Are you a passionate family history enthusiast like me? Then you will adore this simple yet
powerful feature that has been added to FamilySearch Family Tree: tagging sources
to specific information. Now, even though I spend a lot of time on FamilySearch, I recently
discovered this new feature while helping someone at the local FamilySearch Center. This experience
reminded me that it's impossible to keep up with all the changes that are taking place.
But when I find something I like, of course, I want to bring it to you. So let's get started!
What is tagging sources? If you've watched this channel for a while,
you know that I use genealogy software to attach sources to specific events that those
records document. For instance, if a marriage record provides a name, a set of parents,
a residence on a specific date, a marriage date, and a date of divorce from the previous spouse,
then I will link that one marriage record to all the facts that were named in that document.
Previously, we could tag records within FamilySearch when we linked a source to
the family tree. But we could only save the record to parent profiles, spouse's profiles,
a child's profile, and we could tag maybe the name, the sex, or if we did this one,
name and sex. If we did this one, named birth sex, and that was about it.
If you went to the source tab on an ancestor's profile, you can add a christening or a burial.
If you had a source that provided information about a draft registration,
a military service state, a divorce state, or a land transaction, you couldn't connect the fact
to the source. Now that has changed, and I couldn't be happier.
When it comes to tagging sources in Family Tree on FamilySearch,
you have two convenient options. You can do it from the Sources section,
or you can do it from the Details section. Let's explore both methods step by step.
In order to make this work, you have to be signed into FamilySearch account,
and you have to be on the relative's person's page. I've clicked on the Sources tab to
review any previously linked references. I'm going to scroll down and click on this arrow,
or I can actually click on the title area, and the source will expand so we can review the details.
Now, this is a census record: name, birth, and residence. That's a new tag. So let's
see if that is happening on anything else. We're clicking on this one and this one, but oh wait,
1930 doesn't have that residence tag, and I would like to use it. So,
you see this "Add Tag" button? Give it a click to reveal a list of available tags.
Now go through the list and choose the ones that apply to your source. Name and birth, there's
also the sex. It also identifies that he's male on this record, but there isn't that residence.
What do we do? We click on "Add Tag" under the "Other Information" tags to create a custom tag.
So far, I've only seen three choices: you can choose alternate name, residences,
or custom event. I wonder if we'll be able to tag facts in the future, such as clan royalty
and other facts that aren't event-related items that we've talked about in previous
videos. In any case, we're going to select one of the above. In this case, the residence,
because this is the 1930s census that we're trying to tag. Click on "Residence". FamilySearch will
display a list of residences you have added to your ancestor's profile over in that detail tab.
If you don't see the residence event you want to tag, close this out,
go back to the Details tab, and then scroll down here in "Add a New Event",
and from there, you can tag your sources. But more on that in a moment. However,
we're going to go back to adding the tag for that 1930 census, and it's so easy. Just click
on that space, and notice the residence tag will be selected and will be saved.
Now, if you really want to make sure it's safe, you actually have to click the word "Save",
and then we can move on to tagging the next source. And notice the residence shows up
right here. What happens if you tag the wrong detail? No worries. You can remove the tag.
If you're in this screen still, all you have to do is unclick the residence information,
click "Save", and FamilySearch will remove that unhighlighted tag.
But if you're going through the sources in this way and you see two residences, click on that
one. That one says 1930. That's the one we want. Click on that one. That one says 1940, not a fan.
So we're going to go ahead and click "Delete Tag" and watch that residence tag disappear.
Now, what if the event doesn't exist for tagging, or you're just working on
an ancestor profile? Here's what you can do. You can tag sources from the Details section of this
profile. And notice I have this residence for 1950. I'm going to click on this pencil icon,
and now this screen pops up on the right panel of the pop-up menu. You
will find a list of sources if they were already tagged to this event.
If you want to add more sources or none are currently attached, click "Tag Sources". A list
of sources appears showcasing all the sources linked to this person. And then check the box
next to each source you want to tag. If needed, uncheck a box to remove that tag. Click "Save",
and then you don't have to do anything else. It's already saved. So X out of this,
and then when you look at the list again, you're going to see one source is tagged
to this residence. And when you open it back up again, here is the source.
For the other ones, you should see something similar. You should see that source is connected
to that residence, and it just continues up the list. So you can have multiple sources.
Now, if you wanted to review the sources attached to birth and death,
you can do that as well. You see that there are eight so far, and notice it pulls up
the information that was saved from those records because they are FamilySearch records.
Why is tagging important and why should you care? And why am I excited about
tagging sources? Tagging sources on FamilySearch Family Tree offers many
benefits for anyone engaged in family history research. Here are a few that I thought of:
By tagging sources to specific information, you provide solid evidence and documentation
for each detail in your family tree. If we go back and we are trying to
document the residents of 1910, and we click here to see the sources,
all of the relevant sources give us more solid evidence that George was in this location in 1910.
And we can continue that for all the events and all the details on our ancestors' lives.
In the end, it adds credibility to your research and helps others understand the
basis for the information you have included. Hallelujah! Tagging sources also allows you to
share and collaborate with other researchers. When sources are linked to specific details,
it becomes easier for others to assess the validity of the information you've
contributed to the One World Family Tree. And they can contribute their own insights,
leading to more collaborations and accurate representations of our family members.
Finally, tagging sources enables efficient organization of your research. You can easily
locate and access the sources associated with those particular details on an individual,
making reviewing and verifying your information and the information of others super simple.
With these simple steps, you have the power to tag sources in FamilySearch
Family Tree effortlessly. Whether you tag them individually from the Sources section or in
bulk from the Details section, your family history will shine brighter with accurate
and well-documented sources, creating a robust and trustworthy family tree.
If you're going to give this a try or you think this is super cool, make sure you click the
thumbs-up button and leave a comment below. And then on your way out, make sure you just
subscribe before you go and watch these videos on how to use FamilySearch more effectively.