Making the connections between parents and children is perhaps the most basic feature of any genealogy software and Legacy provides several ways to do this in different circumstances. Unfortunately, that flexibility can lead to confusion and problems if you select an inappropriate method.
Understand the information that you already have in your family file and then choose just the right method.
Understand the information that you already have in your family file and then choose just the right method.
The "safest" way is to add a new child to an existing family whenever possible. When you locate evidence of a "new person" always check whether you have any other family members in the Index before you add an "unlinked individual". If you already have the parents linked as a couple, then use the option BELOW them on the family page (see the RED arrow) to extend their family.
When you have a person already in the file (without a link to parents) then it is appropriate to select an option above his or her name (see the GREEN arrow) to go back a generation. But take care to double check the Index list before you proceed. What can go wrong? You do not want to "add a new person" if he or she is already contained in the file because later you will need to merge the two instances (which can cause loss of data if you are not careful). It is much better to avoid the creation of duplicate persons in the first place (by using an existing person). Even though using one existing person is a good thing, using two can cause a different problem. Each time you select that option for two individuals, you create another marriage (or family partnership) between them. So if you add the same couple as parents to four children, the file will show them with four marriages! (And that means more merging to tidy up!) So you should use the GREEN arrow method only once per couple (for the first child you identify) each child found after that should be added by the GREEN arrow method. |