The URLs may change but then so might the memorial numbers. I've found a number of people who have different memorials. In one instance the memorials were not just for different cemeteries but in different cities. When I find these situations, I send messages to both individuals and they normally work it out. One normally is taken down. Changes in the URL are rare and changes in the memorial numbers are even more rare but it is always a starting point. The point is it tells others where I got the information. Nothing is ever permanent. BJ On 1/26/2014 10:05 PM, [email protected] wrote: > I do merge data from ancestry for my FAG memorials, even though many of them are ones that I made myself. The link gives a direct access to the source at ancestry and the ancestry gives a direct link to the memorial. I m pretty sure the links will remain good now that ancestry has purchased it. Since I have many, many people who either changed their names, the spelling or were adopted and are not buried under their birth names, these links are important for future family members to be able to find and connect the two. In my tree I use the name as shown on the birth record or baptismal record or earliest record I can find. I also make notations as to name changes where and when I find them, but many times they are not buried under those names. Plus, in my Canadian families they can have 3 to 5 given names and use any one of them as the daily called name. Over the years they have driven me wild trying to keep track of them in records. A man whose birth record shows S! am! > uel Lawrence James Robert [surname] can show up as Samuel in the first census, as Jim in ensuing census returns as James S. L. for military records and be buried as S. L. James [surname] on his tombstone. One the memorials I make I can put a note born such and such to and name the parents as well as link to the parents, but the links in the tree to ancestry records and then the link to the proper FAG memorial sure makes it easier for newer researchers to find and put together all the records I have struggled over with living descendants to find. The newer researchers will not have the luxury of older descendants of the people to work with that I have had.

Ancestry changed the URLs on all of Rootsweb. Of course it had more features & functions than FAG does. It seems they thought they "needed" the Ancestry name in there to be sure everyone knew it was part of their turf. It may or may not happen with FAG, but I'll duck the issue and not use the URL. When there are duplicate memorials, I can record both and note that. Probably one will go away eventually - I usually send a note, as you do. Sometimes another comes back anyway ... FAG does not handle multiple marriage names well for searching & people are trying to add Auntie's 3 previous marriages in front of the last (burial) name - or Auntie is buried with married name #1 but her death certificate is married name #2 and both are entered. Some people actually have stones in two cemeteries - one with wife #1, but no death date on it - buried in another cemetery with wife #2 - and both documented under the same name. A couple that will probably remain duplicates are from families where the stone is the "old" spelling of the name but another volunteer insists on putting a memorial in with the current "right" family name spelling. (Roll eyes, document it in your way in your file and move on. <G> ) J.Hintz On 1/27/2014 2:02 AM, BJ wrote: > The URLs may change but then so might the memorial numbers. I've found > a number of people who have different memorials. In one instance the > memorials were not just for different cemeteries but in different > cities. When I find these situations, I send messages to both > individuals and they normally work it out. One normally is taken down. > > Changes in the URL are rare and changes in the memorial numbers are even > more rare but it is always a starting point. The point is it tells > others where I got the information. Nothing is ever permanent. > > BJ > >