How to merge two family trees
Ancestry cannot merge two of your trees together, and its own support says so. The route that works runs through the desktop program: combine the trees in Family Tree Maker, tidy the duplicates that combining creates, then upload the result as a new tree. Back up first, because merging is the hardest operation here to reverse.
- Applies to
- FTM 2024 · 2019 · 2017 · 2014
- Platform
- Windows & macOS
- Time
- ~1 hr, plus cleanup
Can you merge two trees on Ancestry?
No. Ancestry provides no function that merges one member tree into another. Their own support documentation states it plainly: member trees cannot be merged or combined into an existing member tree, and the route they point to is Family Tree Maker.
That single fact explains why this search returns so much conflicting advice. People describe merging duplicate people inside one tree, which Ancestry does support, and readers assume it applies to whole trees, which it does not.
| Platform | Merge two whole trees? | Merge duplicate people? |
|---|---|---|
| Ancestry | No | Yes, within one tree |
| Family Tree Maker | Yes, by importing one into the other | Yes |
| FamilySearch | Not applicable — one shared tree | Yes, duplicate profiles |
The route that works
Family Tree Maker holds both trees as local files, so it can pull one into the other. The combined result then goes back up to Ancestry as a new tree.
Back up both trees, with media. Merging has no dependable undo, so the backups are your only route back. See backing up a tree file.
Get both trees into Family Tree Maker. If either lives on Ancestry, download it first so both exist as files on your computer.
Decide which tree survives. Keep the one with better sources and more media. Everything merges into that one.
Import the second tree into the first. Family Tree Maker adds every person from the second tree. It does not match them up for you, so your tree roughly doubles in size at this point. That is expected.
Merge the duplicates in small batches, checking parent links after each batch.
Upload the combined tree to Ancestry as a new tree. There is no way to push it into an existing member tree.
The old online tree does not disappear. Uploading the combined tree creates an additional tree on Ancestry. Delete the originals only once you have confirmed the merged tree is complete.
Merging GEDCOM files
GEDCOM is the format that moves genealogy data between programs, and it is how a tree from any other software reaches Family Tree Maker. The merge itself works the same way: import the GEDCOM into the tree you are keeping, then merge duplicates.
GEDCOM carries names, dates, relationships and most source text. It handles other things poorly.
| Data | Survives GEDCOM? |
|---|---|
| Names, dates, relationships | Yes |
| Source citations | Mostly, though formatting shifts |
| Photographs and documents | No. GEDCOM stores file paths, not the files. |
| Custom facts and colour coding | Rarely |
| Notes | Usually, sometimes truncated |
Copy the media folder across separately, then relink it. Broken images after a GEDCOM import are normal and repairable — see missing media files.
The GEDCOM problem nobody warns you about
A GEDCOM import duplicates media, and it does so on a scale that surprises people. One researcher moving a 9,000-person tree back into Family Tree Maker watched roughly 3,000 media items become more than 23,000. A single death certificate arrived eleven times. One image attached itself to a fact fifty-three times over.
The cause sits in how citations travel. Genealogists attach one census image to several people, so one image serves many citations. Some programs break that link on export and write a separate citation for every use. Family Tree Maker then imports each of those as its own citation, and copies the image again for each one.
There is no bulk delete for duplicate media. The publisher's own support confirms it: duplicates come out one at a time, by hand. On a large tree that is weeks of work, so check a small import before you commit a whole tree to this route.
Two habits keep it manageable:
- Import a test branch first. Export one family line as GEDCOM, import that, and count the media on a person you know well. The duplication shows immediately at small scale.
- Inspect the GEDCOM before importing. Open it in a text editor and look at whether one source appears once or repeats for every person citing it. Repeated sources predict repeated media.
What a merge always leaves behind
Every tree merge produces the same three problems. Plan for them rather than being surprised.
| Problem | Why it happens | What to do |
|---|---|---|
| Duplicate people | The import adds rather than matches | Merge in small batches, verifying parents each time |
| Duplicate sources | Both trees cited the same records separately | Consolidate sources after the people are merged |
| Conflicting dates | The two trees disagreed about the same person | Keep the sourced version, record the other as an alternate fact |
Merge people before sources. Merging sources first means redoing the work when the people combine.
FamilySearch works on a different model
FamilySearch runs one shared tree for everyone rather than a tree per user. Nobody owns a separate copy to merge, so "merging trees" there means merging duplicate profiles of the same person within the shared tree.
That difference matters. A merge on FamilySearch changes what every other user sees, and other researchers can reverse it. A merge inside your own Family Tree Maker file affects only your file.
Working through the duplicates
The merge itself takes an hour. The cleanup takes longer, and rushing it is how people damage a tree they spent years building. The duplicate merging guide covers the batching method and the checks that catch a wrong merge early.
Frequently asked questions
Can you merge two Ancestry trees?
No. Ancestry provides no way to merge one member tree into another. Their support documentation points to Family Tree Maker instead: combine the trees in the software, then upload the result as a new tree.
How do I combine two family trees?
Back up both, get both into Family Tree Maker, then import the second tree into the one you are keeping. Family Tree Maker adds the people rather than matching them, so you then merge the duplicates in small batches.
Can I merge two GEDCOM files?
Yes. Import the GEDCOM into the tree you are keeping, then merge the duplicate people. GEDCOM carries names, dates, relationships and most source text, but not photographs.
Why did importing a GEDCOM multiply my photos?
The exporting program broke the link between one image and the several citations using it, so each citation arrived with its own copy. Trees have gone from roughly 3,000 media items to over 23,000 this way. There is no bulk delete, so test with one family line before importing a whole tree.
Will merging trees lose my photos?
A GEDCOM import will, because GEDCOM stores file paths rather than the images. Copy the media folder across separately and relink it afterwards.
Can I merge trees on FamilySearch?
FamilySearch runs one shared tree, so there are no separate trees to merge. You merge duplicate profiles of the same person instead, and that change is visible to every other user.
Should I delete my old Ancestry tree after merging?
Not immediately. Uploading a combined tree creates an additional tree rather than replacing anything. Confirm the merged tree is complete first, then remove the originals.
Why did my tree double in size after importing?
That is expected. The import adds every person from the second tree without matching them to existing people. The size falls back once you merge the duplicates.
Facing thousands of duplicates?
We merge combined trees properly, in batches, with your originals backed up first. No fix, no fee.