In Family Tree, reason statements help others understand your changes and can help prevent incorrect edits in the future. In some places in Family Tree, you can select a suggested reason statement.
The reason statements are not the place to hold a dialog or debate with other users. Use the Discussions feature to post questions or request information from other users.
Tips for effective reason statements
- Write clearly. Use complete sentences.
- Be concise. Reason statements have a limit of 2,000 characters.
- Avoid “I” statements. Instead, write in the third person (such as “The census shows….”).
- Keep your tone professional and neutral.
- Focus the explanation on the ancestor and the sources that support the information.
- Indicate what information the sources clearly support and what information still needs sources. For example, state that the birth month and year came from a census.
- Identify the sources you used. If possible, attach the sources to the person, and tag sources to the information they support.
- If the records contain contradictory or incorrect information, explain why you think one version is the most correct.
- If information contradicts family stories, explain why you believe that your information is more accurate than the stories.
- If you derived or estimated information, explain how you reached your conclusion.
- If you delete information, explain why you deleted it and did not correct the information.
- Point out relevant discussions.
- Ask someone to read your reason statement to make sure you communicated clearly.
Examples of reason statements
- Burial: The document provides evidence of the burial place and [key information on grave marker].
- Civil Registration (England, Ireland, Wales): This record provides evidence of [event] year and general [event] location.
- Christening:
- For the child: This document provides evidence of christening date and place, along with parents' names.
- For the parent: This document provides evidence of [parent name]'s relationship to [child], and [spouse].
- Census: This census return provides evidence of residence, birthplace, approximate birth year, and [list other key information if applicable].
- Draft Registration: The document provides evidence of [list key information].
- Marriage: This marriage record provides evidence of marriage date and place and [key information on record].
- Merge: All vital information and relationships match.
- Note: The screen where you enter a reason statement for a merge contains several examples. You can either click a suggested reason statement to use, or enter your own.
- Not a Match: [ID number] is a different person from [ID number] because [reason].
Edit reason statements
You can edit reason statements on sources attached to a person.
- Click a Source title or View Source below title.
- At the bottom, you can click Add or Edit reason statements.
- The original statement still shows in the changes list.
Related articles
How do I use the discussions feature in Family Tree?
How do I update the profile, email address and other contact information on my account?