What do you do when you know the given name of a spouse but not the surname This is the result of a GedCom import

Question

As stated, my GedCom brought in a wife whose first name is know, but not her surname.  Looks like a delete is in order?

Answer 1

William, if you know her Last Name at Birth (LNAB), you can correct it by clicking the Edit tab and then clicking the edit link that should appear after the Last Name at Birth field.

If you don't know her LNAB, then her profile is fine as it is, with her WikiTree ID (UNKNOWN-207264) indicating that her LNAB is currently unknown.

We do not delete a profile simply because it was created with Unknown (UNKNOWN) as the LNAB.

 

Comments

just a note - if you're creating or changing a profile where LNAB is not known, it should following WikiTree guidelines of not using all caps also - Unknown would be correct.

https://www.wikitree.com/wiki/Help:Name_Fields#Capitalization

Cheers, Liz

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Sounds reasonable.  Now we'll see if she comes off the suggestions.

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I included the all-caps version for clarification in my answer, Liz.

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Since the profile has already been created using all-caps, it's basically a moot point as it relates to William's question. I didn't want him to think he needed to change UNKNOWN to Unknown, as that would create an unnecessary redirect (in my opinion, anyway).

Perhaps I should have included a link to the style guidelines for LNAB:

https://www.wikitree.com/wiki/Help:Name_Fields#Last_Name_at_Birth

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I haven't used the GEDCOM feature yet, so I don't know if William would have been able to correct the all-caps before he imported/created the profile.

So, until Eleanor's LNAB can be established, no change is necessary.

That's my opinion on the preferred procedure for a profile with the all-caps UNKNOWN. If the official WikiTree policy is to change it to Unknown, please let us know. my fellow WikiTreers; be sure to include a link to that policy!

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Generally, I agree Lindy. But William's a pretty good researcher, so it's likely that her LNAB will not be known in the foreseeable future. In those cases, I tend to correct all cap to initial cap. If I still have sources to check for a LNAB, I'll hold off.