The joy of genealogy research is the ability to manage all the tidbits of our ancestors
to make them come alive.
Whether you’re using genealogy software or online trees, you can use a note field
or track facts in highlighted entries.
Today, let’s talk about some ‘standard facts’ that you can add to your family tree
and then some custom facts that you might wish to highlight but aren’t ‘pre-defined’
terms in many programs.
Howdy, I'm Devon Noel Lee with Family History Fanatics, and I love helping you have fun
climbing your family tree and connecting to the past.
Today, I will show you some readily available facts to add to your family trees on 2 popular
genealogy tree-building websites and 2 desktop software databases.
Then, I will share with you some additional details that aren’t pre-loaded and that
you likely want to use in your family tree when applicable.
Since these lists are extensive, check the link in the description for the Show Notes.
You’ll gain access to the lists mentioned in this video.
When this video is complete, you will know the various ways to highlight details about
your ancestors in an organized fashion.
Then you can utilize them in the tree you have already begun to build or the one you
will start today.
To access the Ancestry Fact Types to add to your relative’s profile, you need to click
on the Facts view of your relative.
Click on the option to ‘Add” a fact.
Then the profile will gray out, and a “Select event type” list will pop up.
Ancestry has many choices to select from ,but also a “Custom Fact” as the fourth option.
On-screen, notice a sampling of details you can add to your ancestor’s profile.
Of course, birth, marriage, and death appear.
But observe the additional ones you can add to a relative’s profile.
Are there some on Ancestry that you COULD be using but you are not?
Even more pre-defined facts appear in the Show Notes handout.
To access the Family Tree Maker Fact Types to add to your relative’s profile, you need
to access the Person Tab.
Click on the blue plus button sign in the row that says, “Individual & Shared Facts.”
An “Add Fact” window will pop up.
Since Family Tree Maker aligns so closely with Ancestry, you’ll notice their pre-defined
fact list is very similar to Ancestry’s.
However, Family Tree Maker has a few additional facts or facts renamed for clarification.
FamilySearch has a different layout, and accessing facts to add to your relative’s profile
is accessible through a few different screens.
And I don't think I caught all of them.
If I missed any, let me know in the comments.
The first place for facts is the “Vital” section onscreen and this is about your relative.
Scroll further, and you’ll see the “Other Information” Section.
When you click on the words “Add Information,” FamilySearch will open a pop-up where you
can select custom facts.
Scroll further, and you’ll see the “Family Members” Section.
Click on the Pencil Icon within a couple’s block, and FamilySearch will open the “Couple
Relationship” window.
When you click on the words “Add Event,” FamilySearch will open another pop-up where
you can chose couple relationship events.
Be aware these relationship events can included ‘non-marriage’ events such as Common Law
Marriage or Lived Together.
It does not include non-consentiual or outside of marriage where a child is created.
Another option on the “Couple Relationship” window opens when you click the words “Relationship
Facts.”
At present, the only option for the couple is “No Children.”
But what other options would you like to see in this option?
After compiling the different pre-defined facts from these various windows, the list
is actually smaller than what you’ll find on Ancestry or Family Tree Maker.
Again, this is a fraction of the available list and the full list is available in the
handouts that you can access through the Show Notes.
However, you have the option to add Custom Events or Custom Facts.
Of the four programs I talk about today, FamilySearch makes a distinction between facts and events.
To access the facts on RootsMagic, open an Edit Person Window for a relative.
Click on the large plus button sign in the light teal bar below your ancestor’s name.
RootsMagic will open the “Fact Types” window over the “Edit Person” window.
Notice how RootsMagic has a list of pre-defined facts, but also a search bar so you can filter
the list.
That’s actually a nice feature.
On-screen, you will notice a sampling of facts that RootsMagic has in every database for
you to select.
Now that you know that you can add numerous details about your ancestor in this line-by-line
fashion, it’s time to learn how to learn how to make decisions about what is the right
fact type for a genealogy gem that you find.
Perhaps you found a newspaper article about your ancestor.
Notice I found this article about my third great-grandfather when he was stabbed in the
line of duty I want to add this fact to his profile to
highlight this event in his timeline.
It tells me when he was injured and from that I could discover when he may have left the
police force.
Or if he stayed in the police force after the stabbing, how long did he remain?
So, what fact type should I add for this event?
Injury Stabbing
Police Work Newspaper clipping?
The answer for which you choose will depend upon the facts you want to add and how often
you will have a similar fact to add for other relatives in your family tree.
Let's think this thourgh?
For instance, how many people on your family tree were stabbed?
I hope not many.
If you have very few people that fall into such a specific category, perhaps injury would
serve you better.
That way, you can add one category for accidents, stabbings, and other injuries.
Perhaps you have several police officers in your family or multiple documents detailing
a specific ancestor’s cases as a police officer.
Then, perhaps police work would serve you better.
In this case, I like to have the overall category of newspaper entries because it can cover
a wealth of articles ranging from police beat reports to birth announcements, society news,
and so much more.
While the programs I listed before are extensive, there are additional facts that other genealogists
like to manage.
I turned to our followers on Twitter, YouTube, and Facebook and asked what additional details
they like to track.
Boy, did y'all have a lot to say!
I want to highlight a few of them for your consideration.
This one from GeniAus mentions something that perhaps many Australians will want to add
to their profiles.
While Australians aren’t the only ones with convicts in their family tree, just seeing
her mention that detail made me consider what other facts would be country or regionally
specific.
Fortify Your Family Tree recommended a variation of a burial date due to practices with Japanese
ancestry.
Duncan also wanted to highlight enslavement and emancipation.
The ideas generated by viewers are rather extensive, so I have compiled their ideas
into a handout that is available on the Family History Fanatics Resource page.
You’ll find the link for that in the description below.
Now I have a question.
Do you add tree facts?
A response from Susan says she adds birth, marriage, and death facts to her profiles.
Within a the Notes Section in Family Tree Maker she adds all the other details that
I mentioned before.
And I can understand that simple approach.
If it works for you, have at it.
I will say, that seeing details in a timeline built as you add different facts can help
me find gaps or problems in my research.
It can also help me write biographical sketches and narratives quickly.
However, Susan seems to suggest that sometimes too much of a good thing can be too much.
Therefore, strive for a balance in your database and online profiles.
However, after watching this video and checking out the free handout, I hope you will be like
“Tree Branch Genealogy,” who didn’t think to add additional facts to her profiles.
You may still add less rather than more, but at least now you know about the possibilities.
In a future video, I will walk you through the process of adding facts to RootsMagic.
If there is enough interest, I can create videos for the other programs mentioned in
this video.
If I've given you value in this video, please hit the like button, leave a comment, and
share this video with others.
And then when you're done, go check out this video right there.