A red exclamation mark

[webwiz]

I just entered a new person. I have never entered anyone with this surname before and I have never entered anyone from the same piece previously. So I am at a loss as to what it means.

 

[CarolB08]

Hi webwiz a quick check of the Lost cousins help section shows this;

A

symbol indicates an entry that you should check carefully against the census, as there may be a discrepancy. Click on your relative's name to make any necessary changes, or to confirm that the entry is correct. Please refer to the notes on the Add Ancestor or Edit Ancestor page to check whether your entry should match the transcription or the handwritten census information

 

[Bryman]

Please also be aware that transcriptions for a given record may differ between Ancestry and FMP. If you are unsure which to enter on your My Ancestors page, then I suggest using the details shown at FMP when using the grey arrow check, regardless of your source, as that is what others will probably do in similar circumstances. If we all do the same then there will be less chance of a match being missed.

 

[webwiz]

Please also be aware that transcriptions for a given record may differ between Ancestry and FMP. If you are unsure which to enter on your My Ancestors page, then I suggest using the details shown at FMP when using the grey arrow check, regardless of your source, as that is what others will probably do in similar circumstances. If we all do the same then there will be less chance of a match being missed.

I only have Ancestry. Could someone with FMP tell me of any difference to the following:'
1881 1564/79/23
Surname* Britten
Forename* Edward
Middle names or initials
Age* 66

 

[Bob Spiers]

FMP surname spelling =Britton birth year 1815. Change spelling to agree FMP and then if you believe should be Britten, enter Britten as the correct Forename below and click Save. That should do the trick and then surname should show as Britten (italics to indicate a modification).

NB you will need to do this for Elizabeth the other family member.

 

[Pauline]

Change spelling to agree FMP

Isn't the advice with the 1881 census, that where transcriptions differ, we should use the one at Ancestry? Ancestry still use the original LDS transcription, whereas most other sites have made some amendments to it.

 

[Bryman]

I only have Ancestry.

You may only have a subscription at Ancestry but everyone has access to required transcription data at FMP via Peter's grey arrow check icon for most country censuses. If there is no grey arrow then one may have to rely on another match within that household in order to identify other LC member and discuss any discrepancy. If there is no grey arrow and no other match then just leave the ! in place and hope for a match in future, or ask Peter for help.

Isn't the advice with the 1881 census, that where transcriptions differ, we should use the one at Ancestry?

I seem to remember something like that but how would someone with no access to Ancestry know that there is a difference? The FMP transcription may be the only data available to that member.

 

[Bob Spiers]

Isn't the advice with the 1881 census, that where transcriptions differ, we should use the one at Ancestry? Ancestry still use the original LDS transcription, whereas most other sites have made some amendments to it.

I would agree, especially as I use Ancestry to record details on LC for 1881 - though not always 1911 because Ancestry rarely shows the Schedule Number and it is a cursed nuisance to have to check back to the original image - should I then get the ubiquitous ! causing me to check back with the FMP version, then usually for a quiet life and removal of the ! I go with FMP.

 

[webwiz]

Thanks Bob that worked a treat. (Except I think you meant Surname not Forename ).
By the way the grey arrow does not work for me - just takes me to a subscription invite.

 

[Bob Spiers]

Thanks Bob that worked a treat. (Except I think you meant Surname not Forename ).
By the way the grey arrow does not work for me - just takes me to a subscription invite.

Yes indeed, silly me. As for the grey arrow not working that surprises me because as I subscribe to both Ancestry & FMP, it has never happened to me. I thought as the 1881 Census is free to view for all it would not apply to anyone. Can someone explain why it happens to webwiz?

 

[David47]

I have one entry to be checked, but how do I find it quickly and eaily among 4000 entries?

 

[peter]

Isn't the advice with the 1881 census, that where transcriptions differ, we should use the one at Ancestry? Ancestry still use the original LDS transcription, whereas most other sites have made some amendments to it.

Absolutely correct.

I have one entry to be checked, but how do I find it quickly and easily among 4000 entries?

The chances are it's one of your recent entries, so just sort them into date order.

 

[webwiz]

Ok I have another red ! and I have checked that Ancestry and FMP and FS all agree on the transcription (I can't remember which I used). Does this mean that someone else has mis-spelt something and there is nothing I can do myself to get rid of it?

 

[peter]

Ok I have another red ! and I have checked that Ancestry and FMP and FS all agree on the transcription (I can't remember which I used). Does this mean that someone else has mis-spelt something and there is nothing I can do myself to get rid of it?

You should follow the instructions on your My Ancestors page.

 

[webwiz]

Right I finally twigged. Can I suggest a change to the instructions for the benefit of dimwitted geriatrics like me? Instead of saying "confirm they are correct" which I did not realise meant I actually had to do something having confirmed it to myself, say "click on the 'confirm' button".

 

[peter]

Right I finally twigged. Can I suggest a change to the instructions for the benefit of dimwitted geriatrics like me? Instead of saying "confirm they are correct" which I did not realise meant I actually had to do something having confirmed it to myself, say "click on the 'confirm' button".

The problem is that if I change the wording as you've suggested I'll get people writing in to say that they can't see the confirm button. Perhaps a middle course would be to capitalize the word 'Confirm'?

 

[webwiz]

If I'm the only one who had any trouble with it maybe best leave well alone.

 

[Helen7]

The chances are it's one of your recent entries, so just sort them into date order.

That didn't help me this morning when I found I had 6 entries needing checking, but they were people I'd entered ages ago and they were scattered round the lower half of my list when ordered by date (and all in different households too).

This happened after I clicked on the 'Search' button on My Ancestors page and was delighted when it came back with 42 new matches. These are all to the same person in the UK - previously unknown to me - but one of the matches is a common ancestor so definitely a cousin (Match Rating of 1.49, the maximum I believe). Looks like this person has recently entered a lot of their relatives - either a new member or maybe spurred on by Peter's competition? Included amongst the matches are several to the 1880 US census - my first matches there.

The 6 exclamation marks were all in 1881 households with other matches to the same person so not really a problem (once I'd located them!). Having checked them all, I found that all except one matched the transcriptions at both Ancestry and FindMyPast, so I changed that one to the FMP transcription (Thomas instead of Thos), confirmed the others and the exclamation marks have gone away - but still don't match my cousin. It's odd that the 42 matches are spread across about 20 different households, with 2 or 3 matches in each but lots of (equally related) people in the household not matching. Do I assume my cousin has only entered a few from each household, or that their other entries are sufficiently different not to show as a match?

 

[Bryman]

That didn't help me this morning when I found I had 6 entries needing checking, but they were people I'd entered ages ago and they were scattered round the lower half of my list when ordered by date (and all in different households too).

That sounds very similar to circumstances that I sometimes find myself in. Unfortunately, there is no quick way to locate either red ticks or red exclamation marks when the list of entries starts to get large.

As long as you have at least one match with the other member then your best way forward is probably to communicate with them and identify what you have each entered for the near matches and why. Hopefully, you will be able to resolve the differences easily and quickly.

If there are no matches then I do NOT confirm that I have checked my entries so that the near match(es) remain(s) identified for future resolution. I may be lucky and get a match in the future via an adjoining family. I record matches and who they are with in my tree so that I can easily see when another member is working in that vicinity.

 

[Pauline]

This happened after I clicked on the 'Search' button on My Ancestors page and was delighted when it came back with 42 new matches.

Had you just entered some new census households, or was this a routine Search? I think I have only once found a new match from a routine Search, and have generally only had new matches after I've added more entries in myself.