Parental linkage

Not all parental situations fit into the two biological parents scenario, with step-parents, foster-parents, adoptive parents, all potentially needing to be recorded. More information on adoption can be found in a separate section, but different types of linkage can be recorded in the “Type” drop down box of the “Families” tab on the “Current Person Other Detail” dialog, accessed from the ⋮ button, located next to the name field.

The use of these will effect how narratives are written. Suggest uses are as follows:

Adopted:

Use for the adopted parents of an adopted person—see section on adoption for more information.

Birth:

Use for the birth parents of an adopted person—see section on adoption for more information. It is suggested that this isn’t used for non-adopted persons, as birth linkage is assumed to be the default.

Foster:

Use for the foster parents.

Sealing:

Do not use—included for GEDCOM compatibility only.

Illegitimate:

Use to record that the child was born out of wedlock. It is suggested that this is only used in historic scenarios, for example, when it was recorded in a parish register. This is mentioned in narrative reports.

Posthumous:

Born after the death of the father. This is mentioned in narrative reports.

Legitimised/prenuptial:

Use to record that the child was born before marriage, but that the parents subsequently wed. In narrative reports, the wording would reflect that the child was born to a couple that later married.

Supposed:

It isn’t uncommon in genealogy to be certain about a child’s mother, but there may be some doubt about the father. Supposed is used to show that there is quite a lot of doubt about the child’s paternity. Also see “Reputed” and “Nominal”.

Reputed:

It isn’t uncommon in genealogy to be certain about a child’s mother, but there may be some doubt about the father. Reputed means that the father seems to accept the child as their own, even if the evidence isn’t strong enough to be certain. Also see “Supposed” and “Nominal”.

Nominal:

It isn’t uncommon in genealogy to be certain about a child’s mother, but there may be some doubt about the father. Nominal means that the father is named as such on some documents, perhaps a marriage certificate, but evidence suggest that he may not be the biological father, perhaps the step-father. If the man is definitely the step-father, then the records should be created to reflect that, i.e. the child should be linked to the mother only, and the step-father relationship implied by her being married to the said man. Also see “Reputed” and “Supposed”.