What are all the possible data problems in Family Tree?
When Family Tree detects impossible or unlikely data for a person, it displays a data problem icon. The icon is a red square with a white exclamation mark.
The table lists all of the data problems, describes when they appear, and indicates whether you can dismiss them.
| Data Problem | Description | Can be dismissed? |
| Birth after Father's Death | The birth year of the child is later than the death year of the father. | No |
| Birth after Mother's Child-Bearing Years | The birth year of the child is after the mother turned 52, which is normally the end of child-bearing years. | Yes |
| Birth after Mother's Death | The birth year of the child is later than the death year of the mother. | No |
| Birth before Father Could Have Children | The birth year of the child is before the father was 12 years of age. | No |
| Birth before Mother Could Have Children | The birth year of the child is before the mother was 12 years of age. | Yes |
| Born after Married | The birth year of the person is after the marriage year. | No |
| Born after Spouse's Death | The birth year of the person is after the death year of the spouse. | No |
| Child Born before Father | The birth year of the child is before the birth year of the father. | No |
| Child Born before Mother | The birth year of the child is before the birth year of the mother. | No |
| Child Christened before Father | The child's christening year is listed before the father's birth year. | No |
| Child Christening before Mother | The child's christening year is listed before the mother's birth year. | No |
| Child Death before Father | The death year of the child is before the birth year of the father. | No |
| Child Death before Mother | The death year of the child is before the birth year of the mother. | No |
| Children Mismatch |
The person has children but has a fact listed as "No Children."
The couple has children but has a fact listed as "No Children." |
No |
| Christening before Father Could Have Children | The child's christening year is listed as occurring before the father was at least 12. | No |
| Christened before Mother Could Have Children | The child's christening year is listed as occurring before the mother was at least 12. | No |
| Death before Birth Year | The death year of the person is before the birth year. | No |
| Death before Christening Date | The child's christening year is listed before the father's birth year. | |
| Death before Spouse Was Born | The death year of the person is before the birth year of the spouse. | No |
| Death Year before Marriage | The death year of the person is before the marriage year. | No |
| Died Too Young for Marriage or Children | The person has marriage or children information, but the person died at 8 years of age or younger. | Yes |
| Invalid Characters | The Vital name contains invalid characters. | Yes |
| Invalid Characters | The Vital name contains invalid repeating characters. | Yes |
| Male or Female Is Required | Specify the sex of this person. | No |
| Looping Pedigree | The person has a child who is also listed as a parent. | No |
| Marriage Mismatch | The person is married or lived together but has a fact listed as "Never Married." | No |
| Married before 12 Years Old | A spouse was less than 12 years of age at the time of marriage. | Yes |
| Missing Standardized Event Date or Place | A date or place for an event, such as birth, marriage, or death, is not standardized according to the database, making it difficult to search. | No |
| Person over 120 Years Old | Person is too old to be living. The birth date is over 120 years ago. | No |
| Possible Duplicate Child | Information about 2 or more children is similar: Name is the same. Birth year is the same or missing. Death year is the same or missing. Living status is the same. | Yes |
| Possible Duplicate Spouse | Information about 2 or more spouses is similar: Name is the same. Birth year is the same or missing. Death year is the same or missing. Living status is the same. | No |
| Reoccurring person | The person appears in more than one place in the pedigree, but not in a loop. | Yes |
| Stillborn Problem | The person's record contains a stillborn event, but the vital dates show that the person lived longer than one year. | No |
| Problem with Name Language | The characters in the name field do not match the language template. | No |
Why do ancestors from Asia have so many data problems in Family Tree?
Understanding Data Problems in Family Tree for Asian Ancestry
If you have Asian ancestry, you might encounter some data issues in Family Tree related to names and dates of your ancestors' life events. Here's a guide to help you understand and resolve these problems.
Names
Family Tree may show a data problem called "Problem with Name Language" when the script used for a person's name doesn't match the selected language template, if a name field contains the wrong script, or if it contains multiple scripts. You can easily resolve this by using the Language Template feature in Family Tree and double-checking the data fields to ensure each one contains the correct characters or alphabet.
Dates
In cases where access to historical documents is limited, FamilySearch patrons have sometimes estimated the dates of their ancestors' important life events. This has been common for those with Chinese, Japanese, and Korean ancestry.
Duplicate Records
Over the years, multiple people working independently have created duplicate records in Family Tree for the same person, sometimes with contradictory information. FamilySearch attempts to find and merge these duplicates into a single record. If the dates from the records being merged contradict, the system selects the most recently submitted date, which can sometimes be incorrect. We hope you'll take the time to correct these errors when you encounter them.
Team Effort
Whenever you make a correction, be sure to provide a source or a clearly worded reason statement to validate your change. This helps other users understand and accept the modification.
Historical Contributions
Before 1994, name cards submitted for temple ordinances in Chinese, Japanese, and Korean temples were prepared by hand. While the ordinance information has been preserved, the names of the contributors have not. This can lead to seeing "FamilySearch" listed as the contributor for certain pieces of information.
Problem with Name Language
The “Problem with Name Language” occurs when the script used for a person’s name doesn’t match the selected language template, or if a name field contains the wrong or multiple scripts. To fix this, edit the person's name and make the following changes:
- Select the correct language template: This will show fields for each script used.
- Move each script to the correct field: Use cut and paste to do this.
- Ensure each field contains only one script.
Once the name is correctly entered, the warning messages will disappear, and the problem will be resolved. This issue cannot be dismissed.
Age of 120 Years or More
An age of 120 years or more is flagged because it’s highly likely to be incorrect. Only one person has been verified to live beyond 119 years since the 20th century. To address this:
- Review historical documents: Go to the ancestor’s person page and check the Sources tab for birth and death records.
- Compare dates: Look at the digital images of records and compare the dates with the transcription.
- Correct any mistakes: Use the editing options to fix errors and save your changes.
If no mistakes are found, continue investigating other records or life events.
Question Mark in a Person’s Name
On June 27, 2016, a question mark was added to the name field of any person whose first and last names were blank. You can replace the question mark with the correct name if known, or leave it as a placeholder until you find the correct name. Be cautious about deleting relationships involving a person with a question mark, as it might be a result of a merge or other action.
New Data Problems or Research Suggestions
You might see new data problems (red exclamation points) or research suggestions (purple arrows) on a person’s record. These are usually due to:
- Changes by another user: Check the change history.
- New checks by Family Tree: Use this information to improve the person’s record.
FamilySearch as a Contributor
FamilySearch may appear as a contributor in the Latest Changes column due to:
- Computer-generated trees.
- Information transferred from new.familysearch.org: The date shown is the transfer date, not the original contribution date.
- Policy or software updates: These might require reentering information or adding new sources.
- Standardized dates and places: A system-wide update on May 30, 2019, standardized many dates and places, affecting about 15% of entries. This helps remove data problems and provides more accurate record hints.
For members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, FamilySearch might appear as a contributor when:
- Church membership updates: Information is automatically transferred when a member dies.
- Temple ordinance completions: When syncing temple submissions between systems.
"Family Tree information could not be read" error
Try changing the starting person in your tree in these circumstances:
- You see an error that Family Tree cannot display the starting person.
- You see an error that Family Tree user information could not be read.
If the problem persists, please contact FamilySearch Support.