I need help with a merge

Question

I created Pelletier-1590 in 2013.

Someone recently created Pelletier-3400.

They are the identical person - same date and location of birth, same date and location of death.

I have never done a merge and don’t want to merge the wrong direction!

Any help or advice you can give will be greatly appreciated.

Comments

I proposed a merge.

Answer 1

If they are the same surname, it doesn't matter how it is proposed.  Merges will be required, at the time of the merge, to go to the lowest seq number for the surname.

Comments

Thank you for explaining that.

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Merges seem more difficult than they are. especially if you've never done one.  This one seems simple enough, even a first-timer should have no trouble.    

What isn't "fixed" during a merge can be done afterwards -- and even if the person completing the merge misses something, it's not lost.  It'll still be there in the change logs.

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Hi again, Melanie,

I have a question relating to Tauffenbach-9, the new profile that was created as the mother of Pelletier-3400:

What will happen to this profile?

Do I need to merge this one into Tauffenbach-5 (the mother of Pelletier-1590)?

Or will Tauffenbach-9 automatically merge with Tauffenbach-5?

Or will Taiffenbach-9 become an “orphaned” profile?

Thank you for all your help.

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The mother's profile will not be merged automatically.  When merging Jeanne's profile, you will have to choose which profiles are the correct parents.  The other parents don't become orphans, but they will be disconnected.

For this reason and others, it's best to merge the older generations first.  Go back as far as necessary to find the earliest generation not duplicated.

Regarding your original question, when the surnames are spelled the same the system only allows the merge in one direction.  You get to retain the most accurate and complete text and sources.  That could be all from one or the other profile, or a combination of the two.

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As Herbert said, when a merge is done, the ancestors / parents should always be merged first.   I have proposed the merge of the mother now, also.  Since you have the Pelletier profile 'locked' somewhat, you will be the only one that can complete the merge, once the other person, looks like a half or full brother, has approved the merges.

Merges go into a 'default approved' status after 30 days if one or both PMs have not approved the merge.  At that time anyone can complete any merge, as long as both profiles are unlocked.

When a merge is done, the biography is normally merged together and a little cleanup is needed to remove any duplicate text that was taken from both profiles. As Melanie said, merges are a little 'scary' initially, but that is OK.  It is better to be cautious doing a merge to make sure that they are being done correctly.