Help to Edit a profile biography and sources

Question

I have recently updated Alonzo Farnsworth (Farnsworth-1468) using GEDcom.  Sources have been added.  Can someone please look at the profile and review the sources for brevity.  It seems that I break some of the "code" for the program when I try to remove sentences that are duplicates within a paragraph.  Help and advice very much appreciated.

Janet Akins (Akins-630)

Comments

Janet, 

Sometimes Gedcoms leave "garbage" that really doesn't mean anything.  I'm not really sure why a person would need or want all of the following, for instance:

21 APR 1916. 
Jonesport, Washington, Maine, United States. 
21 APR 1916. 
Jonesport, Washington, Maine, United States. 
21 APR 1916. 
Jonesport, Washington, Maine, United States. 
21 APR 1916. 
Jonesport, Washington, Maine, United States. 
Note: death due to bronchial pneumonia accdg. to death record.  Death record confirms birth date and death date.
21 APR 1916. 
Jonesport, Washington, Maine, United States. 
Note: death due to bronchial pneumonia accdg. to death record.  Death record confirms birth date and death date.

One of those notes, (probably the last one, since it has more information) is sufficient, and you should be able to highlight and delete the other identical words completely without causing problems.

 

You do need to watch for these types of characters <ref>  and </ref>  .  Those are actually programming type symbols that allow sources to be added as "inline references" between them.  If you use the preview button you can experiment and remove things and then see if you "broke" any code.  Nothing really changes until you save it, so you can experiment to your heart's content.  Just refresh the page without saving it to get back to where you were.

 

Was there something specific you were hoping to change but were afraid to try?

 

Reba

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First, thank you.  I get the changes you changed.  

Yes, more specifically, I am looking at Sources.  It seems that when something is from ancestry.com there is a lot of repetitive info in the source section.  Example:

Source: #S1586 Database online. Year: 1910; Census Place: Jonesport, Washington, Maine; Roll: T624_547; Page: 1A; Enumeration District: 0291; Image: ; FHL microfilm: 1374560. Page Database online. Year: 1910; Census Place: Jonesport, Washington, Maine; Roll: T624_547; Page: 1A; Enumeration District: 0291; Image: ; FHL microfilm: 1374560. Record for Alonzo Farnsworth.

Can I just say:

Year: 1910; Census Place: Jonesport, Washington, Maine; Roll: T624_547; Page: 1A; Enumeration District: 0291; Image: ; FHL microfilm: 1374560. Record for Alonzo Farnsworth.

OR

1910 US, Federal Census: Jonesport, Washington, Maine; Roll: T624_547; Page: 1A; Enumeration District: 0291. Record for Alonzo Farnsworth.

Please comment on any change with this.

I also wonder do we need to have all of the info showing the resource location.  Example:  Can the following be changed?

 

• Source: S1649 Ancestry.com, Maine, Marriage Records, 1713-1937 (Ancestry.com Operations, Inc.) ns, Inc. Note: Maine Marriage Records, 1705-1922. Augusta, Maine: Maine State Archives. TID 0 Footnote Ancestry.com, Maine, Marriage Records, 1713-1937 (Ancestry.com Operations, Inc.) ShortFootnote Ancestry.com, Maine, Marriage Records, 1713-1937 Bibliography Ancestry.com. Maine, Marriage Records, 1713-1937. Ancestry.com Operations, Inc. Repository: #R4 Maine State Archives; Cultural Building, 84 State House Station, Augusta, ME 04333-0084; 1892-1907 Vital Records; Roll Number: 18 Page Maine State Archives; Cultural Building, 84 State House Station, Augusta, ME 04333-0084; 1892-1907 Vital Records; Roll Number: 18

Edit version: 

Maine Marriage Records; Maine State Archives; Cultural Building, 84 State House Station, Augusta, ME 04333-0084; 1892-1907; Vital Records; Roll Number: 18.

 

All Feedback is very much appreciated.  For all G2G members, I hope this helps you too.

Janet (Akins-630)

 

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Janet,

I avoided commenting on the "Source: #S1586"-type reference because I don't belong to Ancestry, and don't completely understand what might be lost by deleting those (to me) peculiar references. 

 It may just be a matter of preference, so I'll comment in the vein of "preference" and opinion.  I think your proposed method of documenting your source is acceptable -- and I definitely prefer it..  The main objective, to my understanding, is to allow others to follow in your footsteps and agree or disagree with your reasoning based on the evidence that you present. 

As a non-Ancestry subscriber, the Ancestry links add clutter, interrupt the "flow" of the profile, and don't lead anywhere.  But for those Wikitree-ers who don't intend to follow up and improve the profiles, the clues that are dropped with those Ancestry source references might help others figure out where the information came from.

I use FamilySearch.org for most of my record sources.  When one locates the record, there is (usually) a "source citation" button that copies their source information.  With a free account, anyone can view it, and there is a link embedded in the source that anyone can click on and view the record immediately. In many cases the original document is photocopied, and an interested person can follow the link, view the photocopy, and decide for themselves whether that "d" is really an "a" (for example). 

The disadvantage for an Ancestry user is that they are having to find a source for a second time -- doubling the work.   Also, Ancestry actually (I believe) gives its subscribers access to many records that can't be found online anywhere else.  

I guess what I'm saying is I think your proposed source citations are great.  If you wanted to go one step further, you could add a link to a freely available image of the source. It would probably be appreciated-- but it's not always possible and isn't necessary.

Reba

 

 

 

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Thanks Robert for the most recent clarification. It helps to make sense.

Answer 1

Hi Janet, I added two census records with source citations for Alonzo Farnsworth, one for 1870 (showing his parents and siblings, one for 1900 showing him, wife and children. Added another death records with a citation from Find A Grave.

Comments

Thank you for adding those citations.  

When dealing with sources, do I just need to add the ones that prove the facts that support the information??  Uploading through GEDcom provides a lot of extra stuff if that is the case.

Your response will be very much appreciated.  

Janet (Akins-630)