Sources and citations: record where every fact in your family tree came from
A family tree is only as trustworthy as its evidence. Sources and citations let you say where each fact came from: a certificate, a parish register, a census page, a family Bible, a newspaper notice.
Two ideas: sources and citations
- A source is a document or record set, such as "Parish register of Wells: baptisms and marriages 1860-1900". You describe it once.
- A citation is a specific use of it for one fact, such as "Baptisms 1868, entry 84, primary evidence".
One source can be cited by many facts, so you never retype the same title.
The citation dot
Beside Born, Bap, Died, Buried and marriage dates in the editable record is a small dot. Its tooltip says how many citations that fact has: "1 citation - click to view" or "No citations yet - click to add one".
Add or view a citation
Click the dot and a drawer opens with the citations for that fact.
To add one, search for an existing source or create a new one, then fill in:
- Page or detail - where in the source, such as "Certificate 4127".
- Quality - Primary evidence (direct), Secondary evidence, Questionable, Unreliable, or Not rated.
- Quoted text (optional) - the words from the source.
Print your bibliography
The Source / Bibliography Report lists every source and every fact that cites it, with links to the people. See the Source / Bibliography Report.
Sources travel with your data
Sources and citations are part of GEDCOM, so they arrive with an import and leave with an export. See importing and exporting.
Frequently asked questions
Do I have to cite everything? No. Citations are optional. Start with the facts you trust least, or the ones a relative might ask about.
Can I delete a source? Only one that nothing cites. The bibliography report shows a Delete this unused source button for those. A source with citations cannot be removed by accident.
Who can add citations? Owners, co-owners and editors. Viewers can read them.