Review a branch – step by step¶

A family tree looks right from a distance. The mistakes only show when the dates sit side by side: a mother who was nine when the child was born, a child born after the father's death, two siblings who are the same person. Research branch is built to find exactly that.

How the view works is described in the manual under Research branch.

When is it time to review?¶

After an import. Other people's trees contain other people's mistakes.
Before you go further back. A mistake in one generation follows along to all the ones before it.
When something doesn't sit right. A name that turns up in two places, or a child who doesn't fit.

How to do it¶

1. Start with a person you're sure of¶

Pick someone whose details you've documented yourself, such as a grandparent. Open the person and click Research branch in the header. The button is also on the person cards in the family tree, when you hover over them.

2. Read the Check column first¶

Before reading the names: look down the Check column. Orange markings are where to start:

Marking	What it may mean
Parent under 15 or over 60	The wrong person as parent, the wrong birth year, or two people with the same name
Born after the parent's death	A wrong date of death, the wrong father – or a child born after the father died, which does happen
Large age gap between siblings	Half-siblings, or siblings from another family
Warning	Hover over the marking and read what the program has found

If there's a ca in front of an age, it's based only on a year or a month. The difference is then approximate, and a marking may be a false alarm.

3. Compare with the source¶

A marking is a question, not an answer. Go to the source – the household examination roll, the birth register – and see what it actually says. Then correct it right in the table:

The pencil opens the relationship, if it's the type or the dates that are wrong.
The trash can removes the relationship, if the person doesn't belong here. The person stays.
Add parent, child … if someone is missing.

4. Flag what you can't solve now¶

Not everything can be settled at once. Don't keep the question in your head:

Bookmark the person and write in the note what to check, for example "check the baptism witnesses in Kumla C:4".
Or create a research note if the question is bigger – see Pick up where you left off.

5. Move on one step at a time¶

Click a parent to make them the new focus person, and do the same again. The Visited row at the top shows who you've gone through. Click there to go back.

A tip is to follow one line at a time – say, only your paternal grandfather's side – instead of jumping around the whole tree.

Other relationships tell you something too¶

At the bottom are godparents, witnesses and people with roles in the same events. They're not just curiosities. The same baptism witness at several children's baptisms suggests it's the same family. A godparent who keeps turning up may be an unknown relative.