When I downloaded my Ancestry to RM in the initial cleanup and the understanding of RM, I am seeing that most Primary Name facts (listed a Name) is setup for all persons. There is no Person Fact. So, is there possibly a way of removing this fact and avoid having
Those are not facts, but rather a record identification number that has an associated SURNAME, Given Name in order for the user (we humans) to understand that we are attaching facts/sources/citations/color codes/group memberships, ETC. to that named individual’s record.
Data coming INTO RootsMagic seems to be person by person in order to avoid the potential for a bulk addition causing duplication or introducing data that is wrong/unexpected/unwanted and the like. (Particularly regarding your master working database).
Internally, there is a table for Persons, a table for Names, a table for Events, a table for Media links, a table for Citation links, … The row number of a Person, known externally as the Record Identification Number or RIN is the key to which records in other tables can be associated. The Person table has no Names ( they are in the Name table) but it does have the field for Sex and what is described externally as the General or Personal Note.
The Name table contains one Primary Name record for each person along with any number of Alternate Name records for each person, all of which are ‘owned’ by the RIN.
Your screenshots are showing where a Citation is used. Each Citation is linked or tagged to one or more Person, Name, Event records via corresponding records in the Citation link table. Your second screenshot shows first a link for that Citation to the Person table record 8925 and for your convenience the system looked up the Primary name for that Person.
Then it shows there is a Citation link to each of the Event records for Census and Event and, for your convenience, …
Then it shows a CitationLink to the Primary Name record in the Name table.
Where you tag or link a source citation is a matter of which element(s) does it provide evidence. It may also be a matter of presentation such as clutter in reports - tagging only once to the Person reduces the number of superscripts but makes it less convenient and direct for a reader to check the evidence.
There’s no absolutes or must-do’s unless you are submitting reports to a Society with specifications to be met.
Person is for the general sources on the Person row. Names can be either the primary or alternate names. The primary name is displayed on the Person row along with the other general notes, sources, media, tasks and addresses for the person.
My method is to attach sources referring to names to either “Primary Name”, such as birth certificates, or “Alternate Names”, such as census records when they don’t match the birth certificate.
