 Welcome to Data Doctor's video, Mr. E. Merges Right. This index lists beginning times of each segment, so you can fast forward to any of particular interests. So why do we have to merge? He's my great-great-grandfather after all. I should manage the profile. Merges are an integral part to keeping WikiTree organized with one profile for one person, which makes it important to understand how merges work. Merges can be initiated by any WikiTree member in the following circumstances. You realize you've made two profiles for the same person. You've initiated a merge with a profile duplicate to one you manage that is managed by someone else. Someone else has initiated a merge of duplicate profiles and you manage one of them. You've initiated a merge of duplicate profiles, neither of which you manage. Okay, so how do I start a merge? Initiating a merge is discussed here. A detailed discussion on comparing profiles will follow in later segments. Sometimes you come across the need to propose a merge when addressing suggestions, especially in relation, WikiData and Findergrave groups. You can also look specifically for duplicate profiles. When looking at potential matches, as an example for John Brown born in 1732, go to the drop-down menu for his WikiTree ID and click on Search for Matches. On the list of potential matches, be aware that all John Browns within the time period range or without any dates are shown. These can include name variants such as adding middle names, showing John as the middle name, variations in spelling, and for women match both maiden and married last names. Here is the public view of Squire Brown's profile, Browned 74 for short. He was born in 1791 in Culpeper, Virginia. On the top right, hover over his WikiTree ID. On the drop-down menu, click on Search for Matches. The next screen shows search results, giving one possible match, another Squire Brown, Brown 82 for short, born in the same year, in the same place. Click on Compare at the right of his name. Here is a side-by-side comparison. In the Data section, both profiles show the same birth year and place. Brown 82 shows parents and siblings, where Brown 74 does not. Brown 82 also shows a death year and place. Now to compare the biography sections. Brown 74 has census records showing he lived in Louisiana in 1830 and 1840. Brown 82 has no biography and no viable sources. These profiles probably represent the same person based on the census records combined with his death place, as well as the agreement on both profiles concerning his birth. At the top center of the page, click on Merge Them. Make sure you are merging the highest numbered profile into the lowest or earliest numbered profile. If you forget, you will be asked later to correct the merge order. Alternately, you can make the proposal on the bottom left of one of the profiles by clicking on Initiate Merge. On the next screen, the top profile ID will be merged into the bottom ID, so ensure that the top profile has the higher ID number. If you manage both profiles or there are no managers, you are taken straight to the merge page since there are no approvals to wait for. You can complete the merge immediately. Otherwise, you are taken to propose a merge for the two profiles and ask to include an explanation, as well as address any differences in the profiles that should be considered. Fill in the explanation box and click the propose merge button. The next screen shows the merge proposal has been saved and the appropriate profile managers notified. There is a 30-day period given for profile managers to respond. If a manager doesn't respond in 30 days, the merge is approved by default if the profile is open. If one of them is locked, the default approval is not given to either of them regardless of the 30-day limit. They remain unmerged until someone sends a message to info at wikitree.com, is added to the trusted list, or files an unresponsive manager form. You mean if someone proposed a merge with my profile, I can't just ignore it and it will go away? Oh Mr. E, remember, you manage the profile, but you don't own it. There are three outcomes for an initiated merge. The first occurs when managers for both open profiles approve the merge, or it has been defaulted. It can then proceed at that time. The second outcome is rejection. A rejection is appropriate only if the profiles are not of the same person. If someone, not necessarily the profile manager, rejects the match, it is noted at the bottom of both profiles so they won't be merged again. That person should post a message about why the merge was rejected. However, if there is positive documentation supporting the merge, the rejection can be removed and the merge initiation started over. The third outcome is an unmerged match. This occurs when there is a high possibility that the two profiles represent the same person, but there are issues that may be resolved before the merge can be completed. Again, that person setting the match to unmerged should post a message about why the merge is delayed. Once the issues are resolved, the unmerged match will need to be removed and the merge proposed again. How do I know what's going on with the merge proposal? To check on progress on the drop-down menu below my wiki tree, click on Watchlist. From your watchlist page in the top middle, click the box Pending Merges. You can check on all pending merges that concern profiles you manage. Also, all pending merges are found from the Find Links drop-down menu and clicking on Pending Merges. They are all shown, but only open profiles can be merged by someone other than the profile managers, so beware of colored circles beside the names. Also, watch for pre-1500 and pre-1700 certification requirements. That sounds pretty easy, is it? I wish it were, Mr. E, but there are some sticking points. For any sticking points, please don't guess. Post your question in the G2G forum with the arborist and data doctor tags and add the profile ID you're working with. Pay careful attention to last name at birth. surname spellings changed when people immigrated to countries that didn't speak the family's language. Spelling's changed from generation to generation and even between siblings. Here are just two examples. Use the documented spelling of last name at birth if you can find one. Otherwise, list the second spelling under other last names. Another sticking point is when two profiles that are obvious duplicates based on sources and other family members have one parent the same but the other is different. Research is needed to identify and source the correct parent before proposing a merge. If sources are not found, the parents should be disconnected. Next, add a disputed parents subheading and create links to each set of parents with a discussion about why each of them is believed to be the correct parents. If there are sources for one set of parents over the other, keep the ones with the sources attached. However, still add the disputed parents under the new section. There is also a problem with duplicate generational profiles. For instance, there are two profiles for Alfred Russell. Looking closer, each one has a separate profile for his mother, Lavinia Parker. Inspecting her data field shows her father was Lieutenant Peter Parker, again with two profiles. You have to research the earliest ancestors to make sure of their spouse and children. If all looks good, propose a merge and then continue the process for each duplicated descendant. WikiTree Plus offers a useful comparison tool where you can see parents, grandparents, etc. that need merged. To get to that page, at the Find drop-down menu, click on Projects. Next, click on the Data Doctor Index and then on the Data Doctor link. On the next page, click on the WikiTree Plus icon. On the left side of that page, under Analyze, click on Compare Branches. At the open boxes, type in the two WikiTree profile IDs. Click on Compare. The first box is for the two Alfred Russells, profile one on the left and profile two on the right. The second box shows profile one's mother, Lavinia Parker, and compares her family, both parents and children. Another box compares both profiles of Alfred's mother's father, Peter Parker, with his parents and children. And so it goes, giving side-by-side comparisons of all the relatives connected to profile one and profile two that may need merged. Yes, Mr. E., if it sounds like a lot of work, that's because it is. Here is the WikiTree Plus page comparing branches, showing a side-by-side comparison of two profiles, Samuel Porter 10655 and Samuel Porter 16019. For ease of identification, one will be Porter 55 and the other Porter 19. They have the same first and last name, with the same middle name initial. Their birth date only differs by three years, and their birth place is listed in Kentucky on both profiles. Porter 19 shows a death date and lists parents Samuel Porter and Mary Akers. Porter 55 lists a wife and son, but no parents. There is nothing here to suggest this couldn't be the same person. Is it a match? Is it? Huh? Not so fast, Mr. E. Look at the public view of Porter 55. The biography states that his parents are John Porter and Angeline Brown, and that he was born in Johnson County, Kentucky, on 27 June 1875. It also includes a source for his birth. Our first red flag, different parents. Now look at the public view of Porter 19. The biography states that he died in 1929. There is no documentation for this or proof of his parentage. Even though a family tree is listed, it is not considered to be a documented source. The next step is to look for sources. On the bottom right of Porter 55, click on the root search link. Since Family Search is a free site, let's start there. His birth date is already documented, so let's narrow the search. Scroll down to restrict records by. And below that, click on type. Next, check the death box. Click Update. Family Search shows a Kentucky death record for 19 December 1957, not in 1929, as is stated for Porter 19. We know this is the same Samuel Porter 55, because his parents are shown here too, though the mother's first name is listed as Amanda, not Angeline. Keep this page open. Now, to search for Porter 19 sources, using the same steps as for Porter 55. There is a Kentucky Vital Record Index that gives his death date of 23 December 1929. To find documentation about his parents, restrict records by census next. There is an 1880 census that lists Samuel with his father's Samuel Porter and his mother Mary, establishing a definite connection between son and parents. We now have sources indicating these are two different Samuel Porters, and the merge needs to be rejected. Before doing so, we need to add the sources we found to both profiles. For Porter 19's profile, click on Edit. Put the cursor after 1929 in the biography, and click the Citation button above. Return to the Family Search Kentucky Vital Record, and on the bottom right, click on Document Information. Copy the citation that appears. Return to Porter 19's profile, and paste the citation between the rough tags. Put the cursor after his mother's name, and do the same for the 1880 census. Create a C also heading for the Family Tree URL, as that tree might have additional information. Click on Preview to check your work. The inline citations are showing properly in both the biography and sources sections. Go to the middle of the profile page and explain your changes. This is strongly recommended for all WikiTree users, and is required for data doctors. For me, I identify myself as a data doctor, and explain what I changed. Save your work. Repeat the process of updating Porter 55's profile. In the Data section, change the birth date to 27 June 1875, and mark it as certain. Add Johnson County to the birthplace. Add the death date and death place, marking them as certain. In the Biography section, change the birth record to an inline citation, and delete it from the sources section. Add the inline citation to the Kentucky death records. Click on Preview to check your work. As before, if all looks right, go to the middle of the screen and explain your changes. Save your work. Return to the public view of Porter 55's profile. Scroll down to Pending Merges at the bottom of the page. Click on Reject. The next screen, Matching and Merging Profiles, asks for an explanation of the rejection. Type your reasons in the box. Then click Confirm. The next screen tells you that the merge has been rejected. And you're done. Here is an approved merge for Abigail Harris that has a pre-1700 certification requirement. Click on Compare. Abigail Harris 14780, Harris 80 for short, is on the left. The lower numbered profile, Abigail Harris 8094, Harris 94 for short, is on the right. Comparing the two, they both show the same birth date, though Harris 80 doesn't have a birth place. They show the same husband, but only Harris 94 gives a marriage date and place. Harris 80 lists parents, while 94 doesn't. And 94 lists children, though 80 doesn't. And finally, they agree on the death date and place. Look at the biography section next. Harris 80 discusses a different marriage to Samuel Bidwell. The source given says that she died November 14, 1672, much earlier than her marriage to Joseph Cornwall in 1710. Both profiles share the Edward Everett Cornwall source. Look at the husband, Joseph Cornwall's profile. It lists both Abigail's as his wife, so there is no need to merge two Joseph Cornwall profiles. On Harris 94, scroll toward the bottom of the page, and on the right, click on Root Search for Abigail Harris. Root Search gives us several sites to choose from. Since Family Search is a free site, let's start there. The next screen shows search results, including birth, marriage, death, and find a grave records. With these sources, it's time to merge the profiles. Return to the comparison page, and on the top middle, click on Merge Them. The next screen shows the data fields where you check the correct information. The parents are right. Her first name is right. There is a choice for her current last name, and it needs to be changed to her married name of Cornwall. Spell out the state of Connecticut. Mark all fields as certain. Now the biography text needs merged and cleaned. Add a research notes subheading above the discussion of a possible second husband, since that is not a source. Move the first line that's below biography to the research notes section. In that section, delete the links to Abigail Harris 8094 and 14780, since there will only be 8094 after the merge. Delete unnecessary text. Move the merged sources to the sources section. Now, to add the sources we found, return to Family Search results for Abigail's birth record. On the far right, click on the icon. On the next page, at the bottom right, click on Documents Information. Copy the citation that appears. Return to Abigail's Merge page. Place the cursor beside Middletown, Connecticut, and click on the Citation button above. Paste the birth source between the ref tags. Delete the JEDCOM text stating that the date is marked uncertain. For the marriage reference, replace the one cited with the Family Search source, since it has a link and the other does not. Copy the source for the find a grave reference to the death subheading. Add the wiki tree, find a grave template, and delete the first URL. Merge the two William Cornwall sources, keeping any online links and removing duplicate information. Move the first reference to the Acknowledgements section, since the date entered is not a source. Remove the ref tags around the text. For easier reading, add the star indent on both Acknowledgements. Click on Preview text. Take your time reviewing the format, inline citations, and sources. When all looks right, click on Confirm Merge. The next screen shows the merged profile with a message that the merge was successful. Click on Public View to see the merged profile. Even though the merge is completed, it is still possible to add revisions. We need to add the death record found on Family Search to Abigail's profile. We also need to amend the birth year in the Biography section to agree with the source of 1682. Once that is done, explain your changes and save your work. Congratulations Mr. E, you merged right. You are invited to like this video and even leave a comment if you wish. Also, keep up to date with new videos by subscribing to our WikiTree YouTube channel. On behalf of the Data Doctors Project, thank you for watching.