How do I restore a deleted record for a person in Family Tree?

Article Id: 1103
November 18, 2023

You can restore a deleted record for a person in FamilySearch Family Tree. You can use the ID number, undo a merge, or restore connections to other individuals within Family Tree.

Steps (website)

ID number

  1. While signed in to FamilySearch.org, click Tree.
  2. Click Find.
  3. Click Find by ID.
  4. Enter the ID of the deleted record, and click Find. 
  5. Click the name of the person.
  6. On the person card, click Person. 
  7. In the Person Deleted box, review the reason for the deletion, and then click Restore Person.
  8. Enter a reason that explains why the person should be restored.
  9. Click Restore.

Unmerge

  1. While signed in to FamilySearch.org, navigate to the Person page of the individual who was not deleted after the merging process.
  2. On the right-hand side of the Person page, click Show All in the Latest Changes box.
  3. In the change history, find the merge.
  4. If an Unmerge option appears on the far right side, follow these steps:
    1. Click Unmerge.
    2. In the box that opens, enter a reason to explain why the merge was not correct.
    3. Click Unmerge.
  5. If an Unmerge option is not available, it means that the surviving record was changed after the merge. To bring back the deleted record, follow these steps:
    1. In the change history, click the name of the deleted person.
    2. In the box that appears, click Person.
    3. In the Person Deleted box, review the reason for the deletion, and then click Restore Person.
    4. Enter a reason that explains why the person should be restored.
    5. Click Restore.

Relationships

  1. While signed in to FamilySearch.org, navigate to the Person page of the deleted person or of a parent, spouse, or child.
  2. In the Latest Changes section, click Show All Changes. The change history appears.
  3. Look for a Relationship Deleted event.
  4. Click Show Relationship.
  5. Click the name of the deleted person.
  6. In the box that appears, click Person.
  7. In the Person Deleted box, review the reason for the deletion, and then click Restore Person.
  8. Enter a reason that explains why the person should be restored.
  9. Click Restore.

Steps (mobile app)

Currently, the mobile app does not offer the option to restore a deleted record.

Steps (Family Tree Lite)

Currently, Family Tree Lite does not offer the option to restore a deleted record or resolve merges.

Solutions to common problems

If you are unable to restore a record, be sure to check for unresolved data problems. This could be for either the person who was merged or for one of the relationships affected by the merge, such as dates that are not standardized.

How do I undo an incorrect change in Family Tree?
How do I decide if two records in Family Tree are about the same person?
How do I delete a person from Family Tree?
How do I restore sources that were removed from Family Tree?

Was this helpful?