Is the WikiTree ID surname in an unlisted person suggested match always the actual surname of that person.

Question

When using the Comparison Pop Ups I often see  people who have private trees or unlisted persons.  In those cases there is often the WikiTree name ID for example 'Johnston-12245" when I have a "Mary Lue Johnston".  Is the surname provided in the WikiTree column that of the person who is the suggested match or is it someone else?  I am asking to decide if the surname on the private tree is not the same as the surname on my GEDCOM is it safe to reject the match outright? If it does match I understand I need to contact the manager with some additional information to understand if they can confirm or reject the match or offer Trusted status so I can make that call.

Answer 1

The name portion of the WikiTreeID comes from the Last Name at Birth field, literally, identically. Whatever is in the LNAB field, that's the WikiTreeID.  It's supposed to be the person's surname when he or she was born.  It is not always correct, because we are all flawed humans.  If the profile is hidden behind a privacy lock, there is no way to judge.  Assume nothing.  Ask the profile manager.

Comments

Thanks for the star, John!

Answer 2

It could often be a maiden name.  Hopefully, you would have enough info in your own tree to identify whether this name is a possibility for yours.

Comments

I am just trying to figure out whether or not to reject a match on surname alone.  The best information is about the source of the surname.  That makes me confident unless there is a human error which I can do nothing about.  These are mostly people on the fringes of my tree so additional information is sparse to nonexistent.  The good news (?) since I am working from a Gedcomcompare list is that the women come up with their maiden name.  So that should not be an issue.