{"id":18289,"date":"2026-09-11T12:30:34","date_gmt":"2026-09-11T10:30:34","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/help.heredis.com\/?p=18289"},"modified":"2026-09-11T12:20:19","modified_gmt":"2026-09-11T10:20:19","slug":"untraceable-parents","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/help.heredis.com\/en\/untraceable-parents\/","title":{"rendered":"Untraceable Parents"},"content":{"rendered":"<div class=\"wpb-content-wrapper\"><p>[vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text css=&#8221;&#8221;]It is not uncommon to come across abandoned children or children born to unknown fathers when doing genealogical research. In most cases, chances of finding out who the parents were are quite slim. You can now categorize such &#8220;dead ends&#8221; in a quick and easy manner. Dead ends indicate that the paternal and\/or maternal branch(es) cannot be traced. As a consequence, it is apparently impossible to go any further on this branch.<\/p>\n<p>For each person in your file, you can now use the label <img decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignnone wp-image-17994\" src=\"https:\/\/help.heredis.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/05\/pere_introuvable.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"20\" height=\"20\" \/> <strong>Untraceable Father<\/strong> or <img decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignnone wp-image-17997\" src=\"https:\/\/help.heredis.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/05\/mere_introuvable.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"20\" height=\"20\" \/> <strong>Untraceable Mother<\/strong> &#8211; or both if the child has been abandoned.<\/p>\n<p>This way, you can see right away whether more research is needed or not.<\/p>\n<h3>Create a new person with an untraceable parent<\/h3>\n<p>When you add a new person, various labels are displayed. Right then, you are free to click on Untraceable Father or Untraceable Mother.<\/p>\n<p><em>(Windows) New Person input screen<\/em><\/p>\n<p><em>(Mac) New Person input screen<\/em><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">See also: <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/help.heredis.com\/en\/add-persons\/\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Add Persons<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> and <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/help.heredis.com\/en\/the-different-data-fields\/\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The different data fields<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">.<\/span><\/p>\n<h3><\/h3>\n<h3>Declare an existing person\u2019s parents as untraceable<\/h3>\n<p>Place the person as the primary person, click on the <strong>Data &gt; Personal Data<\/strong> tab or on the<strong> Data &gt; Family Group Data<\/strong> tab and click on the appropriate button.<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li><strong><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignnone wp-image-17994\" src=\"https:\/\/help.heredis.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/05\/pere_introuvable.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"20\" height=\"20\" \/> Untraceable Father<\/strong><\/li>\n<li><strong><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignnone wp-image-17997\" src=\"https:\/\/help.heredis.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/05\/mere_introuvable.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"20\" height=\"20\" \/> Untraceable Mother<\/strong><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><em> Personal Data<\/em><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignnone size-full wp-image-24017\" src=\"https:\/\/help.heredis.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/09\/parents_introuvables-EN.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"2098\" height=\"480\" srcset=\"https:\/\/help.heredis.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/09\/parents_introuvables-EN.png 2098w, https:\/\/help.heredis.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/09\/parents_introuvables-EN-300x69.png 300w, https:\/\/help.heredis.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/09\/parents_introuvables-EN-1024x234.png 1024w, https:\/\/help.heredis.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/09\/parents_introuvables-EN-768x176.png 768w, https:\/\/help.heredis.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/09\/parents_introuvables-EN-1536x351.png 1536w, https:\/\/help.heredis.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/09\/parents_introuvables-EN-1920x439.png 1920w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 2098px) 100vw, 2098px\" \/>See also <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/help.heredis.com\/en\/the-different-tabs\/\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The different tabs<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">.<\/span><\/p>\n<h3><\/h3>\n<h3>Identify Dead Ends<\/h3>\n<p>Heredis provides several tools to help you track your searches.<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>When you need to know where you are at, feel free to consult <strong>Search tracking<\/strong>. This tool allows you to identify your \u201cdead ends\u201d. See <a href=\"https:\/\/help.heredis.com\/en\/search-tracking-tab\/\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Search Tracking Tab<\/span><\/a>.<\/li>\n<li>The <strong>Branches<\/strong> panel also allows you to filter <strong>Dead Ends<\/strong> <strong>only<\/strong>.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><em>Branches Panel<\/em><\/p>\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignnone size-full wp-image-24020\" src=\"https:\/\/help.heredis.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/09\/branches_mortes_palette_en.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"372\" height=\"512\" srcset=\"https:\/\/help.heredis.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/09\/branches_mortes_palette_en.png 372w, https:\/\/help.heredis.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/09\/branches_mortes_palette_en-218x300.png 218w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 372px) 100vw, 372px\" \/><\/p>\n<p>Dead Ends can be viewed on the various Heredis tree charts:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>The <strong>XXL Family<\/strong> now mentions untraceable fathers and mothers<\/li>\n<li>The <strong>Immediate Family<\/strong> shows untraceable fathers and mothers<\/li>\n<li>The <strong>Ancestors<\/strong> chart under the <strong>Family<\/strong> tab also displays untraceable parents<\/li>\n<li>The <strong>Ancestors Wheel<\/strong> under the <strong>Graphs<\/strong> tab will also show any dead end. See the article entitled <a href=\"https:\/\/help.heredis.com\/en\/dynamic-ancestors-wheel\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Dynamic Ancestors Wheel<\/a> for more details.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>Untraceable father\/mother data will be included in the Sheets as well.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Note<\/strong>: Our earlier printable tree charts do not include this data. Likewise, our automatically generated Books do not specify when parents cannot be found.<\/p>\n<h3><\/h3>\n<h3>Search persons whose parents cannot be found<\/h3>\n<p>If you wish to identify every person in your file whose father and\/or mother are untraceable, use our <strong>Smart Search<\/strong>.<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Click on the <strong>Searches &gt; Smart Search<\/strong> tabs.<\/li>\n<li>Set parameters to <strong>Persons &gt; Untraceable father &gt; Yes<\/strong> to search your file for persons whose father cannot be found.<\/li>\n<li>Set parameters to <strong>Persons &gt; Untraceable mother &gt; Yes<\/strong> to search your file for persons whose mother cannot be found.<\/li>\n<li>Set parameters to <strong>Persons &gt; Untraceable father &gt; Yes<\/strong>, click on the <strong>+<\/strong> button to <strong>add Persons &gt; Untraceable mother &gt; Yes<\/strong> to search your file for persons whose father and mother cannot be found. Remember to change the filter to<strong> At least one criterion<\/strong> if you are looking for persons with <u>either<\/u> a father <u>or<\/u> mother who cannot be found, or both.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">See also <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/help.heredis.com\/en\/smart-search\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Smart<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> Search<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> for more details on this search tool for your file data.<\/span><\/p>\n<h3><\/h3>\n<h3>Attach a parent to a child with an untraceable parent<\/h3>\n<p>If, by chance, you end up finding one or both missing parents, uncheck the corresponding label in the <strong>Personal Data<\/strong> input screen for this person.<\/p>\n<p>Declaring a parent as untraceable can easily be cancelled. If you eventually find the parents who were missing, uncheck the box.<\/p>\n<p>Since Heredis 2026, it has been possible to add sets of parents. If you enter them while the Untraceable Father or Mother label is checked, an alert will notify you. However, it is up to you to decide whether or not to disable the label.<br \/>\nSee the article <a href=\"https:\/\/help.heredis.com\/en\/add-several-sets-of-parents\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Add several sets of parents<\/a> for more information.[\/vc_column_text][\/vc_column][\/vc_row]<\/p>\n<\/div>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>It is not uncommon to come across abandoned children or children born to unknown fathers when doing genealogical research. [&#8230;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[45],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-18289","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-use-heredis"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v28.4 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/product\/yoast-seo-wordpress\/ -->\n<title>Untraceable Parents - Heredis Help Knowledgebase<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/help.heredis.com\/parents-introuvables-ou-inconnus\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Untraceable Parents - Heredis Help Knowledgebase\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"It is not uncommon to come across abandoned children or children born to unknown fathers when doing genealogical research. 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