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Writer's pictureDevon Noel Lee
3 min read

How to Remove a Child From the Wrong Set of Parents on the FamilySearch Family Tree


young child to represent removing a child from the wrong parents on FamilySearch Family Tree

Have you ever encountered an individual on FamilySearch who thought, “They don’t belong in this family,” and then wondered what you should do? I will share my thoughts on the hows of breaking relationships and cautions encouragement.


What do you do when you think a potential relative is in the wrong family on the FamilySearch Family Tree?


First, you need to make your case. Why do you think someone doesn’t belong in the family they are currently connected to? You shouldn’t take people out of families willy-nilly. You must have a solid reason to break relationships in the family tree.


I’ve previously written about the case study for Winfield Underwood’s family. After determining his parents, I found a new issue on his Person Page. Winfield might have a brother named General Thomas Underwood, or he might not.


While reviewing each of Winfield’s siblings. I discovered that they were born in Kentucky. More specifically, they were generally from Taylor County, Kentucky. I also noticed that most of the children of Hiram and Nancy Underwood migrated west. They went to Texas.


General Thomas Underwood doesn’t seem to go west. He may have traveled west and returned to Kentucky, but the evidence doesn’t support that conclusion.


General Thomas Underwood’s Person Page has attached sources. These sources are wonderful, but they don’t help me determine if General is with the wrong family.

The Person Page can’t help me, so my next step is to see what is available on the FamilySearch record side. I use the FamilySearch quick link to transfer the Person Page data from the tree to the search form. That way, no extra typing is involved.


The first possibility on the search results page involves an Underwood with Bill and Mahalia. That’s not Hiram Underwood and Nancy Gaddy. I keep scrolling and find no hints for General Thomas associated with Hiram and Nancy Underwood.


William and Mahalia appear repeatedly. Hmm…


To speed things along, I researched General Thomas. I have concluded that he was part of William (Bill) and Mahalia Underwood’s family, not Hiram and Nancy’s clan. Instead, the General that belongs to Hiram and Nancy is General Logan.




Let’s Remove General For the FamilySearch Family Tree


We must break their relationship to remove General Thomas from Hyrum and Nancy’s. You can’t break the relationship on the left side, where he is with his wife and his children. You have to break the old link on the right, where he is the son of Hyrum and Nancy Underwood.


In the form that pops up, click the option to remove General from the family. You can replace the parents if who knew the parents were. In this case, we’re just going to remove the parents.


You’ll be asked if you want to do this by requesting that you complete a “Reason Statement” box.


DON’T SKIP THE BOX!!!!


Key in why you are breaking the relationship between parents and children (or husband and wives, the process is the same). You’ll remind yourself why General Thomas Underwood doesn’t belong in Hyrum and Nancy’s family.


Now that General Thomas has no parents, we can add William and Mahalia and the sources that support that claim.


It is simple to break relationships, but should you?


Yes, if you can make a case that an individual is connected to the wrong family. If you can’t make the case and are a little doubtful, gather more research until you have reached a conclusion.


If your research is inconclusive, let things go, but leave a note on the Person’s Profile. Explain why you don’t think a family relationship is accurate and see if anyone else has the answer.


If you make a mistake in the process, you can always restore it back. It can become challenging, but errors can be repaired.


So, use the family tree to break the incorrect relationships, and we can ensure that the worldwide family tree is as accurate as possible.


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