Challenge of the Week: Help improve marriages [closed]

Question

Hi WikiTreers,

Want to join us in a challenge?

This week's Data Doctors Challenge is centered on weddings and marriages. Let's help profiles in our tree live happily ever after.

WikiTree+ data analysis has discovered almost 70,000 marriage-related errors and warnings to be investigated, including:

• Unknown gender of spouse: The person's spouse does not have a gender. If it can be confidently determined, you should set the spouse's gender from their edit page.
• Single sex marriage: Both spouses have the same gender. Same-sex marriage is not uncommon today but it was rare in history. Try to verify that one of the partners does not have the wrong gender and edit if appropriate.
• Marriage before birth: The person's marriage date is before their birth date. If the correct marriage date or the person's birth date can be confidently determined, fix it. To edit a marriage date look for the "edit marriage" link below the spouse in the Edit Family section of the person's edit page.
• Marriage too long after birth:The person's marriage date is more than 115 years after their birth date.
• Marriage after death: The person's marriage date is after their death date. If the correct marriage date or death date can be determined, fix it.
• Lived too long after marriage: The person lived too long after marriage. So probably death or marriage date is wrong. Limit is set at 115 years. Correct death or marriage date.
• Multiple marriages on same day: The person married more than one spouse on the same day. If one marriage date is incorrect, fix it, or if the spouses are duplicates, merge them.
• Marriage to duplicate person: The person married more than one person with the same name. If the spouses are duplicates, merge them.
• Marriage End Date before Marriage Date: The marriage end date is before the marriage date.
• Marriage End Date before Birth Date: The marriage end date is before the person's birth date. If the correct birth or marriage date can be determined, fix it.
• Marriage End Date too late: The difference between the person's birth date and their marriage date is too long. The dates would mean the person's marriage ended when they were over 115 years old.
• Marriage End Date after Death Date: The person died before their marriage ended.
• Spouse is a sibling: The person's spouse has one of the same parents. This is not impossible but unlikely. If the problem can be determined, correct it.

Here is the table of errors we need to investigate.

To earn a point, click the status button on the report by the profile you edited and follow the instructions there. [more info]

The member with the most points at 11:59 pm EDT on Sunday night will get the badge and the bragging rights. But we'll all benefit.

What will you be working on? Please post here to let us know and we'll cheer each other on. Or post if you have any questions about how to participate.

Thanks for helping to clean our tree!

UPDATE: 

Top 10

• Hans P. Hofmann - 1,125 WINNER!
• Paula J. Cullen - 767
• Colleen M. Eary - 388
• Susan M. McNamee - 346
• Cindi L. Clark - 300
• Darren J. Kellett - 270
• Deborah J. Smith - 263
• Loretta C. Corbin - 161
• Dana J. Johnson - 139
• Natalie J. Trott - 108

For more results see:

• By Participant
• By Error Type
• By Participant and Error Type
• By Error Type and Day
• By Participant and Day
• By Hour

Real-time tracking results: See your stats 
alongside other participants here.

 

Comments

Thanks, Eowyn - since I have not heard anything anymore, and, for lack of a better idea - I clicked all these profiles again. So, my count on the statistic is more or less correct. (A few short, but who is counting?) So, this should be "closed" Happy Day - Peter

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Nothing weird about loving data :-)

I've been puzzled over the number of duplicate spouses, even though I've not been looking for them.  I think it's something to do with Gedcom imports again.  Glad I made the decision to start building my tree up from scratch here!

Yes, I've found some random privacy settings too.  And the same names keep reappearing on the error reports - too many people out there with broken Shift/Capslock keys!!

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I don't know if we have any instances of this on WikiTree, but seeing "Marriage after death" on the list reminded me of the tradition of ghost marriage in China. According to the Wikipedia entry for posthumous marriage, it is legal in France and has been practiced in other countries.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Posthumous_marriage

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Hans, I only saw your message today. You had  Hofman-545 in editbox for WikitreeID. I corrected them all to Hofmann-545 and deleted duplicates (since you set the status again).

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Hello Ales, thanks, but no thanks. Now you managed to completely mess this up. - You credited Hofman-545 with 802 points - this is WRONG. Hofman-545 has ZERO points, did not even participate.

You also credited Hofmann-545 with 324 points - which is equally wrong.

Hofmann-545 has 1,121 points total.

Would truly appreciate if you were to set this right.

Happy Day - Hans

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Now I really changed them to Hofmann-545

Sorry about that. Also 'Errors guy' makes mistakes.

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Thank you, Ales - now my world looks a little brighter again ....and thanks for that - since I am an ex-Austrian we are virtually neighbors, whom I hold in high regard.

Happy Day - Hans

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Need help! I randomly picked an Error 403 and found a census record that will correct several errors, it's a public file but I can't get an "edit" link. I'm logged in. What's up?

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Victoria, is the profile private?  In other words, any color lock that is not clear/white.  If so, you cannot edit these.

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Thanks! I figured out that I had to be a trusted friend to edit. Pity. I'll try and contact the PM but it doesn't look active.

Answer 1

I am going to start with Error 409--Marriage to duplicate person.  

I will start at Date of 0000 and work my way  up.  OOh boy!  Merging here I come!!

Comments

Go, Emma, Go!

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Going......!

Answer 2

I'll play too!  I've been working on these errors some in Georgia.  Time to concentrate!

Answer 3

I'll do some work on Error 661 (Wrong word in marriage location)

Comments

Welcome back Lucy!  Sure have missed you :-)

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I need help. Can someone explain how to change details when helping on challenges. I have no idea. I click status but it doesnt give me the option to delete data to rewrite and correct. Newbie here!

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L, you have to go to the actual profile and click on the edit tab to make the change.  Make sure to leave a comment about the change above the Save Bar and then click save.

Then come back to the Status page and mark "corrected" if it was corrected and put a comment about the correction (there are usually comments to choose from here)

Answer 4

I'm in... any particular place you need me to start?

Comments

Click on the link Here is the table of errors we need to investigate. and find an error you are comfortable working on that no one else has already chosen.  Then just work at your own pace! 

Answer 5

I'm working on 663. Taking out some USA the week after Independence Day...

Answer 6

I normally am working on marriages, so will just continue as usual. My focus at present is to sort out 403 Single Sex Marriages.

Answer 7

I will work on New York marriage issues.

402 - done
403 - done
671 - done
670 - done
668 - done
667 - done
665 - done
664 -

Answer 8

I'll try working on the marriage before birth ones. See how I go... these date problems often lead other errors in surrounding profiles. I'll take my time. Gillian

Answer 9

"Help improve marriages" - I gotta say, that can definitely be a challenge!  Especially if you're married to a non-genealogist.

But now that I see this is a Data Doctors Challenge - sure, I'm in!

So I looked over the list of errors and saw "407 - Lived too long after marriage" and wondered, Are we that shocked that people live long after marriage?  I'm being too silly tonight to do anything worthwhile, so I'm going to bed and will try again tomorrow to improve marriages.

Answer 10

I'll play!

Answer 11

Marriage location in lower/upper case errors!  I simply have to spell any text messages in proper English, so that's probably a category for me - there are lots there!

Comments

Doesn't it just drive you crazy to see things in all lower or all upper case?

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And people who put 'i' like that - should be a capital offence ;-)

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There were so many of these types of Errors.   I wonder how many different reports these errors would show up on.   Improper abbreviations, lower case, missing or unknown locations.   It really makes me glad that I didn't import a GEDcom.   It's slow putting everyone in from scratch but it's worth the effort to get the sources in there.

Answer 12

Worked on Error 402 - all but one profile are not open for edit; left a comment on the error status; most already had a note posted to the profile.

Comments

For 1700-1799, these have all been previously fixed in Nov. Not sure why they are showing  up on error report again?

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Maybe the person didn't click save?

Answer 13

I've been working on the 412 - Marriage end before marriage errors.

Comments

Did as much as I could. I received a couple thank yous, and a "don't touch my data, as I am positive great-great-grandpa's marriage ended the same year he fathered a child and died (all when he was 7) but didn't marry until he was 9". Ok, the message didn't say it quite that way, but that was the gist. (I only removed the marriage end date and left a message saying exactly what I did so it could be changed back if incorrect).

There's one in every crowd...

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Yes, there certainly is, Julie. 9, eh? What year was this? 1002? ;-)

Answer 14

I worked on some of 418 Sibling/Spouse marriage errors this morning. I'll try to work on those on and off all week but work calls right now.

Answer 15

I'm working away on some 409's as well. I'm in the 1800's.