Advice on how to deal with 'possible' family members

[Anna-Lou53]

I'd be grateful for advice on how to manage the following situation in Reunion: I am searching historic archives in which I find people with the correct surname who may or may not belong in my family tree. I need to keep a record of them, where the record is and possibly a copy of the archive entry. Is this what islands should be used for? Or is it better to set up another family file? Or something else?

[KirkS]

Personally, I wouldn't put them in my family file until I could connect them my family.

Perhaps this is an absurd example, but what if I were researching the Jones family and used internet and phone books to get a list of everyone in the USA named Jones. How would that help me?

On the other hand if I am looking at the 1870 Census and I see a Jones FAMILY living near one of "my" Jones families, I might capture that "new" family's information in a Family Group Sheet in case I could connect them into the family later. But I wouldn't put them in my Reunion Tree until I could connect them.

Others here may disagree. Ultimately, it's your choice, but my advice is don't drown yourself in unknown people.

[Bob White]

........On the other hand if I am looking at the 1870 Census and I see a Jones FAMILY living near one of "my" Jones families, I might capture that "new" family's information in a Family Group Sheet in case I could connect them into the family later. But I wouldn't put them in my Reunion Tree until I could connect them.....

This group would be entered in my Reunion file but not connected with anyone already verified as family. Thus, this family from 1870 becomes another Island. Then I can work it within the app. Eventually, I will find a connection and connect with "Island 1" (the main family) or determine the family has no relationship, not connect it, rename the island as "Jones - Unable to Verify" and leave it be. A year or two or three up the road, I will revisit this island since there is new stuff being added to the Internet all of the time. So, if two years up the road I find a connection, I have not lost the previous work that I did. And I don't have to worry about which binder or file cabinet I put that stuff in two years earlier.

[KirkS]

Bob, when I said "others here may disagree," I had you in mind.

[theKiwi]

Bob, when I said "others here may disagree," I had you in mind.

You can count me in on that too - I have 866 islands in my family file - many of them just 2 people - a husband and wife from a marriage record, and many of them 3, or 4, or 5 people from birth records - trying to assemble all of the Moffat families in 2 Scottish counties. The biggest island has 15,119 people in it.

Roger

[Bob White]

Bob, when I said "others here may disagree," I had you in mind.

Naw, it's only that we are comfortable with different styles of working. I find it quite interesting, through this forum, to see how different people solve workflow and problems. Prior to islands becoming a Reunion feature, I worked like you do. When I offer information on how I do something, my intention is to show one more way of doing something. Sometimes I forget to point that out. Bad Bob!

[KirkS]

my intention is to show one more way of doing something.

Absolutely! I have great respect for you and others here. I learn from other people's workflow and I like software that doesn't restrict me to one way of performing a task, organizing my data, etc.

[Anna-Lou53]

Kirk, Bob, and Kiwi, I've been slow to thank you all for your helpful replies. I'm now debating which route - might try both.
One further question: if I go down the islands route am I right in assuming that once I discover how the people in island 2 relate to those in my main family file, it's easy to combine it with the main family file?

[theKiwi]

One further question: if I go down the islands route am I right in assuming that once I discover how the people in island 2 relate to those in my main family file, it's easy to combine it with the main family file?

Yes. You might need to do a Match and Merge to get the island linked to the main island if the person is already entered twice. Or you might just need to attached one small island to the larger island by adding a child or parent.

Roger

[KirkS]

Yes, definitely. If you discover that one of your "islands" is a brother to your grandfather, you just open up gramp's family and add a new child from the sidebar.

[Anna-Lou53]

I just wondered if there were advantages/disavantages of using the Adding Unrelated People that I found by accident yesterday - you'll know this but under the Edit heading, scroll down and there it is. I expect it's yet another means of doing the same thing that Reunion specialises in. But would I be right in thinking it's a means of adding a single person or persons and save islands for slightly larger groups?

[theKiwi]

I just wondered if there were advantages/disavantages of using the Adding Unrelated People that I found by accident yesterday - you'll know this but under the Edit heading, scroll down and there it is. I expect it's yet another means of doing the same thing that Reunion specialises in. But would I be right in thinking it's a means of adding a single person or persons and save islands for slightly larger groups?

Same thing really - if you add an unrelated person, then you have by definition created an island.

Roger

[Amandina]

Hi everyone, thanks for the discussion. How do I create a new family group sheet for a possibly related family? I thought family group sheets were only for reporting (according to Reunion help). So how do I input info into a report?

[Bob White]

Choose Islands in the left hand column. Then choose the Island you want to do the group sheet for... then Reports.... Actually, it's just the same steps as your main family. You just have to be located in that Island.

[Warwick Dilley]

I often create island from the witnesses to some event in the 'main' family. Like the witnesses listed on a marriage certificate, the non-family members who might post a death notice or in memoriam notice in a newspaper. Friends are often as important in one's life as relations are, and they have a habit of popping up again at some other event or time. I find this is especially the case with migrants putting down new roots and establishing new relationships.