How to find ancestors who have missing information

Question from Gary:

I’m in the process of reviewing my entire Legacy database of individuals looking for missing information. I want to create a list of ONLY the male individuals of my surname indicated as having a spouse but no marriage information. Any ideas?

Gary, this can be done with a little creativity, and with a couple of different approaches.

Using the Search tool

In Legacy, click on the Search button. Click on the Detailed Search tab. Add the following conditions, and make sure to use the AND option for each condition.

Condition 1

• Look for whom: Marriage
• Where to look: Marriage Date
• How to look: Equal to
• What to look for: don’t type in anything here, leave it blank

Condition 2

• Look for whom: Male
• Where to look: Surname
• How to look: Equal to
• What to look for: type in the name of the desired surname

Be sure that when you click on the "Second Condition" checkmark, that you select the "And" option. Now, click on the Create List button at the bottom.

You now have a list of all males of the desired surname, who are married, but do not have a marriage date.

Blank lines report

For a different perspective, you can create a book report that will print blank lines for any missing information. For example:

To create this report:

1. In Legacy 6.0 Deluxe, first navigate to the desired family.
2. Click on the Reports icon at the top. Click on the Books/Other tab.
3. Under the Book Reports section, click on the Ancestors or Descendants button.
4. On the Options tab, make sure that the Insert Underlines options are selected (see image below).
5. Print or preview.