Skip to main content WikiTree: Where genealogists collaborate
WikiTree: Where genealogists collaborate
Log Out

Help:Sources

Categories: WikiTree Help | About WikiTree | Profile Creation Help | Profile Editing Help | Sources Help

Language: en | de | fr | nl

A source is the identification of where you obtained information. This page explains how to record your sources on WikiTree.

Sources are critically important for genealogy. It's been said that "genealogy without sources is mythology".[1] You must include your sources when you add information to WikiTree. It's in our Honor Code.

See also:

Contents

How to Add Sources to Profiles

There are two ways to add your sources.

List them at the bottom

Here is an example of a Biography/Text section when viewed in edit mode:

  • == Biography ==

    Mary, the daughter of John and Jane, was born about 1890.

    == Sources ==
    <references />
    See also:
    * "1910 United States Census," database, [https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:M2F5-CN3 FamilySearch] (accessed 20 May 2026), entry for Mary Smith (age 20), District 2, page 27, Brooklyn, Kings, New York.

As in this example, sources can be added as bulleted, bibliography-style list items at the bottom of a profile. Each source should start on a new line with an asterisk (*).

Most new WikiTreers (Newts) start with this simple method. It is frequently used on modern profiles. It is acceptable on any profile where all the information comes from one source.

Embed them as references (footnotes)

WikiTreers who collaborate at a higher level learn to use references, also known as footnotes or inline citations.

Directly after stating a fact in the biography, surround your source with these tags:

  • <ref> ... </ref>

This button on the edit toolbar will automatically create this pair of tags: cite-source.png

Here is an example:

  • Mary was born about 1890.<ref>"1910 United States Census," database, [https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:M2F5-CN3 FamilySearch] (accessed 20 May 2026), entry for Mary Smith (age 20), District 2, page 27, Brooklyn, Kings, New York.</ref>

This will appear as:

  • Mary was born about 1890.[2]

Click the superscripted number to see the reference at the bottom of this page. On a profile, references appear in place of the <references /> tag, which should always be placed directly below the == Sources == headline.

Experiment by clicking the edit (pencil) icon on your own profile and then copying-and-pasting examples into the Biography/Text section.

If you're having any trouble or have questions, please ask in G2G! Since good sourcing is so important for genealogy collaboration, the community will be happy to help you get started.

Repeated Use of the Same Source

Ideally, every fact or "claim" in a profile (names, dates, locations, relationships, etc.) should be stated in the biography with an inline reference. This is especially important for early ancestors and controversial profiles.

This often means citing the same source multiple times. There are three different ways to do this.

First, you could simply repeat the full inline reference.

Second, you could put the full source citation in the sources list and then use an abbreviated inline reference any time you refer to it, like this:

  • Mary was born about 1890.<ref>1910 US Census</ref>

    Mary's parents were John and Jane.<ref>1910 US Census</ref>

This will appear as:

  • Mary was born about 1890.[3]
  • Mary's parents were John and Jane.[4]

The third and most advanced method is to name the inline reference. Then, in subsequent references, use the named reference. For example:

  • Mary was born about 1890.<ref name="1910 US Census">"1910 United States Census," database, [https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:M2F5-CN3 FamilySearch] (accessed 20 May 2026), entry for Mary Smith (age 20), District 2, page 27, Brooklyn, Kings, New York.</ref>

    Mary's parents were John and Jane.<ref name="1910 US Census" />

This will appear as:

  • Mary was born about 1890.[5]
  • Mary's parents were John and Jane.[5]

As you can see, the superscripted numbers here are the same and they link to the same named reference.

The named reference method is elegant, but the first and second methods are simpler and allow for more flexibility, e.g. to cite different pages or volumes of the same source, or to include special notes. (Other sourcing methods have been used but they are not recommended. See Help:Alternative Sourcing Methods.)

Examples of Complete Source Citations

A good source citation enables others to:

  1. judge the accuracy of the information found on the profile, and
  2. independently verify the information by finding the source themselves.

A complete source citation includes:

  • who made the record,
  • what the record is,
  • when the record was made, and
  • where the record is/was found.

The "ideal" citation format on WikiTree is Chicago Manual of Style (CMoS), generally following Elizabeth Shown Mills' Evidence Explained.[6] Some members use the Citation Machine to format sources. However, we don't get hung up on creating perfect source citations, especially on modern profiles.

Below are examples of good citations.

Help:Sources FAQ: "When should the Unsourced Research Note Box be used?" has examples of sources that do and do not meet the minimum specificity requirements.

Help:Reliable Sources has examples of reliable and unreliable sources.

Web page

  • Wikipedia contributors, [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/George_Washington "George Washington," Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia], (accessed 20 May 2026).

When citing a web page, it's very important to include the full URL. In most web browsers, this will appear in the address bar at the very top of your screen. For more about links on WikiTree, see Adding Links.

Some web sites include source citations that you can copy-and-paste, e.g.:

  • FamilySearch has a "Copy Citation" button.
  • If you're an Ancestry subscriber, looking at the image of a source, you can type "s", though these typically need editing as they contain too much information.
  • Wikipedia has a "cite this page" link under the "Tools" dropdown menu. Choose "Chicago style".

Links to sources that anyone can access, such as on FamilySearch, are preferable to equivalent sources on paid websites. See Commercial Web Sites as Sources.

Many members highly recommend the WikiTree Sourcer as a way to easily find and cite sources on Ancestry, FamilySearch, Find a Grave, Findmypast, MyHeritage, and many other online sources.

Book

  • Robert Charles Anderson, The Great Migration Begins: Immigrants to New England 1620-1633, (Boston: New England Historic Genealogical Society, 1995), vol. 1, p. 122-127.

If you found the book online, including the full URL will make it easier for other researchers to find it.

Cemetery headstone

  • Evergreen Cemetery (New York, New York, USA). Joe and Jane Schmoe's headstone, row 27C, personally photographed by [[Example-6|John Example]], 2015.

Be sure to include the location of the cemetery, who visited it, and when.

If you have a photo of a headstone, upload it to the individual's profile page. Do not upload a photo you found on another website without express permission from the photographer.

Census

  • "1910 United States Census," database, [https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:M2F5-CN3 FamilySearch] (accessed 20 May 2026), entry for Mary Smith (age 20), District 2, page 27, Brooklyn, Kings, New York.

Church record

  • First Congregational Church (Natick, Massachusetts), Church Records 1802-1833, p. 123, Martin Morris, baptism, 2 May 1806; Congregational Library & Archives, Boston, Massachusetts.

This is a source citation for an original church record.

For church records indexed or digitized online, it's important to include the name of the website and ideally a link to the record, like this:

  • St Mary's Church (Kirkdale, Liverpool, England). "Marriages, 1895-1898", p. 21, Andrew Scott and Clara Thompson, 15 December 1895. digital images, [https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/3:1:3QSQ-G96B-T3MD FamilySearch] (accessed 20 May 2026).

Family bible

  • Mary (Lorman) Whitten, [[Space:Whitten Family Bible|Family Bible]], 1880-1944, The Holy Bible (New York: American Bible Society, 1873); privately held by [[Example-6|John Example]], California, 2023.

If the source is a unique family heirloom or clipping, consider uploading a photo of it or create a free-space profile (more info).

Passenger list

  • "New York Passenger Lists, 1820-1891", database with images, [https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:QVPJ-P238 FamilySearch] (accessed 20 May 2026), entry for Barbara Braun, aged 52, arrived New York, 1867, aboard the Columbus.

Periodical

  • D. L. Thomas and N. E. Evans, "John Shakespeare in The Exchequer," Shakespeare Quarterly, vol. 35, no. 3 (1984), p. 315-318. [[Example-6|John Example]] has a copy of it and will scan the pages on request.

For newspaper and magazine articles, be sure to include the title of the article as well as the title of the publication. Publishers are only necessary if the issue might not be easy to locate.

If it's a rare book or periodical, you might also include where it can be found, such as in the collection of a certain person or library.

Probate record

  • John Jackson, Will, 1792; Middlesex County Probate file no. 12433; Massachusetts State Archives, Boston, Massachusetts.

Second-hand information

  • Joe Schmoe. Personal recollection, 20 May 2026, as told to [[Example-6|John Example]] via the phone. Notes in the possession of John Example.

Often genealogical information is provided by other family members.

It's a good idea to include who said certain information, and if you remember, when and where they said it. You may also want to include a link to the person's WikiTree profile page.

First-hand information (yourself)

  • [[Example-6|John Example]]. Personal recollection, 20 May 2026.

This is for events you personally witnessed.

See the Sources FAQ and Sources Style Guide for more information on policies and standards. Do not hesitate to ask in G2G whenever something is unclear. Members frequently help each other understand and use sources.


  1. ↑ Schulze, Lorine McGinnis. "Genealogy without Sources is Mythology." Article on Olivetree. Accessed 03 Aug 2023.
  2. ↑ "1910 United States Census," database, FamilySearch (accessed 20 May 2026), entry for Mary Smith (age 20), District 2, page 27, Brooklyn, Kings, New York.
  3. ↑ 1910 US Census
  4. ↑ 1910 US Census
  5. ↑ 5.0 5.1 "1910 United States Census," database, FamilySearch (accessed 20 May 2026), entry for Mary Smith (age 20), District 2, page 27, Brooklyn, Kings, New York.
  6. ↑ Elizabeth Shown Mills, Evidence Explained: Citing History Sources from Artifacts to Cyberspace, Baltimore, MD: Genealogical Publishing Co.; 3rd edition (May 22, 2015). See also the author's blog by the same name: Evidence Explained.