Help:GEDCOM Warnings

For all of the date-related warnings below, the date is ignored if simply says "private" or "unknown" (case insensitive).

Person Warnings

1. The date for an event is not recognizable
   See Date Conventions
2. The death date more than 115 years after the birth date
3. The birth date is after the death date
4. The burial date is more than 30 days after the death date
5. The death date is after the burial date
6. Any event occurs before the birth date
7. Any event (except probate) occurs more than a year after the death date
8. There is no gender specified
   If not known, enter "Unknown"
9. A surname has only one character (a '?' is okay)
   Use "Unknown" in the surname field and place an explanation in the narrative for the person.
10. The birth date is before 700AD
    people born before 700AD do not generally connect to modern people and as such should not be added to WeRelate; see WeRelate's policy on ancient genealogy.

Family Warnings

1. The family's husband and wife have the same names as those of another family in the GEDCOM
   This is indication of possible duplicates in your GEDCOM. Review your GEDCOM and be sure to merge any duplicate records before uploading your GEDCOM again.
2. The husband and wife have the same surname
   While it sometimes happens that people with the same surname marry, typically this error comes about when you've given the wife the surname of her husband. In genealogy, the woman's surname should be her maiden name. If you don't know her surname, use "Unknown."
3. The date for a marriage event is not recognizable
   See Help about Date Conventions
4. The marriage date is before the husband or wife is 12 years old, or after the husband or wife is 70 years old
   While not impossible, it's not likely; double check your work; if you need to enter an estimated date, use "abt (Year)".
5. The marriage date is after the husband or wife has died
6. The husband was less than 16 or more than 65 years old when a child was born
7. The wife was less than 12 or more than 50 years old when a child was born
8. The husband died more than nine months before a child was born
9. The wife died before a child was born
10. Child births less than nine months apart
    While some children are born prematurely, this is a warning that you may have made a mistake in calculating or recording a birth
11. A child was born before the marriage date
    Hardly impossible, this warning can be ignored if you know your ancestors were born before the marriage of their parents.
12. A child was born more than 35 years after the marriage date
    Not impossible, but very rare, and typically a clue that you may have the wrong parents or the wrong birth date.