Untangling the Knots in Your FamilySearch Family Tree

So...this class was born from my recognition that I really do have a very distinct process for managing the messes that I find when doing my family history in FamilySearch. I learned it through picking several peoples brains about their process then adapting it to be my own.  That said, consider this all a guideline then adapt it to fit your brain. I have a very strong conviction that it's important, as a member of the LDS church, to help contribute to the clean up and improvement of the great big tree known as FamilySearch Family Tree.  I've honestly spent most of my time as a genealogist cleaning up messes and have learned nearly all of my researching skills from working through those messes.  It wasn't until recently that I realized that even some who have been doing genealogy for years are just avoiding the so called "messes" because they don't really know how to tackle them.

And so this class was born.

First of all lets define "knots" from the title, or what I've referred to as "messes".  If you've ever worked on FamilySearch you've noticed that you'll often come to families who have A LOT of data problems! Yikes! How did that come to be? Years and years of duplicate work, followed by great attempts to merge, and lots of contributors.  I complain about none of this, because it's the process FamilySearch had to go through since the first declaration that members of the church were given to do their own 4 generation pedigree charts.  In fact, I praise the church and FamilySearch for all that they contribute to the world of genealogy.  Let's face it, without them genealogy couldn't possibly be where it is today, they got a head start by at least 60 years given that the Genealogical Society of Utah (FamilySearch's former name) began microfilming record in 1938 and Ancestry wasn't even thought of until 1990.  So the point is, I'm grateful for every leap forward that FamilySearch makes, which happens often. Thank you FamilySearch!

Sidenote: I think a fascinating class would be the history of Family History!

Okay so let's get to the content.
Here are my slides for the class: