* Custom Facts

[Clive1908]

Hello. Having moved on learning about Source Template Definitions earlier in the year-forum advice very helpful-now back to adding facts for individuals.
Recent research has confirmed my paternal grandfather, and two of his young sisters were in a London workhouse in 1880,before they were then transferred to Orphanage schools. Though I could use the Fact-Residence, (type attribute), I would like to create new Facts-Workhouse and Orphanage to record information from 'Admission and Discharge' records. Using the Fact Definition Dialog box could I create for example Fact name e.g. Workhouse,fact type as an attribute,record type as individual and Fact set as Custom ?
Is this a good way of recording information from these sources ? Suggestions welcomed.

Clive

[tatewise]

Yes, you could do that and the custom fact will export to most other products satisfactorily.
However, it would lose the meaning associated with the standard FH/GEDCOM Residence fact.

If you create a custom attribute it will have a Value field in addition to the Place and Address field.
What do you propose to record in that Value field?

An alternative approach is to use the ability on the All tab to add a Descriptor (TYPE) subsidiary field to the standard Residence fact. e.g. The Descriptor could be Workhouse or Orphanage.
Se FHUG Knowledge Base Recording a Civil Partnership under Fact Type Descriptor.
The TYPE value can be used to customise the Sentence Template and also the Facts tab listing.

This way a Query for Residence facts will show where a person lived throughout their life.
Whereas, with custom attributes, there will be gaps unless the Query includes extra filters for them.

GEDCOM 5.5.1 says:
"Using the subordinate TYPE tag classification method with any of the other defined event tags provides a further classification of the parent tag but does not change the basic meaning of the parent tag."

[ColeValleyGirl]

I try to do things as simply and obviously as possible, and avoid the ALL tab wherever possible. I have custom attributes for 'Entered Institution' and 'Left Institution'. The value of the attribute is the name of the Institution (which is not always given by the address, plus Institutions can change address and remain the same Institution). I put explanatory detail in the Fact Note. If you use narrative reports, this can work very well.

I tend not to use queries a lot and have never needed to query by Residence, so 'losing the meaning associated with the standard Residence fact' doesn't bother me (I'm not even sure it's true). If I need to see where a person lived throughout their life, I use the Facts tab.

[Mark1834]

Pedantically, they should probably be events rather than attributes, as they occur at defined points in the space-time continuum, but I would do the same as FH does not permit event values, and using the value field is much more visible than relegating the institution name to a note.

[Clive1908]

Thank you all for suggestions on creating Custom Facts.
Used FH Sample Project to experiment. Whilst not wishing to spend too much time at the moment on Sentence Templates, I'm aware that they can be re-constructed for narrative reports. Tried adapting in the Fact Definition dialog box, and got in a muddle when trying to create a sentence, for example- 'X was in a particular workhouse at an address, between certain dates when aged Y'. I just then need to add any additional information in Fact Notes and/or Text from source.
I will look up Knowledge base for basics on creating and modifying Sentence Templates.

Clive

[KFN]

For all “places they lived” I use the Residence fact with TYPE subtag to explain what type of residence.

I do this for, Jail time, on board ship at sea, long stays in hospital (mental institutions, leper hospitals, etc). This would be the appropriate way to manage these places and be transferable to other software that follows the GEDCOM specification.

[tatewise]

The Fact TYPE Descriptor is a longstanding GEDCOM feature but is not very well supported by FH.
Some other products support it far better.
See and Vote for Wish List Ref 559 Fact Descriptor for Civil Union, two Place Travel, Preferred Occupation, etc.

[KFN]

Done, lucky number 13

[AdrianBruce]

... The value of the attribute is the name of the Institution (which is not always given by the address, plus Institutions can change address and remain the same Institution). ...

Hmm - interesting. I suspect I probably realised this but had never actually articulated it.

The classic case for this is surely a Workhouse. In later years, many were given what looked like ordinary street addresses, presumably to reduce the shame of anyone reading a birth or death certificate for an event at such a workhouse. So potentially that workhouse would have at least two addresses - one simply "Ambridge Workhouse" (say) and a later one "200 High Street" (say). Same Institution in both cases.

And of course, as the Infirmary Hospital took on a greater significance, they eventually became an institution in their own right - potentially with the same address as the previous workhouse on that site...

[Clive1908]

Thank you Adrian. I have an Infirmary which I think was on the same site as an existing Workhouse, and a Workhouse recorded as its street address. Need to look at literature on Victorian Workhouses, Infirmaries and Orphanage's.

Clive

[tatewise]

Yes, I have an ancestor whose Birth Certificate gives an odd street address.
On inquiring at the local library, that was a pseudo-address for a Workhouse.
It later became an NHS Infirmary/Hospital and the NHS archive has full records of my ancestor's birth, including admittance of his mother, birth date, time, weight, etc, next of kin details, and discharge date.

[RS3100]

For anyone who is not aware, this is an excellent site for information on Workhouses and Children's Homes.

https://www.workhouses.org.uk/

[Clive1908]

Thank you for the link to the 'Workhouse' web site. A wealth of information, and useful links.

Clive