Working with the Marriage Fact
It is almost second nature, as a genealogist, to want to enter a date of marriage for the parents of a family. Understanding how Family Tree Maker works with the information submitted here will prevent frustration when you are generating reports.
It is extremely tempting to fill in a date in the Marriage date field on the Family Page, even when you don’t have one. The Marriage date field should be reserved for those times when you have an actual marriage date; for instance, when you have in your possession (or when you have seen) a marriage license or certificate.
Understanding Beginning Status
The Beginning status field can be ignored if you wish. If you are not entering information into the Marriage date field, the Beginning status field might prove useful in helping you to remember what you know about that couple’s relationship.
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If you hold the mouse pointer over the Beginning status field, a pop-up Help message will appear, explaining the purpose of this option in Family Tree Maker.
Getting Family Page and More About Marriage Facts to Work Together
You will want to pay close attention to the options in the Beginning status menu. When selecting from the More About Marriage Facts menu, you will need to select a preferred marriage fact.
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Be sure that the Marriage date and Marriage location fields are empty on the Family Page.
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Be sure that the date in question is different than the marriage date entered earlier.
