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

Article Id: 1103
October 10, 2024

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.

Undo Merge

  1. While signed in to FamilySearch.org, navigate to the Person page of the individual who was not deleted after the merging process.
  2. Click the Details tab.
  3. Find the Latest Changes box.
  4. Click Show All.
  5. Scan the left-most column to find a change labeled "Merge." If the list is long, click Filter, and choose Merge.
  6. Click Merge Analysis.
  7. Compare the information in the first two columns to decide if the profiles are about the same person or about different people.
  8. Look in the upper-left corner. If the Undo Merge button is active, it means that the merged profile has not been changed since the merge was done. Follow these steps:
    1. Click Undo Merge.
    2. In the panel that opens, enter a reason statement that explains why you are undoing the merge.
    3. If needed, deselect Mark these people as not a match. In most cases, you should leave this option turned on to prevent this merge from being done again by mistake.
    4. Click Submit.

  9. If the Undo Merge button is not active, it means that the profile was changed after the merge. Follow these steps to ensure that each profile ends up with the correct information:

    1. Click the name of the person in the first column, which is labeled "Deleted Person Before Merge."
    2. Click Person.
    3. Click Restore Person.
    4. Enter a reason statement.
    5. Click Restore.
    6. Review both records. Make sure that each has the correct information. In some cases, you must delete information from one record and add it to another.

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?

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