Challenge of the Week: Investigate Find A Grave suggestions [closed]

+5 votes
1.7k views

Hi WikiTreers,

Will you join our Data Doctors Challenge for this week?

Aleš does something extraordinarily clever as part of his WikiTree+ data analysis: When a profile on WikiTree can be connected to a memorial on Find A Grave, the data here is compared with the data there. If there's a discrepancy, he alerts us to it.   

Sometimes Find A Grave has a birth date or location or a death date or location that's missing from WikiTree. These are golden nuggets for those of us who are obsessed with making profiles as complete as possible.   

This isn't mechanical, thoughtless work. This isn't like fixing typos. A genealogist needs to look at each one of these items and consider whether the information on Find A Grave is reliable. A lot of the information there isn't better than what we have here. Often it's worse. Just like on WikiTree, the information on Find A Grave all comes from its members.

Generally speaking, if there is a photo of the grave and you can see the information written in stone it's worth using. Even then, gravestones aren't always correct. If the gravestone is the source for a date, location, etc., make that clear in a source citation. 

What do you say? Will you help us sift through the mountain looking for the golden nuggets? Here is the table of suggestions to investigate.  

Please post here to say you're participating. That helps avoid working on the same items at the same time, and gives us the opportunity to cheer each other on.   

Also post here if you have any questions. Find A Grave suggestions aren't as easy to use as some of the other types, so if you're not sure about something, just ask.

Thanks!   

P.S. Here's a tip: There is an easy way to put a link on a WikiTree profile to a Find A Grave memorial that will always work, even when Find A Grave changes their website (as they did recently). It's like this, where 1234 is the Find A Grave memorial number:   

== Sources ==   
<references />   
See also:   
* {{FindAGrave|1234}}

Top 10

closed with the note: Challenge is finished
in The Tree House by Eowyn Walker G2G Astronaut (2.4m points)
closed by Eowyn Walker
Please, participants, do NOT change data (dates, places, names) any Puritan Great Migration (PGM) profiles you find from this challenge because what you find on FaG is different. The PGM project does not recognize Find-A-Grave as a valid source. Instead, please feel free to add a comment on such profiles about your findings. Thank you.
Does anyone realize that many of the dates on find a grave don't jive with death certificates or marriage certificates? Always cross reference (check all sources available) and if nothing exists I personally leave it the same or with my prior information or a date that seems to be in the ballpark without being specific; ex: ca 1898

Many of these wikitree "cleanup" projects are deleting information and people of research that is 20 years plus of hard work, time and money.

Don't be a busybody if you don't have a date, do you really have to enter one? Leave some research for the next generation.
I would love to help with this project!
I have found that when I have a documented source that conflicts with a Find A Grave memorial and I have provided that source to the memorial manager, he or she has almost always been willing to correct Find A Grave.
If any info gets deleted, the changes tab does wonders on being able to recover it. You can see exactly what was deleted, added, or changed and by whom.
My point is, that should not be occurring in a file without the permission or acknowledgement of the person listed as the manager for any reason.
Lemme at 'em
@Jillaine, or...how about they make a comment in the suggestion report as they mark it false, so that it no longer shows up in the report?
@Ales,

On Mackey-317, the user credits a FAG member for information. the URL is https://www.findagrave.com/cgi-bin/fg.cgi?page=mr&MRid=47141587 which gets redirected to https://www.findagrave.com/user/profile/47141587. How do you propose I handle that in reference to the challenge? False error?

Thanks,

Gil

Wes Hart should open account on WikiTree and it will not be a problem smiley

Until then just mark it as False error. You could update the URL to redirected one.

13 Answers

+2 votes
I'll work on some of these - starting with those on my suggestions list
by Emily Holmberg G2G6 Pilot (153k points)
+2 votes
I've been avoiding these - I'll have a go at England - Lancashire mainly.

Thanks for the tip. I will certainly be using this in any that I reference.
by Peter Cameron G2G6 Mach 2 (25.1k points)
+3 votes
I will work on any that are in my location
by Cheryl Hess G2G Astronaut (1.8m points)
+2 votes
I'll work on some this week.
by Staci Golladay G2G6 Mach 6 (61.0k points)
+2 votes
I'll work on some this week.  I'm not sure what area yet.
by Marcie Ruiz G2G6 Mach 5 (59.5k points)
+2 votes
I'll work on these.
by Kelley Harrell G2G6 Mach 1 (17.8k points)
+2 votes
I am helping out too.
by Carolyn Martin G2G6 Pilot (281k points)
+2 votes
I'm in to get the FAG's corrected !
by Christine Preston G2G6 Mach 6 (64.9k points)
+4 votes
I read the anti-FAG thread.  Ow!  I think I was called uninformed.  How did they know that I use FAG.  Now I have to sneak around.  LOL
by Jo Gill G2G6 Pilot (165k points)
+1 vote
What to do if a FAG memorial has been removed?
by Jo Gill G2G6 Pilot (165k points)
+1 vote
would love to help.
by Living Jones G2G6 Mach 1 (19.6k points)
+2 votes

Working on 571 FindAGrave - Link without Grave ID

by Gil Davis G2G6 Mach 1 (14.5k points)
+2 votes
I'll work on some.
by

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