family tree maker 2012 - names not matching when merging records?

Question

I have been researching my ancestry recently

the parents show up correctly and match without a problem

"person from my tree" vs "Person from websearch" don't match because they seem to be out of order and the only option i have is to add detail to the incorrect child

It is trying to merge records where the names blatantly don't match - for example

 Alice 1860 from "my tree" to merge records with her brother John 1879 thinking they are the same person

all of the detail matches up - names, DOBs, birth location, residencies etc but it only gives me the option to add info to the wrong person, it seems like they are in the wrong order.

any ideas how to solve this?

Observer · Accepted Answer

Because of the instability of FTM 2009 and 2010 I switched to Legacy.  I assume that you are attempting to down load something from a web search.  The thing I learned is that the pedigree charts on Ancestry are not always correct and you shouldn't rely on them.  On numerous occasions I found
my ancestors, but the information was not totally correct or the names of the children were not correct or some were left out.  I use ancestry only as a clue finder and do all my own research.  I also seldom download from a web search.

Shirley T · Answer

I don't know what you mean by merging.  However if you are talking about the family trees of other subscribers, those are nor records.   Merging  other family trees into your own is a sloppy way to do genealogy.

Now if you mean when they refer you to actual records on Ancestry.Com that is something different.and I am not sure what your problem is.  It has been a while since I have  brought records from Ancestry.Com into my Family Tree Maker.

However let me repeat a lot of trashy genealogy is out now because of people copying from other family trees.Even when you see the absolute same information on the same people from many different subscribers that doesn't mean the information is accurate as too many damfules copy without verifying with actual records.   Actually if  your find any of your family in an online family tree and you know the information is wrong, those that run the websites will tell you that is between you and the other subscriber.  They don't get involved. It would be too costly for them to hire people to verify all the information that is submitted.  This is true for fee websites as well as free websites.

Anonymous · Answer

I see your post has been up for four hours and has no response. So, this isn't an answer, but may help you get one.

There is a whole forum devoted to FTM here:
http://genforum.genealogy.com/using/
and an on-line help center here:
http://www.genealogy.com/help/

I use Roots Magic, myself. It doesn't have that problem. If you do post your question on the forum, you might want to read three or four beforehand, to see what works and what doesn't. ("Works" in this case  means gets a quick, accurate answer without a lot of "More details please?" follow-ups.) You will have to register; it is free and they don't spam you.

You'll notice no posts there ask "What is the Smith family crest?" or "My name is Ralph, what is my American Indian name?"

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family tree maker 2012 - names not matching when merging records?

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