How can one add an individual in a Gedcom if there is a 99% individual That is the same in the Wikitree database?

+4 votes
238 views
I am adding my ancestors individually as my gedcom is over 16,000 and I want to make sure my information is correct.  However, in just one day in comparing one family I have found so many duplicates from other gedcoms.  I thought that duplicates would not be added and they would have to be merged....

What is the Rule?
in WikiTree Help by Lynn Robinson G2G4 (4.0k points)
retagged by Darlene Athey-Hill

laugh If nothing else, anyone who tackles the merges will have some leisure time activity to pursue and thus lighten the holiday stresses (Christmas Is Coming, it's Charlie Brown time -- lovely story, that) 

And likewise, happy holidays folks

2 Answers

+9 votes
 
Best answer
That is the rule, you should not create new profiles for ancestors who already have profiles here, as the duplicates would have to be merged, and that just creates a lot more unnecessary work.  You might have a lot of info that you can, at some point, add to already existing profiles.  Take a look at this section of the Help File and see if it helps:

https://www.wikitree.com/wiki/Help:GEDCOMpare
by Dennis Barton G2G6 Pilot (546k points)
selected by Lynn Robinson
Is there anyway in the Software to not let this happen?  To not let profiles get skimmed over and approved by the person  who owns the gedcom? Bells and whistles going off?  Just a humorous suggestion.
Fortunately the software hasn't taken over everything yet!  It's not able to decide reliably what's a duplicate and what's a different person with the same or similar name, so that's still a human function.  it does give you a bunch of profiles you should look at as possible duplicates, but you still get to make the final call.
Thanks...Happy Holidays to all
If you have found duplicates on wikitree, please propose merges for those duplicates to 'help trim the tree'.  If you need any help, let us know.
+5 votes
Welcome to Wikitree!  I believe in prior years people were allowed to just dump 16,000 names without comparing profiles and without sources.  This left a mess that you are now running into.  Please do propose merges as you run into them.
by Kathy Rabenstein G2G6 Pilot (315k points)
Thanks Kathy...that explains a lot of what I have been running into.  My eyes will be extra wide open hence forward!

Lynn

Related questions

+1 vote
1 answer
133 views asked Aug 18, 2019 in The Tree House by Living Knight G2G6 Mach 3 (37.4k points)
+5 votes
2 answers
+9 votes
1 answer
+21 votes
5 answers
+12 votes
3 answers

WikiTree  ~  About  ~  Help Help  ~  Search Person Search  ~  Surname:

disclaimer - terms - copyright

...