Have you accidentally merged two profiles in the FamilySearch Family Tree and then later realized you shouldn’t have? Or has an ambitious relative gone on a merging spree, and you have been tasked with fixing incorrect merges?
In this article, you can learn how to fix incorrect merges, clean up mistakes, and use the Merge Analysis tool to help in this process.
Signs of a Possible Incorrect Merge
As you work in Family Tree, you may see profiles with inconsistencies or errors indicating a possible incorrect merge. Here are examples of things to watch for:
- The person was married to multiple spouses concurrently without evidence of death or divorce.
- The person has an unlikely number of children (20 or more).
- Children’s birth dates don’t make sense. For instance, a child was born before the mother could have children or more than 9 months after the father’s death.
- Children’s birthplaces don’t make sense. For instance, census records show that the family always lived in one location, but several children were born in different locations.
- Children were born less than 7 months apart, or there are large gaps between children.
- A child has the same name as an older sibling who was living at the same time.
- Life events don’t make sense. For example, a child is christened before birth, or a person is married at age 2.
- The person has conflicting sources. For example, two census sources are given for the same year, or two burial sources are given for different years.
- Dates of life events are inconsistent across sources. For example, half of the records attached to a person give the birth year as 1860 and the other half give the birth year as 1850.
- Family members and relationships across sources are inconsistent.
The more issues you see, the more likely it is that an incorrect merge has taken place.
Why Fix Incorrect Merges?
Since the Family Tree is a shared tree, an incorrect merge doesn’t just affect the person who made it. Incorrect merges affect all users and can lead to other problems.
- Incorrect merges can lead to incorrect relationships. People can be connected to the wrong spouses or parents, leading to entire incorrect lines.
- Incorrect merges tend to snowball. Incorrect merges usually cause inconsistencies and other errors in a profile. These mistakes often cause confusion about the real identity of the person on the profile, which leads to additional incorrect merges for that person and even other family members.
Fixing incorrect merges helps repair existing problems and avoid future ones.
Note: In the mobile app, you can undo a merge only if no changes have been made since the merge. Also, be aware that the Merge Analysis tool is not available in the mobile app. See How do I undo a merge in Family Tree?, and scroll to the steps for the mobile app.
Where to Look First: The Change Log
When evaluating a possible incorrect merge, the best starting place is the change log. The change log shows all changes made to the profile since it was created, including merges.
To view the change log on a desktop computer, go to your ancestor's profile. Scroll down. You will find the Latest Changes section on the right side of the screen. Click Show All. On the mobile app, go to your ancestor's profile. Click the three vertical dots in the upper right corner, and then click Recent Changes.
Once you’re in the change log, you can filter to show only merges. (This filtering feature is not available on the app.)
- At the top right of the page, click the Filter button.
- Click Merges.
Using the Merge Analysis Tool to Compare Two Merged Profiles
In the past, merge entries in the change log showed a summary of changes made by the merge. However, the information could be difficult to read and understand. Now, the Merge Analysis tool makes it easier to review merges and correct them if needed. This tool is available for every merge in the change log except those done before August 1, 2016.
Clicking Merge Analysis shows a side-by-side view of the two profiles before the merge, followed by the surviving profile.
For more help in using the Merge Analysis tool in Family Tree, check out this helpful article:
How to Determine If the Merge Was Actually Incorrect
Once you can see information for the merged profiles side by side, how can you determine if the merge was actually incorrect?
Some incorrect merges are easy to spot when the information for the two merged profiles is obviously different. However, it can be more difficult when there are only subtle differences between the two profiles. Always verify that vital information is backed by historical records.
Here is a list of things to check or consider when identifying possible incorrect merges:
- Do the two profiles have a common surname that might cause confusion? Incorrect merges tend to happen more often with common surnames.
- Do the two profiles have the same or similar names but significantly different dates and places for life events? Someone may have merged the two profiles simply because of the names, while the life events indicate the profiles are for different people. For example, it is possible to have two women named “Anna Thompson” married to men named “John Smith” living in the same town.
- Do some relationships not make sense? For example, does one profile have one set of parents, while the other has another set of parents with completely different names?
- How close are the birth dates, marriage dates, and death dates?
- People who kept historical records didn’t always record information completely accurately, but the vital dates of a person’s life should be somewhat consistent across historical records. If the profiles have birth dates within 5 years of each other, they could still potentially be for the same person. But if one person was born in 1863 and the other was born in 1845, the large discrepancy can indicate that the two profiles should be for different people.
- Are there conflicts between sources? For example, does one profile have an 1881 census source from Quebec, Canada, and the other has an 1881 census source from Ontario, Canada?
If you answered “yes” to one or more of the above questions, the merge may be incorrect. Use your investigation skills to search for records that will confirm vital dates and places as well as relationships for the person in question.
When possible, look at the original image of the document and not just the indexed information. Sometimes, the indexes for historical records are not completely correct, and historical handwriting can be difficult to read. You may be able to figure out name and date discrepancies by viewing the original image to check that the indexed information was copied correctly.
If you find clarifying information that isn’t included in sources, be sure to add a note to the person’s profile on the Collaboration tab to help other users avoid incorrect merges in the future.
Fixing an Incorrect Merge in the FamilySearch Family Tree
You can fix an incorrect merge in two ways. The method you use depends on whether changes have been made to the profile since the merge.
Undoing a Merge
If no changes have been made since the merge, you can undo it fairly easily. Follow these steps:
- In the change log, click Merge Analysis for the merge you want to fix.
- Click Undo Merge at the top right of the Merge Analysis screen. Note: If you don’t see any changes since the merge but the Undo Merge button is unavailable, changes may have been made by the system behind the scenes. Follow the instructions in the Restoring a Profile section instead.
- In the Reason This Merge Is Incorrect field, explain briefly why the two profiles are not for the same person. For example, “Joan Sampson ABCD-123 was born in Lincolnshire, England, in 1852. Her parents were John and Mary Sampson. Joan Sampson ZYXW-789 was born in Yorkshire, England, in 1858. Her parents were James and Ann Simpson. They are not the same person.”
- Click Submit. This action will separate the two merged profiles and return them to how they were before merging.
Restoring a Profile Deleted in a Merge
If changes have been made to the person’s profile since the merge, the Undo Merge option is not available. (The button is grayed out, and clicking it has no effect.)
Instead, you need to restore the deleted person. Follow these steps:
- In the change log, click the name of the deleted person. You can do this in the list of changes or on the Merge Analysis screen.
- On the summary card that appears, click Person.
- At the right of the black bar that appears at the top of the deleted profile, click Restore Person.
- In the Reason to Restore This Person field, explain briefly why the 2 profiles are not for the same person. For example, “Ann Stirland ABCD-123 and Ann Stirland ZYXW-789 are sisters. Ann Stirland ABCD-123 died in 1853. Ann Stirland ZYXW-789 was born in 1855, two years after her older sister’s death.”
- Click Restore.
Note: This process restores the deleted person’s profile to its state before the merge; however, the other profile keeps all the changes made since the merge. If some of those changes were made in error, those errors need to be fixed individually.
Tips for Preventing Future Incorrect Merges
To reduce the chances of the profiles being incorrectly merged in the future, review both profiles and make them as accurate and complete as you can. This process might include attaching additional sources, fixing inconsistencies and errors, standardizing place names and dates, and adding explanatory notes on the Collaborate tab.
Everyone makes mistakes, so don’t feel bad if you accidentally merge 2 profiles incorrectly. If you run into a problem, now you know how to fix it!
More Help
Merging and unmerging in the FamilySearch Family Tree can be complicated. If you would like help with a merge problem, knowledgeable people can help you for free at your local FamilySearch center. You can also schedule an online consultation with someone at the FamilySearch Library.
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