* Disambiguation of similar individuals

[JimDavis79]

Folks, hello from snowy Maine! Can't go play golf, so am catching up on entering info. Using FH 7.0.22.

When researching, I frequently find multiple people that are potentially the same as others or could be duplicates. An example is three men named George Davis born about 1850, or two David Getty's born in Baltimore about 1818. Disambiguation follows, usually using complex timelines. I want to record in FH the data I have on each, with an indication in each person record of the possibility that another person is actually this person. Said another way, I'd like to quickly see the names/ RINs of the potential duplicates while I am disambiguating. Since these potential duplicates are in the database as unrelated persons, I might lose track of them. When I finally do figure out who is who, I want to keep the reminder in front of me in case new information arises that might be confusing.

I'm hoping someone has figured out how to create that indicator; can't find anything in the KB or Forums. I could create a custom fact, sort it to the top of the Facts list and show the other persons as witnesses. I did this in Roots Magic and previous software.

Any advice? Thanks for your help.

[Gowermick]

You could use a Custom ID. Give each member of ‘group’ of individuals the same ID. You could then show them (and sort them) in the records window. You are not restricted in what you use for a custom ID, so you could simply use their name. E.g David Getty 1818.

You could also create a common note record, and link it to each individual in a group. You can expand this note as your research proceeds, knowing that the same note is linked to each group member, and visible in their property boxes.

[tatewise]

You could link the same Research Note to each potentially duplicate person via the Notes tab.
Then the Research Note text can record your progress. (This is similar to Mike's common note record.)

You could add the same Individual Record Flag to each person, again using the common Name as the Flag name.

You could add the potentially duplicate people to a Named List again using the shared Name as the List name.

FH does not always have dedicated features for specific problems but does offer a toolbox of general-purpose features that let you choose the best solution for you.

[Jean001]

I could create a custom fact, sort it to the top of the Facts list and show the other persons as witnesses.

I do this. I call the fact 'Identity'. A linked Source Record contains my comments, and final decision if one is ever reached.

[JimDavis79]

Thanks very much for the replies and ideas! I'll look into the common note and group ID, capabilities in FH of which I was not aware.