Ancestry - combining trees

[Ruth Wilson]

I have two trees on Ancestry - for maternal and paternal lines. I'm not
sure now why I decided to set it up like this, but, whatever!

I'm now looking at going down the DNA route but it wants me to link this
to only one tree and there isn't an option to merge trees or any simple
way of doing this that I can see. (although plenty of very obscure
relatives seem to have managed to import my research wholesale into
theirs, but that's another story!)

Before I play around and mess things up, do you have any advice on the
best way to do this? I am thinking of downloading my maternal tree as a
Gedcom, then importing it to my father's - would that work? Or should I
just start from scratch importing a whole family gedcom?

Thanks

Ruth

[MB]

Post by Ruth Wilson
I have two trees on Ancestry - for maternal and paternal lines. I'm not
sure now why I decided to set it up like this, but, whatever!
I'm now looking at going down the DNA route but it wants me to link this
to only one tree and there isn't an option to merge trees or any simple
way of doing this that I can see. (although plenty of very obscure
relatives seem to have managed to import my research wholesale into
theirs, but that's another story!)
Before I play around and mess things up, do you have any advice on the
best way to do this? I am thinking of downloading my maternal tree as a
Gedcom, then importing it to my father's - would that work? Or should I
just start from scratch importing a whole family gedcom?
Thanks
Ruth

I don't think there is any easy way to merge completely.

You can merge import an individual from one tree to the other one and
that will give you chance to import the people around him.

[Keith Nuttle]

Post by MB

Post by Ruth Wilson
I have two trees on Ancestry - for maternal and paternal lines. I'm
not sure now why I decided to set it up like this, but, whatever!
I'm now looking at going down the DNA route but it wants me to link
this to only one tree and there isn't an option to merge trees or any
simple way of doing this that I can see. (although plenty of very
obscure relatives seem to have managed to import my research wholesale
into theirs, but that's another story!)
Before I play around and mess things up, do you have any advice on the
best way to do this? I am thinking of downloading my maternal tree as
a Gedcom, then importing it to my father's - would that work? Or
should I just start from scratch importing a whole family gedcom?
Thanks
Ruth

I don't think there is any easy way to merge completely.
You can merge import an individual from one tree to the other one and
that will give you chance to import the people around him.

From what I have read the only way to do this efficiently is to
download both trees into your computer's genealogy software. Once both
are on your computer you can and merge Tree A into Tree B. Once you are
happy with Tree B, you can sync it with Ancestry. After while, Tree A
from Ancestry.

I know that Roots Magic will do this and I believe Family Tree Marker
can be used.

[J. P. Gilliver (John)]

Post by Keith Nuttle

Post by MB

Post by Ruth Wilson
I have two trees on Ancestry - for maternal and paternal lines. I'm
not sure now why I decided to set it up like this, but, whatever!
I'm now looking at going down the DNA route but it wants me to link
this to only one tree and there isn't an option to merge trees or any
simple way of doing this that I can see. (although plenty of very
obscure relatives seem to have managed to import my research
wholesale into theirs, but that's another story!)
Before I play around and mess things up, do you have any advice on
the best way to do this? I am thinking of downloading my maternal
tree as a Gedcom, then importing it to my father's - would that
work? Or should I just start from scratch importing a whole family gedcom?
Thanks
Ruth

I don't think there is any easy way to merge completely.
You can merge import an individual from one tree to the other one
and that will give you chance to import the people around him.

From what I have read the only way to do this efficiently is to
download both trees into your computer's genealogy software. Once both
are on your computer you can and merge Tree A into Tree B. Once you
are happy with Tree B, you can sync it with Ancestry. After while,
Tree A from Ancestry.
I know that Roots Magic will do this and I believe Family Tree Marker
can be used.

Brother's Keeper - so I expect some of the others too - has a
merge/compare function; it shows people it thinks might be the same
person from the two databases alongside each other, and you can decide
whether they are or not. That's mainly for where two people have worked
independently on the same tree, so you are trying to merge two similar
trees; for two mostly separate ones, like your "father" and "mother"
ones, I don't know if it has a way of letting you identify just the one
or two common people and then saying all the rest are separate people.
Ancestry are no help at all if you keep your database other than on your
computer. I uploaded a GeDCom to them many years ago (2011 or 2012 I
think), and created a tree on Ancestry from it (~1500 people IIRR); over
the years since, I have accepted various "hints", so that old tree has
lots of sources, documents, and so on attached to the people in it. I
also maintained and updated my master database on my own computer. I
wanted to upload a new GeDCom from it (then over 4000 [now nearly 5000])
- but, they have no way of transferring all the links from my old one to
my new one, even though they are both based on GeDComs from the same
database (so would have the same reference numbers). They even, when I
asked, suggest I start accepting hints for the new tree. Which would
mean starting again - several sources, images, etc. for each event for
each of the people in the database - no, thanks! So I now have an old
tree on ancestry with lots of things (documents, pictures, other trees)
linked to it, and a more modern one with about three times as many
people (but including virtually all the people in the earlier one),
which has _no_ such supporting information, with no way of transferring
from old to new.

John
--


(Where has the "treat northern Ireland differently" option gone?)

Three- (or four-) way referendum, if we _have_ to have another one.
--
Petitions are still unfair.
https://petition.parliament.uk/petitions/232770 255soft.uk #fairpetitions

[J. P. Gilliver (John)]

In message <***@255soft.uk>, "J. P. Gilliver (John)"
<G6JPG-***@255soft.uk> writes:
[]

Post by J. P. Gilliver (John)
Ancestry are no help at all if you keep your database other than on
your computer.

Oops, I meant other than on _their_ computers.
[]

[MB]

Post by Keith Nuttle
From what I have read the only way to do this efficiently is to
download both trees into your computer's genealogy software.  Once both
are on your computer you can and merge Tree A into Tree B.  Once you are
happy with Tree B,  you can sync it with Ancestry.  After while, Tree A
from Ancestry.

I don't think everything from the online is downloaded when you save as
a GEDCOM (I think the only way you can download). But I suppose you
could you through each person and import between trees afterwards to
make sure you have everything.

[Keith Nuttle]

Post by MB

 From what I have read the only way to do this efficiently is to
download both trees into your computer's genealogy software.  Once
both are on your computer you can and merge Tree A into Tree B.  Once
you are happy with Tree B,  you can sync it with Ancestry.  After
while, Tree A from Ancestry.

I don't think everything from the online is downloaded when you save as
a GEDCOM (I think the only way you can download).  But I suppose you
could you through each person and import between trees afterwards to
make sure you have everything.

When I said Download it did not mean to download the gedcom, but to
download the tree into the genealogy program directly. again Family Tree
Maker and Roots Magic both can do that. ie an enormous sync.

I do the same as Ruth does, only use Family Tree Maker as my primary
genealogy program. ALL of the documents impacting my tree are saved on
my computer as PDF files. My online tree has not been updated, since
September. While it has caught many DNA matches, I believe only one or
two actually extended my tree. the rest of the matches only confirmed
what I already knew from the documentation.

[Ruth Wilson]

Thanks for the replies. I think it is probably best to just import a new
'whole' tree from Brother's Keeper, which is my main database. That's
the one I update religiously with new information, whereas Ancestry I
keep for the hints which contain the odd gem or two!

Fingers crossed I get some proof of the Scottish line ...

Ruth

[Tim Powys-Lybbe]

Post by Ruth Wilson
Thanks for the replies. I think it is probably best to just import a new
'whole' tree from Brother's Keeper, which is my main database. That's
the one I update religiously with new information, whereas Ancestry I
keep for the hints which contain the odd gem or two!
Fingers crossed I get some proof of the Scottish line ...
Ruth

A core problem is that Gedcom is NOT a standard. There is no set of
rules that all providers of tree programs agree on nor are there any
tests to show that they have conformed to whatever might have been
agreed. So whatever comes out of one GEDCOM might not all go in to the
receiving one. You have to do your own tests and do extensive checks
that all bits of data have survived the migration.

Further there is no guarantee that the likes of Ancestry will not
eventually die or get bored and then cheerfully discard your valuable
data. So you would be better advised to keep your master data elsewhere.

But your data must still be backed up somewhere to treasure it. My best
advice is to place it somewhere with internet access and encourage
everyone to copy it.

I would not advise keeping your data on multiple databases for different
trees. You will eventually, as you have found, want to combine them.
And that is murder having to go through everybody to ensure they have
merged well and that there are no duplicates.

It is perfectly possible to have all your family trees on the one
database system. But you must choose a system that allows you to
identify each tree (selections queries, flags, etc). Then you must get
the hang of creating reports for selections from you sole main database.
And you probably also need a flag to show those with good data and
those with speculative guesses: a score out of 5 would do and you should
include the score needed for inclusion in each report you are going to
make and send to others.

I suppose I could go on for a long while on this but I have been using
one program now for over twenty years. It started as Reunion on a PC
then became Generations on a PC then the owners abandoned it but I could
still migrate the files to Reunion on a Mac and, with continual support
and development, the program does virtually all that I need and a bit
more besides. I've tried other programs but have never concluded that I
ought to migrate.

[Ruth Wilson]

snipped.

Post by Tim Powys-Lybbe
It is perfectly possible to have all your family trees on the one
database system.  But you must choose a system that allows you to
identify each tree (selections queries, flags, etc).  Then you must get
the hang of creating reports for selections from you sole main database.
 And you probably also need a flag to show those with good data and
those with speculative guesses: a score out of 5 would do and you should
include the score needed for inclusion in each report you are going to
make and send to others.
I suppose I could go on for a long while on this but I have been using
one program now for over twenty years.  It started as Reunion on a PC
then became Generations on a PC then the owners abandoned it but I could
still migrate the files to Reunion on a Mac and, with continual support
and development, the program does virtually all that I need and a bit
more besides.  I've tried other programs but have never concluded that I
ought to migrate.

Thanks for the advice Tim. I have also been using one program (Brothers
Keeper in my case, since the days when it ran on dos from floppy disks)
for well over twenty years and wouldn't dream of using Ancestry or any
other online commercial service as my main or one and only tree! This is
one database for all the information on my own tree and now my husband's
too. I don't know why I put it on Ancestry as split up - maybe privacy
concerns?
Ruth

[J. P. Gilliver (John)]

Post by Ruth Wilson
snipped.

Post by Tim Powys-Lybbe
It is perfectly possible to have all your family trees on the one
database system.  But you must choose a system that allows you to
identify each tree (selections queries, flags, etc).  Then you must
get the hang of creating reports for selections from you sole main
database.  And you probably also need a flag to show those with good
data and those with speculative guesses: a score out of 5 would do
and you should include the score needed for inclusion in each report
you are going to make and send to others.
I suppose I could go on for a long while on this but I have been
using one program now for over twenty years.  It started as Reunion
on a PC then became Generations on a PC then the owners abandoned it
but I could still migrate the files to Reunion on a Mac and, with
continual support and development, the program does virtually all
that I need and a bit more besides.  I've tried other programs but
have never concluded that I ought to migrate.

Thanks for the advice Tim. I have also been using one program (Brothers
Keeper in my case, since the days when it ran on dos from floppy disks)
for well over twenty years and wouldn't dream of using Ancestry or any
other online commercial service as my main or one and only tree! This
is one database for all the information on my own tree and now my
husband's too. I don't know why I put it on Ancestry as split up -
maybe privacy concerns?
Ruth

Snap! I'm another BK user since floppy days. Incidentally, other poster
(Ruth: when you snip - snipping is good! - it's usually a good idea to
_not_ snip the "Fred said" lines): BK does have a quality rating for
sources of each bit of information: you can ascribe a value from 0
(unreliable) to 3 (primary). I presume _some_ other genealogy softwares
have a similar function. (BK's one has slight shortcoming - certain
events have more than one fact, for example "Born" has a date and a
place, and without creating two Born events, you can't show which source
gave which fact, if the facts came from different sources. Similarly if
forename and surname came from different sources. And thus ascribing
quality to the sources is also compromised. But it's a lot better than
nothing.)

I too wouldn't use Ancestry - or any other cloud site, commercial or
otherwise - as my main (let alone only!) repository for my data; it's
this computer, backed up on an external hard drive (and copied to my
brother's computer in another county, occasionally). If you've got over
whatever concerns - privacy or otherwise - that made you upload it to
Ancestry as two trees, just upload it again as one, and delete the other
two - or, especially if you've linked things to them (Ancestry's hints,
documents, yours or other people's photos), just leave them as
fixed-but-won't-update.

There's no way to transfer linked informations from one Ancestry tree -
created from an uploaded GeDCom - to another such, even if both were
created from the same dataset and thus have the same reference numbers.
If you persist in asking them how (and get a support person who dimly
understands what you are trying to do, and get the same person more than
once), they will eventually say you can start accepting hints for the
new tree. Yes, all hints for each of several events for thousands of
people, accepted one at a time - no, I don't think so.

Basically, if you want to develop your tree(s) on Ancestry, you've got
to drink their Kool-aid and do it online. Or, at the very least, use
_their_ software (Family Tree Maker I think it's called), which can
sync. with one of their online trees - but their commitment to that
software is negligible (they stopped developing it a year or more ago
for Windows, longer for Mac, with another company taking the Mac over;
that company finally took over the Windows version too, and Ancestry do
work with them at the moment, but would you rely on such a shaky
commitment?).