TRACKS Program - Profiles, Transcriptions, and Citations

Profile manager: Steven Harris [send private message]

The third step in the TRACKS program is to focus on our ancestors, providing transcriptions, images, and citations in order to create and/or update profiles.

Background

click image to enlarge

Now that you have a way of tracking your progress through the Cemetery Category we created earlier, we are now ready to start adding your cemetery photos and information to actual person profiles. This step is key to the work we do in the Cemeterist Project. It is our vision to fill WikiTree with original content, documenting cemeteries all around the world. Ideally, each and every WikiTree profile should eventually have a gravestone photo!

The most important step when dealing with profiles on WikiTree is to first search for a matching profile! This can be done in a number of ways, but the easiest is to use the Add New Person form as you transcribe your photos.

Scenario 1 - Creating a New Profile

Starting with your photo, record the Names, Locations, and/or Dates as provided on the gravestone in Step 1 of the Add New Person form - and only the information as it is provided on the gravestone! Using our example image, we will enter the Name, Birth and Death Dates. It is also a good idea to select the 'estimated/uncertain' indicators at this stage, since gravestones can contain incorrect dates. We can always correct this information later.

Next, we review potential matches (existing profiles) in Step 2 of the form. If there are no matches, we can now move on to Step 3 of the form. Continuing with our example, we see that there are no potential matches.

Last, but not least, we can add any additional information that may be provided on the gravestone, such as middle name, suffix (Sr. or Jr.), as well as identified birth and death locations, and then add your monumental inscription (citation) for the image in the Source(s) field and then save the form to add the new person.

Monumental inscriptions are provided in the format:

Monumental inscription. <CEMETERY NAME>, <CEMETERY LOCATION>. <DEATH DATE> (b. <BIRTH DATE>) <LAST NAME>, <GIVEN/FIRST NAME>. Photographed by: [[Wiki-ID|Your Name]].

If you have been provided images by a Caretaker, or were given permission to use a image by another person, please use the name of photographer. We want to recognize our photographers for their contributions and ensure we do not violate copyrights! This inscription can be tweaked and provided as follows:

Monumental inscription. <CEMETERY NAME>, <CEMETERY LOCATION>. <DEATH DATE> (b. <BIRTH DATE>) <LAST NAME>, <GIVEN/FIRST NAME>. Photographed, and release given for upload, by: <PHOTOGRAPHERS NAME>.

Once the profile is created, we can continue to: Uploading Your Image.

Scenario 2 - Updating an Existing Profile

Starting with your photo, record the Names, Locations, and/or Dates as provided on the gravestone in Step 1 of the Add New Person form - and only the information as it is provided on the gravestone! Using our example image, we will enter the Name, Birth and Death Dates. It is also a good idea to select the 'estimated/uncertain' indicators at this stage, since gravestones can contain incorrect dates. We can always correct this information later.

Next, we review potential matches (existing profiles) in Step 2 of the form. If there is a possible match indicated, we carefully review the profile to ensure we talking about the same person.

In this case, it is clear that the name and dates perfectly match our information! So instead of creating a new profile via the form, we will navigate to the existing profile and continue to: Uploading Your Image. Sometimes profiles will need a more in depth check to ensure

Adding Images

Now that we have a base profile to work from, we need to add our image. Clicking the Image Tab located at the top of the profile, we are taken to the profile's image page. Next, we select the 'Click here to upload it' link to open the Upload Image form. On the resulting image form, we select our image to upload, and then enter a source for the image (the monumental inscription) provided in the format:

Monumental inscription. <CEMETERY NAME>, <CEMETERY LOCATION>. <DEATH DATE> (b. <BIRTH DATE>) <LAST NAME>, <GIVEN/FIRST NAME>. Photographed by: [[Wiki-ID|Your Name]].

If you have been provided images by a Caretaker, or were given permission to use a image by another person, please use the name of photographer. We want to recognize our photographers for their contributions and ensure we do not violate copyrights! This inscription can be tweaked and provided as follows:

Monumental inscription. <CEMETERY NAME>, <CEMETERY LOCATION>. <DEATH DATE> (b. <BIRTH DATE>) <LAST NAME>, <GIVEN/FIRST NAME>. Photographed, and release given for upload, by: <PHOTOGRAPHERS NAME>.

Caretaker Check-in: Please wait for the Caretaker to review your work up to this point before continuing on!

Up Next ➝: Cemetery Free-Space Pages