1: Navigate Your Tree   2: Edit Person Information   3: Add or Remove People    4: Edit Relationships   5: Explore Hints   6: Add and View Sources   7: Tree Management               Show Me, Goal 6       Translation Tips    Music      Print Friendly and PDF












Project 2: Ancestry Tree


Goal 6: Add and View Sources



Goal 6: Add and view sources for ancestor records.


Adding sources to a person's page helps show the evidence for the dates and other information that are included.

Choices


ALearn about sourcing and why it's important.


Summary
  1. Read these articles to learn about the importance of adding sources for your family history work.

    FS—What are the benefits of adding sources to Family Tree? - 2023
    GC—Sourcing: Key to Family History Detective Work

  2. This article discusses the use of sources in FamilySearch Family Tree.

    JT—Digging into Sources in the FamilySearch Family Tree, Part 1 - 2017

  3. Watch these videos to get an inside look at using sources in family history.

    AAC—Sources: A Family History's Raw Material—8:45
    AAC—Understand Your Sources by Answering Five Questions—10:46

  4. Learn about the basic types of sources you can use.

    AJC— Understanding Genealogy Sources - 2018

  5. Learn how to determine accuracy of information in source records.

    GC—Determining Accuracy of Information
    TH—Verifying Online Genealogy Sources - 2019

  6. Here are some tips on sorting fact from fiction in sources.

    GTV—Fact vs. Fiction vs. Sources—6:20 - 2018



    AJC: 5 Things to Ask about Genealogy Information - 2018


BLearn about the Genealogical Proof Standard.


  1. Understand the Genealogical Proof Standard for sources.

    FS—Genealogical Proof Standard, Part 1 - 2016
    AF—What is the Genealogical Proof Standard and Why Should You Use It? - 2015
  2. Ensure that your research meets the Genealogical Proof Standard.

    FS—Genealogical Proof Standard, Part 2 - 2016

  3. Learn how to apply the Genealogical Proof Standard to sources you are evaluating.

    FS—Genealogical Proof Standard, Part 3 - 2016

  4. Here's an overview of the GPS and a handy flowchart of the processes it uses.

    GE—Genealogical Proof Standard - 2022

Exercises


C Add sources to a record.


Summary
  1. Open a Profile window for someone in your tree.
  2. In the Sources section of the Facts tab, click Add source.
  3. If you have existing sources recorded, such as those imported with a GEDCOM file, click "Select a source" and select your source from the drop-down list. Once you select the source, you can click "edit this source" to make changes to the source fields.
  4. To create a source, click "create a new source" and fill in the fields for the source. If you need to create a repository entry,
    a) Click "create a new repository";
    b) Fill in the information fields; and
    c) Click Save source.
  5. Fill in the fields for Citation to provide source details. For help with understanding source citations, click the "Learn more" link (right side of the page).
  6. In the Facts or Events section, select items from the list that apply to this source.
  7. Click Submit. The source now appears in the Sources list on the person's Profile page.
  8. In the Profile page, to add a web link as a source,
    a) Click "Add Web Link";
    b) Type or copy the web address for the source and the link name; and
    c) Click Add. You can also click "Search on Ancestry" to look for additional sources.

Resources
  1. For tips on managing your sources, read this article.

    AC—Managing Sources in Trees

  2. Learn how to build source citations for Ancestry records.

    Build a Source Citation—9:42 - 2020



  3. For more info on using web links, watch these videos.

    AC—Adding a Web Link to Your Facts Page—0:44
    AC—Ancestry Online Trees: Using Web Links—17:42 - 2018



  4. Learn about evaulating the information provided in Ancestry source citations, in these lessons by Elizabeth Shown Mills.

    ESM—QuickLesson 25: ARKs, PALs, Paths & Waypoints (Citing Online Providers of Digital Images) - 2017
    ESM—QuickLesson 26: Thinking Through Ancestry.com Citations - 2017

Exercises



D View and edit sources for a person.


  1. To view a source record, click its description in the Source panel (center of the screen) and then click View.
  2. To see citation details, click Citation Details. This closes the details window.
  3. To edit a source or citation,
    a) Click Edit Citation or Edit Source;
    c) Edit the fields (see Choice B for details); and d) Click Save Source for the source, or Submit for the citation.
  4. If you want to remove the source citation, click Remove (and again at the confirmation prompt).
  5. To edit the facts associated with the citation, click Associated Facts. You can then click an "X" to move a fact to the "Other Facts" category, or click a plus icon to move a fact from the "Other Facts" category to the main category at the top.
  6. To add media to the citation,
    a) Click Media;
    b) Click an item in the list to add it, if it applies; and
    c) Click "Add media to source" and follow the prompts to upload a media file for the source.
  7. To view the record, in the Ancestry record category click View Record. Click the "Back" arrow to return to the Profile screen.

E Search for sources on Ancestry.


  1. In the Sources section of the Profile, click Search on Ancestry. The following information items and tools appear:
    • Profile summary (top)
    • "Your search" (left) with sliders to set exactness of search fields and a pencil icon for changing search fields. You can also hide or show search fields and select a location for a collection to focus on.
    • Profile summary (top)
    • A sample summary for this ancestor, from another Ancestry tree. You can browse other trees who may have this ancestor.
    • List of possible sources to examine, with paging controls at the bottom. By default, sources you have already added or ignored are not included. You can click any of the source titles to see details, and then click Save, Print or Share.
    • Filters (left) to select a type of record collection to use.
  2. In the "All results" page that appears, hover over a record of interest in the center area to see a summary. You can then click View Record.
  3. In the Details page, to save this record in your tree and attach it to the selected ancestor, click Save and select "Save this record to (name)". The source then appears in the Sources area of the person's Profile.
  4. You can also click Save and select "Save to someone in your tree". Then select the tree, type the name of the person to attach to, and click Attach.
  5. To save the source to your Ancestry Shoebox, click Save and select "Save to your Shoebox". For more information on the Shoebox, see Choice D in Goal 7.
  6. To print the source information, click Print and then print the information that appears.
  7. To share the source, click Share and select Email, Facebook, or Twitter and follow the prompts.
  8. For tips on working with search results in Ancestry, see Goal 6 in Project 4: Research.





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