not displaying ex-spouses when printing tree

[SakamotoCJ]

My sister and I are hosting a family reunion. I am in charge of printing family trees because I'm the only member of the Church and keep records of the family in Family Tree. When some of the family thought I might print ex-spouses, they said they will not come to reunion if I display their ex-spouses along with their children. They don't mind that I have the information, but don't want it displayed in front of the whole family at the reunion. Is it possible to have the wife or husband display without showing the ex-spouses name or picture? They never re-married. What can I do?

[davesudweeks]

My wife minored in Family History Research in college. If you are using FamilySearch, she suggests you go the old fashioned route and use white-out after printing the trees. You can write "private" over the whiteout if desired. Modifying the database to exclude information is ill-advised since FamilySearch is a single worldwide database. She is not aware of a way to hide one of the parents just because they have divorced (though you can record a divorce date in the marriage information) - the parental relationship is there for the children.

If you don't want to use white-out on the printouts, you could export the needed generations from the FamilySearch database to another product and then modify the data there. The benefit is some of these programs have very good looking print options. Not an endorsement, but we have used RootsMagic brand software and there is a free download option that provides limited functionality. You can purchase the full version for about $40 so it isn't terribly expensive and could easily resolve your dilemma (because after you bring in the data from family search, you can simply delete the divorced spouse or modify the offline database to show whatever you want to show).

There are several other good products available. A quick google search led to this article that you might find useful: https://www.toptenreviews.com/best-family-tree-maker

[sbradshaw]

Another option might be setting up a Family Group Tree with only the people you want to be visible:
https://www.familysearch.org/en/help/helpcenter/family-group-tree-pilot/family-group-trees-pilot-help-and-learning