How do I add or change marriage information in Family Tree?

Article Id: 1349
February 01, 2024

In Family Tree, couple relationships connect people who were married, who lived together, who had children together, or who otherwise considered themselves a couple.

Marriage events display with couple relationships. The events detail the creation or ending of a relationship. You can add, edit, and delete 5 types of marriage events in Family Tree:

  • Marriage
  • Divorce
  • Annulment
  • Common-law
  • Lived together

A couple can have more than one marriage event. You can delete duplicates of an event.
Marriage events affect how information in Family Tree displays. 

  • When a person has more than one spouse, the spouses show in chronological order by marriage event.
  • The earliest date shows in the couple box on the Person page.

The amount of marriage information visible on Family Tree varies according to the tree view.

Steps (website)

  1. Sign in to FamilySearch and click Family Tree. Then click Tree.
  2. Find the person on the tree.
  3. Click the person name. In the details that pop up, click the person name again.
  4. Click the Details tab.
  5. Scroll to the Family Members section.
  6. Click the pencil icon next to the marriage event for the couple.
  7. Add a marriage event:
    1. Click Add Event.
    2. Click the down arrow, and click the event type.
    3. Enter the date and place.
    4. Explain how you know that the event information is correct.
    5. Click Save.
  8. Change an existing marriage event:
    1. Click the pencil icon for the couple.
    2. Find the existing event, and click the pencil icon.
    3. Make changes.
    4. Explain how you know the change that you made is correct.
    5. Click Save.
  9. Delete a marriage event:
    1. Click the pencil icon for the couple.
    2. Find the existing event, and click the pencil icon.
    3. In the lower right of the edit screen, click Delete.
    4. Enter a reason for deleting the event.
    5. Click Delete Event.

Steps (mobile app)

  1. In the Family Tree mobile app, navigate to the Person page of the individual or spouse.
  2. Tap Spouses.
  3. Tap the pencil icon next to the Marriage entry.
  4. Add a marriage event:
    1. Tap Add Event.
    2. Tap the down arrow, and tap the event type.
    3. Enter the date and place.
    4. Tap Continue.
    5. Explain how you know that the event information is correct.
    6. Tap Save.
  5. Edit an existing marriage event:
    1. Tap the pencil icon for the marriage event that you want to change.
    2. Tap Edit.
    3. You can edit the event type, date, and place.
    4. Explain why the information is correct.
    5. Tap Save.
  6. Delete a marriage event:
    1. Tap the pencil icon for the marriage event that you want to delete.
    2. Tap Delete Marriage Event. 
    3. Explain why you are deleting the event.
    4. Tap Delete.

Steps (Family Tree Lite)

In Family Tree Lite, you can add 4 types of marriage events: Marriage, Divorce, Common Law, and Annulment. The Lived Together event is unavailable in Family Tree Lite. To add the Lived Together event, use the web version of Family Tree or the mobile Family Tree app.
 

  1. Sign in to Family Tree Lite.
  2. Navigate to the Person page of the individual or spouse.
  3. Tap the pencil icon for the couple's marriage information.
  4. Add a marriage event:
    1. In the Marriage Events section, tap Add Event.
    2. Tap the down arrow, and tap the couple event type.
    3. Enter the date and place.
    4. Explain how you know that the event information is correct.
    5. Tap Save.
  5. Edit an exiting marriage event:
    1. Tap the event.
    2. Tap Edit
    3. You can edit the event type, date, and place.
    4. Explain how you know that the event information is correct.
    5. Tap Save.
  6. Delete a marriage event:
    1. Tap the marriage event that you want to delete.
    2. Tap Delete.
    3. Explain why you are deleting the event.
    4. Tap Delete.

Technical issues

  • If you cannot enter a marriage date, it can be because one of the spouses is not in Family Tree. Both spouses must show in Family Tree before you can enter information about the marriage. You can find and attach a spouse or create a record.
  • You see an error: "Save failed. This data already exists." Family Tree lets you associate one event with a date and place combination. If one version exists, you cannot add another one to match it. Instead, delete the incorrect event.

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How do I restore a deleted relationship in Family Tree?
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How do I indicate that a couple in Family Tree never had children?

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