Goldie May: Changes to Volunteering Feature
The Goldie May extension has had some recent developments, especially with the Volunteering option. This option enables you to attach records from the 1900 and 1910 U.S. Censuses to people in FamilySearch Tree.
Getting Started with Volunteering
When you click Volunteering in the top panel (just below the Research link), an instruction page opens that explains how to attach U.S. census records to names in the Family Tree. You can type a U.S. location and select it from the list, and then type a surname that appears in the collection of records you selected. Then click Start. The Volunteering window then offers options to create new person entries in Family Tree, attach available census records, or handle possible duplicates. The window also has tips for attaching records, as well as links to videos that explain more about the Volunteering process.
Handling Duplicates
If you come across a duplicate in FamilySearch Family Tree while using Volunteering, Goldie May will show “Possible Duplicates in Tree”. On the FamilySearch, there’s a warning sign (the exclamation inside the triangle.) On the Goldie May side, clicking the link takes you to the FamilySearch Merge page where you can see whether the two people are duplicates of each other and should be merged.
For example, if you have Goldie May Volunteering open and visit the following URL, you’ll see a link similar to the one shown in the screenshot below:
Clicking the link takes you to the Merge page:
where you can review the information and decide whether a merge of duplicate person should be done.
Adding Records from Other Collections
While the Volunteering feature gives you records only from the 1900 or 1910 censuses, you can also use the Volunteering feature to add records from other collections. You simply browse to another record, in the Source Linker, and the Volunteering page will offer to attach the record for you. This can happen on your own research or if you choose to attach more of the available hints for a family on which you’re volunteering.
If you come across a record mentioning someone born after 1911, who therefore is less than 110 years old and can’t be automatically added to the Tree for privacy reasons, Goldie May will present a link to search for death records. E.g. on this page you’ll see the link shown in the screenshot:
Clicking the link launches a search in FamilySearch historical records, prefilling the name and birthdate of the given person, with the “Death Records” box checked. If you find a death record for this person, you can safely add the name to the Tree (manually) using the death record you’ve just found, and then attach the other record (in this example, the 1920 census.)
About Goldie May
Goldie May is free Chrome extension that acts as an intelligent assistant for your research, focusing on census records. Goldie May is an approved partner of The Family History Guide, which provides documentation for using the extension, including Choices, Steps, and links to resources. Goldie May also provides links to sections in The Family History Guide that deal with research and United States census records.
