I use what info I have about the couple, i.e., "Mary ?" or "? Smith". Then add in (Wife of John Smith), or (Husband of Jane Doe). YES, I use question (?) marks instead of "Unknown"
This helps in finding the person within the database, and tells me that more research is needed when seeing them listed with the person index of the program. I have NOT had issues with any GEDCOM files in doing this. When I find more data, all I need to do edit the name. Yes it may look funny within a pedigree chart and some reports, but the message come across loud and clear. I have had people comment that they saw that I was missing the information, because they saw what I had done. The use of some of the other suggest methods, do not make them stand out, so that others may offer some help. Thanks, David C Abernathy Email disclaimers ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- This message represents the official view of the voices in my head. ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- http://www.SchmeckAbernathy.com == All outgoing and incoming mail is scanned by F-Prot Antivirus == -----Original Message----- From: [email protected] [mailto:[email protected]] Sent: Thursday, March 15, 2012 8:47 AM To: [email protected] Subject: Re: [LegacyUG] Persons with only assumed/acquired surnames Thanks, Michele, Bob and Jan for thinking about this. My main concern is unanticipated side effects. Placeholders like Mr. or Firstwife work well for the original compiler, who has Legacy and external files, but wider distribution and less capable software must be anticipated. Legacy too might hiccup on empty fields or "name" duplication - or perhaps work better... "Mr." is a good example. In principle it's a quick search key for placeholders. In practice, it's often important in genealogical analysis to identify yeoman or gentleman social status, and is particularly useful in distinguishing a socially prominent line amongst similar entries in parish registers. For that purpose, the prefix field is ideal and alternate use of the given name field implies a placeholder. But does that work for other programs and propagate quietly via gedcoms? Is the trailing period a possible problem, or later parsing where all name fields are empty? I need to send a PAF Gedcom from Legacy to my cousin, who may further enter the branch to LDS and Ancestry trees... Also on side effects, I use Mr where it's not known which brother was the father, as elsewhere in this Pratt line. One side effect is to add a phantom brother to the older generation. No problem with Legacy, which has ample opportunity for notes and simple procedures for correction, but I don't want to seed a phantom into some future database. AKAs do seem the best path for the Richord/Richard mess, though Richord is only a search key for defectively entered records. But again, with both name fields empty, will AKAs propagate and behave quietly? Pratt-wife has definite appeal. Similarly, Pratt-child or Pratt-dau seems less likely to cause trouble than Unknown for the daughters. It's all ugly expedients... Thanks again kb Legacy User Group guidelines: http://www.LegacyFamilyTree.com/Etiquette.asp Archived messages after Nov. 21 2009: http://www.mail-archive.com/[email protected]/ Archived messages from old mail server - before Nov. 21 2009: http://www.mail-archive.com/[email protected]/ Online technical support: http://www.LegacyFamilyTree.com/Help.asp Follow Legacy on Facebook (http://www.facebook.com/LegacyFamilyTree) and on our blog (http://news.LegacyFamilyTree.com). To unsubscribe: http://www.LegacyFamilyTree.com/LegacyLists.asp Legacy User Group guidelines: http://www.LegacyFamilyTree.com/Etiquette.asp Archived messages after Nov. 21 2009: http://www.mail-archive.com/[email protected]/ Archived messages from old mail server - before Nov. 21 2009: http://www.mail-archive.com/[email protected]/ Online technical support: http://www.LegacyFamilyTree.com/Help.asp Follow Legacy on Facebook (http://www.facebook.com/LegacyFamilyTree) and on our blog (http://news.LegacyFamilyTree.com). To unsubscribe: http://www.LegacyFamilyTree.com/LegacyLists.asp
