# WikiTree search

WikiTree (wikitree.com) is a free, collaborative, single worldwide family tree.
Profiles are written by volunteers, so a profile is a **lead, not a fact**: its value
is the sources it cites and the relatives it links, which point you to the original
record. This guide helps you run a careful search the user directs, judge the
candidates, and turn a good match into a record to order.

## Before you search

- **The user drives the search.** Search only for ancestors the user asks about, a
  few lookups at a time. Do not crawl, bulk-download or automate WikiTree. If you
  cannot open wikitree.com yourself, give the user the search to run in their own
  browser and ask them to paste back what they see.
- **Deceased ancestors only.** WikiTree does not show living people publicly. Do not
  search for living relatives, and never search for a person the user asked to keep
  private.
- **Do not create or edit profiles** for the user. If they want to contribute to
  WikiTree, that is their own choice and their own account.

## Build the query

Collect from the user (or from their EasyPassport family tree, if you can read it):

- **Given name** and **surname at birth** (for a woman, her maiden name). Also the
  origin-language spelling, since emigrant names were often changed (Giuseppe →
  Joseph, Szczepański → Shepansky).
- **Birth year**, even approximate, and **birthplace**: the town if known, otherwise
  the country as written then ("Italy", "Galicia", "Bohemia").
- If known: **parents' names** and the **death year or place**.

A surname alone is noise. Search when you have a surname **plus** a birth year or a
birthplace; otherwise help the user find one of those first.

Where to search:

- **WikiTree's person search**: https://www.wikitree.com/wiki/Special:SearchPerson.
  It takes first and last name, birth and death dates, birth and death location
  keywords, and the father's and mother's names, with options to match the year
  within ±2, ±12 or ±30 years, to include name variants, and to include married
  names. Start with name plus a ±2-year birth window, then widen.
- **Surname index**: browse by first letter (for example
  https://www.wikitree.com/indexes/person/B/ for surnames starting with B) to see
  every profile sharing a last name, which helps with rare surnames.
- **Web search** restricted to the site (for example
  `site:wikitree.com "Surname" "Town"`) when the search form misses spelling
  variants.

## Judge the candidates

Rank candidates against what the user actually knows:

1. **Given name matches** (allowing for the language change).
2. **Birth year** within about five years of the user's year. Further out, the year
   stops being evidence of the same person.
3. **Place is consistent**: the same town or region, remembering borders moved.
4. **Relatives line up**: parents, spouse or children match what the user knows.

Show the user **the best three at most**, each with its WikiTree ID and link (profile
pages look like `https://www.wikitree.com/wiki/Surname-1234`), name, birth and death
dates and places, and why it might match. If there were more plausible candidates,
say how many, rather than hiding them. If nothing matches, say so plainly; an honest
"no match" is better than a stranger.

## Turn a lead into a record

- **Read the profile's Sources section.** Good profiles cite the original record: a
  civil register entry, a parish book, an Antenati or FamilySearch image, a census or
  a passenger list. That citation is what matters.
- **Order the certified record from the holding office.** A WikiTree profile, and even
  a linked image, is not a document an authority accepts. Use the "country record
  playbook" guide to find the office and the "records request letter" guide to ask
  for it.
- **Check before adopting.** Anything taken from WikiTree is a draft the user confirms
  against the original record before adding it to their family tree.

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General guidance, not legal advice. EasyPassport is a document-organization tool, not a law firm. Confirm your own case with the relevant authority or a qualified professional.