when I asked for clarification that she wasn't going to add me). The line <b>is</b> very twisted and tangled.  I've contacted the person she referred me too, and once my own information is a bit firmer, I'll try again.  I'll let you know how that goes (although it may be a few months - I'm on a hot lead on another line right now :)
Thanks!

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Thanks, Liz.  Perhaps I should disentangle my family and start again from scratch.  Merging, initiated by me or by others, could follow as desired.

Humphrey

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Ah, but the beauty of wikitree is its synergy.  I've really been energized working collaboratively with distant cousins, and it's thrilling when your see your tree get fuller when that collaboration works as wiki was designed to.  I'd suggest continuing as you are, and starting a duplicate profile only when you have to.  I'm not the most patient of people, but perhaps you could send an e-mail to the person letting them know that you're going to send a slew of requests (maybe suggesting that they could use the Bulk Trusted List Changes tool, selecting to add all ancestors and siblings of "Closest-123") - and then click through as you can, asking to be added.  And then, the hard part... giving it a few days.  Good luck!

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I just had another thought - I don't know the connection of the current manager, but perhaps you could ask the person to make you the manager of your mother's page and of her parents?  If the current manager isn't a son/daughter or grandson/granddaughter, I don't know why they wouldn't be agreeable to doing that.

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Liz, I *love* your comment about WikiTree collaboration! That's exactly what I've been working toward these past four years.

By the way, this other Q&A thread is on a proposal to make 200-year-old profiles easier to collaborate on:
http://www.wikitree.com/g2g/3948/should-anyone-able-add-themselves-trusted-list-open-profile

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Thanks Chris.  And you jogged my memory.  Earlier this month I'd sent an e-mail to one of my new-found cousins and copied a few lines from it that I'd meant to send to you:

I’ve only been on WikiTree since Memorial Day, and I’m already getting overwhelmed (and sleep-deprived :).  But it is oh so exciting to have the collaborative forces of WikiTree members help me break through brick walls (one already – I found him on the passenger list of a 1732 ship, that I found thanks to clues from WikiTree).

Thank you SO MUCH for making WikiTree possible!  Since that e-mail, I've breached a couple more brick walls, and many more are crumbling.  It's really exciting!

Cheers,
Liz

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Liz - thank you for your two suggestions. I will try the "bulk trusted list changes" first.  If that doesn't work, then I will ask for management transfer.  It does seem a little odd that the first genealogist to enter a person then becomes the "owner", no matter how distant the connection.

Humphrey

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Hey Humphrey: For what it's worth, the current Profile Manager isn't meant to be the "owner" http://www.wikitree.com/wiki/Ownership_and_control and a WikiTreer can and should change the Profile Manager http://www.wikitree.com/wiki/Special:ManagerChanges to be the closest active WikiTreer who wants to take charge. But that's just the intention. What WikiTreers do and how it all works out in practice, well ...