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jamieay

how to set up MRINs in TMG

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I really need a better organizational strategy, and I think using the MRIN (marriage record identity number) system could be just what I need. While other programs generate MRINs automatically, TMG doesn't seem to, but I've heard that it is easy to set up. I'm hoping that someone who is using this system with TMG can tell me how to get started! Do I have to assign each MRIN manually? Can I set reports (eg. family group sheets) to show MRINs of parents? I am a fairly new user of TMG, so please type slowly! <grin>

 

Thanks in advance!

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I am not familiar with MRINs and so this answer may be off the mark.

 

You can add user-defined identifiers to people in TMG using the Reference field. Some users put Henry numbers, etc., in that field. TMG will not populate that field for you, except to import it when you create a TMG project from some other genealogy data. You can set the value manually via the Details window in TMG. Also, if you can create a text file that lists TMG ID numbers and the associated reference value such as an MRIN, you can use my TMG Utility program to set the value. That may or may not be faster than doing it manually in TMG.

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Just to be clear. In TMG, a Marriage event is just like all other events. There are no special internal or external (MRIN) IDs for marriages.

 

As John says, you could use the Reference field with the same value entered for both spouses. Of course, that would preclude using the Reference field for any other purpose.

 

You could create a MRIN tag type (probably best in the Other tag type group) and devise an appropriate sentence structure and use the sort date to have the MRIN tags follow the marriages and record the MRIN in the memo field.

 

You can use the List of Events report to get a list of all Marriage events.

Filter

Tag Type... Label = MARRIAGE END

Options

Output Columns tab (something like)

Tag Type label

Prin1 Last, Given

Prin1 ID

Prin2 Last, Given

Prin2 ID

Sorted 1 on the Prin1 name or ID and 2 on the Prin2 name or ID.

 

You would have to create and maintain the MRIN values yourself.

 

All in all, I can't see this being a very productive use of your time.

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Hmmm. Thanks for your thoughts. MRINs seem like a good way to organize the accompanying paper etc. I had wondered about using tags vs the reference field, so those ideas are really helpful. I guess I'll have to think it over some more, see if I get any other brainstorms!

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A couple of alternate ideas. You could use a split memo field on the Marriage tag and enter the MRIN in one of the memo fields. You then could have a different "language" (like Teresa's Columnar language) which would generate reports that used the MRIN but that split field was not used in "normal" reports. [search the forum for columnar language for more info.]

 

Another option might be to cite a custom Source on each Marriage tag (possibly a source called MRIN) and enter your assigned number as the Citation Reference.

 

Hope this gives you ideas,

 

Michael

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Hi Jamie! As I'm the one who suggested that setting up MRINs in TMG is relatively simple, I'd best explain how I did it and why :D

 

I agree that it is a simple and functional way to organize your paperwork which is why I chose to do a trial with TMG and generating my own MRINs. I took a specific surname line that I had in one binder and opted to use this one as my trial. I used the Reference Field and did it manually. I can see that using John's suggestion re using a word processor to create the numbers then using his TMG Utilities makes a lot of sense and will try that out. The key that I found is to keep your 'index' list of people with their numbers up to date as that's how you know which number is next.

 

I'll do a further post when I've tried out John's suggestion using his Utilities program.

 

B)

Joan

 

I really need a better organizational strategy, and I think using the MRIN (marriage record identity number) system could be just what I need. While other programs generate MRINs automatically, TMG doesn't seem to, but I've heard that it is easy to set up. I'm hoping that someone who is using this system with TMG can tell me how to get started! Do I have to assign each MRIN manually? Can I set reports (eg. family group sheets) to show MRINs of parents? I am a fairly new user of TMG, so please type slowly! <grin>

 

Thanks in advance!

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Joan,

 

I would be interested in how you might address my following concerns about using the person's Reference field for MRIN.

 

The issue I have with using the person's Reference field (which is a field displayed with "Last edited" and "Soundex") is that there is only one field for a person. Since MRIN is for marriages, and I have a number of individuals with multiple marriages, I would want a person to be able to have multiple MRINs. The Reference field could contain multiple MRINs since you can customize it to a max length of 250 characters, but this does not fully resolve the issue. I have found no way to filter for a given value in that field, neither in a List of Persons report nor in the Project Explorer. You can sort the PE by Reference, but that doesn't help with a field containing multiple MRINs. Finally, since I often import files from GEDCOM, I generally reserve the use of the Reference field for the Ancestral File Number to aid in referring back to the GEDCOM entry.

 

I don't currently record an MRIN in TMG, but this is an idea that I like for organizing paperwork and I also like it because I could link it to the PAF MRIN and/or the GEDCOM FAM identifier. However, I would want to be able to search for a specific MRIN and generate reports. For my purposes I would rather link the MRIN to the MARRIAGE tag itself so that it is automatically linked to both parties. That was why I offered the suggestions of the split memo field and the custom "pseudo" source. With the split memo (e.g. M4) you could generate a List of People report or filter the PE using "Marriage Group... Memo 4 Contains [?]". Of course a variation on this idea would be to have a separate custom tag in the Marriage Group named "MRIN" and have its memo contain the number. Then you could easily filter and make reports while excluding this tag from normal reports.

 

While I don't see how to filter the PE using my suggestion of the citation Reference field in a pseudo source (e.g. source number 457), at least you could generate a List of Citations report filtered for "Source Number equals 457 AND File Reference Contains [?]".

 

Thougts? Comments?

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Michael, my understanding re using MRINs in the case of multiple marriages, is that you use the same MRIN for all marriages of the direct line individual. So far, I'm finding that that is working out for me, but then I'm pretty green at TMG and not yet into producing a variety of reports or doing anything too fancy.

I did think about setting up my MRIN system to show multiple marriages by setting my reference field to 20 characters (allowing for 4 marriages), and separating each 4-digit MRIN with a . (Eg: 0021.0053.0064). I alternatively thought about adding a letter to the end of an MRIN to indicate subsequent marriages (eg 0021a). But so far I'm keeping it simple and just going with one MRIN per direct line individual. I am happier about how my paper is organized and can find what I am looking for more easily.

If neither party is a direct line individual, it is suggested you use the first marriage MRIN.

Don't know if any of this would help with the reports and filtering you want to do, but...

 

Jamie

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Michael, my understanding re using MRINs in the case of multiple marriages, is that you use the same MRIN for all marriages of the direct line individual.
I was assuming that each MRIN was globally unique, counting each marriage of anyone to anyone....sort of like counting family group sheets, with one sheet for each union.

 

separating each 4-digit MRIN with a . (Eg: 0021.0053.0064).

 

I could see multiple numbers in one field getting cumbersome.

 

Besides Ottoman Empire Sultans and their harems, and kings and their concubines, here are the modern serial monogamous marriage records. Somebody couldn't resist arranging a marriage between the two record holders.

 

Linda Essex. She was married 23 times, including a marriage to Glynn Wolfe.

 

Glynn Wolfe aka Scotty Wolfe (July 25, 1908 – June 10, 1997) holds the record for the most number of monogamous marriages at 29. His shortest marriage lasted 19 days, and his longest lasted seven years. He was a Baptist minister who resided in Blythe, California. His final marriage to Linda Essex was a publicity stunt for a British TV documentary. They only spent a week together before she moved back to her home in Anderson, Indiana.

 

He died in Redlands, California at the age of 88. No one visited him in the nursing home, or claimed the body.

 

Glynn "Scotty" Wolfe's last wife, Linda Essex-Wolfe, said she would like to give him a proper burial but could not afford to fly across the United States to be at the funeral. The couple had spent only a week together last year, when they tied the knot in front of cameras for a British TV documentary. Unwilling to leave her hometown, the bride flew back to Anderson, Indiana, and sent letters to her husband, who could not bring himself to leave the sunshine in California. "As soon as I saw him, I knew I cared for him, Mrs. Essex-Wolfe said. "He was a charmer. He married a lot of beautiful women, a lot of young women." Mr. Wolfe's 33-year-old son, John Glenn Wolfe, said his father married so often because he was against living in sin and was picky and stubborn. "He divorced one wife for eating sunflower seeds in bed" he said. John Wolfe would like to help out with the funeral but he only earns $7 an hour working for Burger King. He barely knows any of his stepmothers and never even met his own mother, wife No. 14. John Wolfe is also unsure if the reports that his father really had the 19 children, 40 grandchildren and 19 great-grandchildren are true, because he has never met any of them. Mr. Wolfe died with $430 to his name, which will be used to pay for a pauper's funeral. His son said he would like to raise the $1,150 to have the body cremated.

 

Marriages

29th. Linda Essex Wolfe (1996 - until his death 6/10/97)

 

28th. Christine Camacho (1986-1995; divorced) 1 child

 

27th. Holly Cortland (1982-1985; divorced)

 

26th. Daisy Cortland (1976-1980; divorced)

 

25th ?

 

24th. Anna Sims (1974; divorced)

 

23rd. Vivan Alamin (1970-1973; her death)

 

22nd. Vivan Alamin (1969; divorced)

 

21st. Julia Santiago (1968; divorced)

 

20th. Vivan Alamin (1966-1967; divorced)

 

19th. Janice Richardson (1965; divorced)

 

18th. Gretta Von Peebles (1958-1964; divorced)

 

17th. Mya Anderson (1956; divorced)

 

16th. Chase Jones (1955; divorced)

 

15th. Nina Morgan-Stuart (1954; divorced)

 

14th. Katherine Archer (1949-1951; divorced)

 

13th. Lisa Waters (1948; divorced)

 

12th. Katherine Archer (1948; divorced)

 

11th. Priscilla Ralph (1946-1947; divorced)

 

10th. Carol Demmings (1940-1944; divorced)

 

9th. Frances Hunter (1939; her death)

 

8th. Charlotte Devane (1936-1938; her death)

 

7th. Valerie Harborn (1936; divorced)

 

6th. Charlotte Devane (1935-1936; divorced)

 

5th. Rachel Jennigs-Prescott (1932-1934; divorced)

 

4th. Kayla Johnson (1932; divorced)

 

3rd. Victoria Ernest (1931; divorced)

 

2nd. Stephanie Delaney (1928-1930; divorced)

 

1st. Marcie Walsh McDonald (1926-1927; her death)

 

If I were doing it, I would put a unique number for each marriage/union/concubine it in the memo field of the Marriage tag. It will show up as a unique number for each marriage, in the details window on the marriage line after the place name(s). You would still have to enter the same number for husband and wife.

 

On the other hand, the advantage of having something in the reference field, though, is that it is sortable and viewable in the picklist. It is rapidly possible to find the last number assigned (if it is first in each group, somehow, like largest number in group followed by all group numbers, or better yet, largest MRIN number for an individual in the reference field and individual MRIN numbers in the marriage tags. Sam Jones was married 3 times, with MRIN 0034, 0045, 0068 for each marriage. 0068 would go in the reference field.).

Edited by retsof

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Absolutely each MRIN would need to be unique - think of an MRIN as a Family Group Sheet number - new one for each family unit......children retain the MRIN of the marriage from which they came until they marry then they'd get a new number.

 

In the case of multiple marriages, I've just put a new number in the Ref Field - hadn't thought of putting the most recent first.....makes sense to me :rolleyes:

 

As far as preserving Ancestral File Numbers, there is a specific tag for that. I've changed mine to Henry Number but you can certainly use that tag for your GEDCOM records.

 

Hope this helps.

 

B)

Joan

 

 

I was assuming that each MRIN was globally unique, counting each marriage of anyone to anyone....sort of like counting family group sheets, with one sheet for each union.

 

 

 

I could see multiple numbers in one field getting cumbersome.

 

Besides Ottoman Empire Sultans and their harems, and kings and their concubines, here are the modern serial monogamous marriage records. Somebody couldn't resist arranging a marriage between the two record holders.

 

 

If I were doing it, I would put a unique number for each marriage/union/concubine it in the memo field of the Marriage tag. It will show up as a unique number for each marriage, in the details window on the marriage line after the place name(s). You would still have to enter the same number for husband and wife.

 

On the other hand, the advantage of having something in the reference field, though, is that it is sortable and viewable in the picklist. It is rapidly possible to find the last number assigned (if it is first in each group, somehow, like largest number in group followed by all group numbers, or better yet, largest MRIN number for an individual in the reference field and individual MRIN numbers in the marriage tags. Sam Jones was married 3 times, with MRIN 0034, 0045, 0068 for each marriage. 0068 would go in the reference field.).

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