Ancestry.com collection Source Template
Download link for the rmst file = Ancestry.rmst
Overview
Records are lumped by Ancestry collection. Therefore this template will be used multiple times to create a source record for each collection used on Ancestry.
For Ancestry, the problem to be solved is that many of the Source Citations provided by Ancestry are not good enough to use as is.
Of course, one could simply reference the Ancestry source web page, but that wouldn't provide any information on reliability of the source and relies on an Ancestry subscription for access.
The goal for the Ancestry template was to capture all of the information that Ancestry provides and later figure out what the footnote sentences should be. I think that I've now done that. At least for most cases.
Terminology
In order to get the terminology straight, let's use an example from
Ancestry, the collection named "Indiana, U.S., Birth Certificates,
1907-1944". I will use the word "Source" to refer to the entire
Ancestry collection of that name. RM sometimes uses the term
Master Source. It's the same thing. The source's main web page is at:
Indiana, U.S., Birth Certificates, 1907-1944
The Ancestry web page where a particular person is listed in that source is
called a Citation. RM sometimes uses the term Source Detail.
It's the same thing.
A example citation to the Indiana Birth Certificates Source is:
Birth certificate entry for Anna May Ripberger
Information about the Ancestry collection is taken from the collections's main page, half way down the page, below the search fields, starting with "Source Information", and continuing with the section "About Indiana, U.S., Birth Certificates, 1907-1944".
Note the subsection in the About section labeled "Original data:". We will use that later. Some sources have a sentence or two, while others are very long. This will need attention. Never include more than a sentence or two in the Original Data field. If it is longer give a summary and reference the online or file attachment.
Template details
The template contain the template name, an optional description, the filed names, hints, and the sentences to be used to form the footnotes. etc.
Source Template= _Ancestry Database
Version= 2025-02-18
Field Type Display name
-----------------------------------------------------
Source Fields
Title Text Anc. collection name -short
DateSource Date Date source last updated
SrcInfo Text Anc. collection name -full
OrigData Text Original data
dbID Text Anc. collection number
Citation Fields
Name Name Person #1 name
BirthDate Date Person #1 birth date
Name2 Name Person #2 name
EventDate Date Event date
ANC_SRC_ID Text Ancestry source ID
CD Text Citation detail
SrcCitation Text Citation provided by Anc.
DateCitation Date Date citation last updated
Source Data
For the source data examples below, the Indiana, U.S., Birth Certificates, 1907-1944 is used.
Ancestry database name -short
FieldName=Name, Type=Text
Example Title = Indiana, U.S., Birth Certificates, 1907-1944
Find this data in Source Info section of the collection main page whose URL is above. The first sentence is the Ancestry full name-
Indiana Archives and Records Administration Ancestry.com. Indiana, U.S., Birth Certificates, 1907-1944 [database on-line]. Lehi, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations, Inc., 2016.
In this case, Ancestry gives the original data provider top billing in a separate sentence. Just use the part starting with "Ancestry.com". The first part will go into the original data field.
This field uses a shortened version to improve readability:
New York, New York, U.S., Birth Index, 1910-1965
Date source last updated
FieldName=DateSource, Type=Date
Example DateSource = 2 Jan 2024
This field contains the date on which this source record was entered into RM, or last updated in RM. Use today's date.
Ancestry database name -full
FieldName=SrcInfo, Type=Text
Example SrcInfo = Ancestry.com. Indiana, U.S., Birth Certificates, 1907-1944 [database on-line]. Lehi, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations, Inc., 2016.
Use the Ancestry supplied name in full. Looks at Source Info section of the collection page whose URL is above. The first sentence is the Ancestry full name- Ancestry.com. New York, New York, U.S., Birth Index, 1910-1965 [database on-line]. Lehi, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations, Inc., 2017.
Original data
FieldName=OrigData, Type=Text
Example OrigData = Indiana State Board of Health. Birth Certificates, 1907-1944. Microfilm. Indiana Archives and Records Administration, Indianapolis, Indiana.
Use the Ancestry supplied info in the Source Info section of the collection page whose URL is above. The second sentence is the Ancestry original data info-
Note, not all Ancestry collections have this information listed and some will have far too much text to use in this field.
Ancestry Database ID
FieldName=dbID, Type=Text
Example dbID = 60871
The is the Ancestry database number. It can be found in the URL that points to the collection main page.
Citation Data
For the citation data examples below, the Indiana, U.S., Birth Certificates, 1907-1944 is used.
Citation Name
Autogenerated by RM. In this case:
Anna May Ripberger; 2 May 1929; ; 2 May 1929; 60871::5463776; ; Indiana Archives and Records Administration; Indianapolis, Indiana; Birth Records; Year: 1929; Roll: 010; 4 September 2022
Person #1 name
FieldName=Name, Type=Name
Example Name = Anna May Ripberger
The name for the citation.
Person #1 birth date
FieldName=BirthDate, Type=Date
Example BirthDate = 2 May 1929
Birth date of the focus person. All normal date modifiers allowed.
Person #2 name
FieldName=Name2, Type=Name
Example Name2 = [blank]
If the citation is for a couple, (marriage, divorce) then the second name goes here. Otherwise leave empty.
Event date
FieldName=EventDate, Type=Date
Example EventDate = 2 May 1929
Date of event from the source. May be same as birth date for birth record. Sometimes blank.
Ancestry source ID
FieldName=ANC_SRC_ID, Type=Text
Example ANC_SRC_ID = 60871::5463776
This is the database number : record number
Gotten from the URL, or ORA panel.
Citation detail
FieldName=CD, Type=Text
Example CD = [blank]
Some other information about this citation goes into this Citation Detail field. May be used if there are multiple citations to the same record in a source, or to describe the citation in some way. Usually left blank.
Ancestry Source Citation
FieldName=SrcCitation, Type=Text
Example SrcCitation = Indiana Archives and Records Administration; Indianapolis, Indiana; Birth Records; Year: 1929; Roll: 010
This is the full contents of the Ancestry provided Source Citation. Not all collections have this info. It is often not very helpful, other times it is crucial.
Look in the Source tab in the center of the page, (next to the Detail tab). The first paragraph is labeled "Source Citation". If it exists for the citation being entered, that's what goes in into the SrcCitation field.
Leave empty if source citation is not provided.
Date citation last updated
FieldName=DateCitation, Type=Date
Example DateCitation = 2 Jan 2024
This field contains the date on which this citation record was entered, or last updated in RM. Most importantly, it should reflect the last time that the online data was accessed.
Citations produced
Footnote
Ancestry.com. Indiana, U.S., Birth Certificates, 1907-1944 [database on-line]. Lehi, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations, Inc., 2016. Entry for: Anna May Ripberger, event date: 2 May 1929, accessed: 4 September 2022. Citing: Indiana State Board of Health. Birth Certificates, 1907-1944. Microfilm. Indiana Archives and Records Administration, Indianapolis, Indiana.
Short footnote
Indiana, U.S., Birth Certificates, 1907-1944, entry for: Anna May Ripberger, event: 2 May 1929
Bibliography
Ancestry.com. Indiana, U.S., Birth Certificates, 1907-1944 [database on-line]. Lehi, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations, Inc., 2016.
rmst File Analysis
This is the relevant part of the rmst file. End tags a\have been removed.
<SourceTemplates>
<Copyright>RootsMagic source templates, template language, and
template file format are copyright 2009-2020 RootsMagic, Inc.
All rights reserved.
<Template Id="10068">
<Name>_Ancestry Database
<Description>version 2025-02-18
Used to cite a source collection on the Ancestry.com website.
<Category>
<Footnote>[SrcInfo] Entry for: [Name]< and [Name2]>, event date: [EventDate], accessed: [DateCitation]. Citing: [OrigData].< [CD]>
<ShortFootnote>[Title], entry for: [Name]< and [Name2]>, event: [EventDate]<, [CD]>
<Bibliography>[SrcInfo]
<Field>
<Type>Text
<Name>Title
<Display>Anc. collection name -short
<Hint>
<Detail>false
<LongHint>
<Field>
<Type>Date
<Name>DateSource
<Display>Date source last updated
<Hint>
<Detail>false
<LongHint>
<Field>
<Type>Text
<Name>SrcInfo
<Display>Anc. collection name -full
<Hint>
<Detail>false
<LongHint>
<Field>
<Type>Text
<Name>OrigData
<Display>Original data
<Hint>Not applicable to all collections
<Detail>false
<LongHint>
<Field>
<Type>Text
<Name>dbID
<Display>Anc. collection number
<Hint>Found in URL
<Detail>false
<LongHint>
<Field>
<Type>Name
<Name>Name
<Display>Person #1 name
<Hint>
<Detail>true
<LongHint>
<Field>
<Type>Date
<Name>BirthDate
<Display>Person #1 birth date
<Hint>Not necessarily from record.
<Detail>true
<LongHint>
<Field>
<Type>Name
<Name>Name2
<Display>Person #2 name
<Hint>Only entered for couple events (marriage, dev etc)
<Detail>true
<LongHint>
<Field>
<Type>Date
<Name>EventDate
<Display>Event date
<Hint>
<Detail>true
<LongHint>
<Field>
<Type>Text
<Name>ANC_SRC_ID
<Display>Ancestry source ID
<Hint>
<Detail>true
<LongHint>
<Field>
<Type>Text
<Name>CD
<Display>Citation detail
<Hint>
<Detail>true
<LongHint>
<Field>
<Type>Text
<Name>SrcCitation
<Display>Citation provided by Anc.
<Hint>Leave empty if none
<Detail>true
<LongHint>
<Field>
<Type>Date
<Name>DateCitation
<Display>Date citation last updated
<Hint>
<Detail>true
<LongHint>