Managing Sources in Trees

When you attach record on Ancestry® to a person in your tree, events from the record are automatically added to the person’s Facts tab, and the record source is automatically connected to the events. Sources can also be added or deleted at any time. To add a source to multiple people, see Attaching a Source to Multiple People.

Manually adding sources

Since sources are attached to events, an event must be added to your tree before a source can be added.

1. From the profile page of a person in your tree, click the Facts tab.
2. In the Sources column, click the Add button and select Add Source.
3. On the Create Source Citation page, enter all the information you have about the source and click Submit.

Copying a source from another tree

1. Go to the profile page of the person who has the source you want.
2. In the Sources column, hover over the source and click View.
3. Click View Record.
4. Click Save and select Save to someone in your tree.
5. Select the tree you want.
6. Start typing the name of the person you're adding the source to, then select them from the drop-down list.
7. Click Attach.
8. Select and deselect the information you want, then click Save to your tree.

Deleting sources

1. From the profile page of someone in your tree, hover over a source in the Sources column.
2. Click View.
3. At the bottom of the screen, click Remove.

Source terminology

• Citation: a reference to specific information about a fact or event in your tree; it should help other researchers retrace your steps to find the same information you found.

  Example: Year: 1930; Census Place: Idaho, Gooding County, Wendell Precinct; NARA publication: T626; Roll: 399; Sheet: 7A; Enumeration District: 24-8; Digital Image: 1062.0.

• Source: the document, index, book, person, or other material (including its corresponding publication information) in which you found the information related to a fact or event.

  Example: 1930 United States Federal Census, published online by Ancestry, 2002, Provo, Utah, USA; Index by Ancestry from microfilmed schedules of the 1930 U.S. Federal Decennial Census. Data imaged from national Archives and Records Administration, T626, 2,2667 rolls, National Archives and Records Administration, Washington, D.C.

• Repository: the library or other location where the source was found.

  Example: New York Public Library, Ancestry, etc.