Challenge of the Week: Help clean up dates [closed]

Question

Hi WikiTreers,

Will you join our Data Doctors Challenge for this week?  

Aleš's "WikiTree+" data analysis has uncovered thousands of profiles with dates that need some special attention, e.g. people who lived 115+ years, or had children after they were 100, or got married before they were born, etc. Some of these are obvious typos and easy to fix. Many require research.

Here is the table of profiles with problematic dates.

After you investigate something, set the status [more info]. That will earn you a point. The member with the most points at 11:59pm EDT on Sunday night will get the badge and the bragging rights. But we'll all benefit from a neater, cleaner shared tree.  

If you're participating, please post here to let us know. It helps us avoid stepping on each others' toes, and it's nice to cheer each other on. Also post here if you have any questions about how to participate.

Thanks for helping!

UPDATE:

 

Top 10

• Joe E. Cochoit - 1,061 WINNER!
• Paula Cullen - 537
• Cindy Cooper - 271
• Anon Ellerbrock - 231
• Dana J. Johnson - 196
• Cindy L. Shephard - 120
• Carolyn S. Martin - 110
• S L. Boulton - 105
• Elizabeth B. Coltrane - 98
• Darren J. Kellett - 92

For more results:

• 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

Challenge is opened.

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I'm in - I'll work 102.  Slogging my way through the 102's.  Sorry, can't touch outside the U.S.!  Got through most of them, will work on the others tomorrow.  I think I've gone snow blind!  Ha ha!

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I'm working on 310s, starting with the 1900s.

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I've already done 15 without realising I was participating...

Let's look at some dodgy dates!

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I would love to help, I am a beginner, so point me in the right direction if I do something wrong. Not sure which numbers to work on but if there is a 410 I will work on it.  Thanks

Can't seem to get in....

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Started back in on the 102's (1900's) about half way through - I've got 30 more to do and when I picked up where I left off to place a comment, I got an error message.  Said we are limited to the number of comments per day due to spammers????  What??????  This will be difficult to clean up the database, eh?  What now?

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Did you click on the correct column?  I made that mistake a few times. chuckle.  It's the columns to the far right of the table you want.

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I'll give it a go!

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Hi: I will do some to help..Marie  (Chantigny-4) I am working on data base errors 601 and 631 if needed on the same profile.

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I'll work on 104 1900s

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I'm working on 210's and 310's in the Netherlands. This is much slower going than the separators in names errors :-)

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I'm in anyone got any tips on where I should begin?

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I will try a few

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For people not used to working these errors, they usually require doing a little genealogy.  The vast majority of the time the error is a typo (e.g. 1858 entered instead of 1958).  90% of the time a quick check on ancestry.com, or familysearch.org, or a quick google search will give you the correct dates.  Please don't simply delete dates to make the error go away.  The incorrect date is often the best clue for determining the date which was intended.

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I wanted to sign up and help, but I don't see the numbers people are working on the list.

What numbers are still available or can use a second person on?

Taylor

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Commencing on 305 errors 1900-1999 and concentrating on Australian profiles

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Helping out on the South African profiles

This will go slow as much research is needed. :-)

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Excellent excellent advice Joe :-)

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How can I tell what errors have already been fixed?  Or rather, how can I tell which ones need attention?  Whenever I click on one, someone else has beat me to it.  This is rather frustrating and makes me feel like help is not needed - too many cooks, so to speak.

Any suggestions?

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Start in the middle of the page, or at the end of the page. If there are more pages (over 1000 errors in the group), start on second page.

You should firs click Status button to see if error was already tended by someone this week. And then you should go to the profile to see if you can correct it.

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Thanks, Ales.  I corrected the DOB for a profile with an initial for an LNAB. I found the actual last name, but was unable to change the LNAB. How do I fix the LNAB?

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Only the profile manager(s) can change LNAB.  Try leaving a message for them in the first instance.  Alternatively, they will end up with a redirection to a profile with the proper name any way you do this, so you could put all the details into a 'proper' profile and then initiate a merge.  Helps if PM is unresponsive.  You do end up as the PM yourself though!

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I'll try 404

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I'd like to help with this.

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Thanks, Deborah!  It turns out the profile was an orphan, so I adopted it and corrected the LNAB.  No merge needed.

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Some advice please - have a look at these 3 profiles

https://www.wikitree.com/wiki/Sexton-626

https://www.wikitree.com/wiki/Briscoe-287

https://www.wikitree.com/wiki/Sexton-625

If the dates & country are correct for the parents of Sexton-625 and her spouse & children are correct then clearly she needs to be detached from the "Parents" - I could not find definitive sources to prove anything.

Anyone with the authority to detach - I have left a message for the PM

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Slow but sure is the key.  I won't be into the numbers thing, but will be glad to help.

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I'll help.

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I'm working on error 406 multiple marriages.  Sometimes I do a compare and find the merge is already proposed.  But I don't see a way to complete the merge myself (short of going to the Pending Merges section and paging through to find it).  Isn't there a way to get to that merge to get it done?  I would post a screenshot of the message (it's in a green box) but can't find a way to do that in this comment.  It might be a little late to ask this, but I'd like to know for future error cleaning.

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Cindy, if it is past 30 days (when merges go into default), you can simply click the merge link at the bottom of the screen where the pending merge is sitting on the profile.  When you say green box, where are you seeing this?

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Hi, Emma, probably they were less than 30 days.  Here's an example of the green box (today is the 30th day)

https://www.wikitree.com/index.php?title=Special:MergePerson&user1_name=Botha-2700&user2_name=Botha-2123&action=merge

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Ah, I see what you mean now.  Unfortunately, there is no way to complete a merge before the thirty day default unless both profile managers have confirmed the merge, but when both members confirm the merge, the second person to confirm is forced to immediately complete the merge.  So we have to wait for the 30 day default period :-(

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At least now I know to look before even taking the next step.  Thank you.

Answer 1

I'm in. Working on the 407s. - Finished what I can do on the 407s. There are quite a few messy ones that I can't figure out. Mostly from bad merges.

408's for 1900's are done

Answer 2

I'm in, working on people from Scotland.

Answer 3

408 in the 1700's.

Answer 4

I'm in again.  Working on NY Dates.

Comments

Yahoo!  Way to go Susan :-)

Answer 5

I'll start working on the 103s in the USA.

Answer 6

I'll clear up a few.

Answer 7

I'll do a few.
finished with 101 Birth in future

Answer 8

I'll work on a few also.

Answer 9

I will do a few from the Netherlands.

Answer 10

I'll tackle a few 416s.

Answer 11

Working on 408's, 1800-1899, starting at the top.

Answer 12

I give this challenge a try.

Comments

Sweet!  Go Team Roses!

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As I am correcting dates, I am researching and adding sources, so I can also count a lot of them on the Sorcerers Challenge.

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Excellent Multitasking :-)

Answer 13

I'm also going to be working on 408 errors : )

Answer 14

working on 406

Answer 15

I would like to assist - my first time doing this.  I am trying 104 too old in 1800.

Answer 16

I'll get a few from profiles I watch. These can be tough for the old profiles because so many dates are guesses.

Answer 17

I'll try some 111s. 1900s.

Answer 18

A question/suggestion for Aleš Trtnik - some of the 408 errors (multiple marriages on the same day) that I have worked on are because there are multiple spouses, the marriage date for the second+ spouse is known, so the profile manager created a placeholder profile for the first spouse. The first spouse has been an Unknown a couple times, with a marriage date of "before 11 July 1869" when the second marriage occurred on "11 July 1869". The error engine doesn't take into account "before" or "after", but it probably should.

Answer 19

Thanks everybody

Answer 20

I'm in-- Louisiana-- better late than never!