Genealogy Chat

How do I copy relatives from another tree, can you do this quickly

It is not something you should do!!

In fact, I would dare to say, that you should never copy from someone else's tree

That is, unless you are absolutely certain sure that the research done by the other person is accurate.

I don't know whether you are talking about trees on GR, ancestry, FMP or another site ............... but ALL should be treated with the utmost caution.

Use the information on other people's trees as "advisory" only, do your own research and prove them correct .............. or wrong as the case might be. Add the people to your tree only when YOU have all the documentation to prove it.

Far too many people copy information from other trees that is completely wrong, then someone else copies that .............. and on and on ad infinitum


I can give you umpteen examples of how little research some people do, but 2 personal ones will suffice.

I had a brother who was 10 years older than me .............. there are trees out there that have my brother married to my mother, with me as their child. The weird thing is that both my brother and my mother have the correct birth dates, but no-one ha seemingly noticed that a 10 year old boy is the father.

I can't correct all the trees that have this information.

Second, I found my great aunt and her husband had been acquired by someone on ancestry and added to his tree. The problem was they were born about 80 years AFTER the children they supposedly had. True .............. my aunt and uncle had the same names as the person he was looking for, both couples were born in Lancashire and both emigrated to the same US state. However his coupel did that about 1840 and my relatives went in 1903.

Fortunately, the tree owner responded to my email to him by removing my couple, and no-one else appears to have copied it from him.

If you're insistent that you want to copy before checking, you'll probably have to do it manually. Although there is a 'clipboard' it does mean you have to keep opening your own and the other tree.

Open your own tree then Log into GR in a new window (not tab) and open the tree you've been given access to.
Cascade or stack the 2 windows side by side by right clicking your curser on the black bar at the bottom of your screen. You should be able to move the windows around so that you can see both simultaneously.

Welcome to the Community boards Kate.



(I'll let Kate know how to find her replies) :-)